League Announces Regular-Season Awards
ALBANY, N.Y. -- ECAC Hockey this evening announced the
recipients of the men’s regular-season awards as selected by
the league’s coaches at its annual postseason banquet at
Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Chase Polacek became only the third player in the 50 year
history of the league to earn Most Outstanding Player in
consecutive seasons, joining RPI’s Bob Brinkworth and Scott
Fusco of Harvard. He led the league in scoring for the second
consecutive season netting 11 goals and 16 assists for 27 points.
The Edina, Minnesota has been a clutch performer for the Engineers
during his four season. He led the conference with five
game-winning goals in 22 conference games this season. He has
registered 160 points in 153 games in Troy (65g-95a) during his
four-year career.
Princeton freshman, Andrew Calof took home the league’s top
rookie honors. Calof was the top rookie in scoring offense
with 23 points on seven goals and 16 assists, which also tied him
for fourth among all student-athletes in ECAC Hockey. His 16
assists in 22 league games placed him tied for second among all
players. Calof’s offensive-minded play was evident on the
Tigers’ power-play and penalty-kill units, as he netted six
goals and added five assists on man-advantage situations, which
tied him for the league lead. He also scored three shorthanded
goals, which was tops in the league for the 2010-11 season.
Union sophomore, Keith Kinkaid earned the Ken Dryden Award honoring
the league’s top goaltender. Kinkaid posted a conference
record of 17-3-2 (.818), leading the league. Overall he set the
school single-season wins record this year (25), breaking Corey
Milan’s previous record of 19 set in 2008-09. He also moved
into second on the school’s all time wins list with 37 career
victories, trailing only Kris Mayotte (46 win from 2002-06) on the
list. He is the first Union goaltender to record a sub 2.00
goals-against average after regular-season play (1.90 GAA). Kinkaid
backbones Union’s defense which currently ranks first in the
country only allowing 2.10 goals per contest.
The league’s Student-Athlete of the Year went to one of ECAC
Hockey biggest and brightest stars - Stephane Boileau. The
neuroscience and pre-med major has earned a 3.893 in the classroom
while minoring in economics. He has balanced the demands on the ice
and in the classroom, while moving into the team’s top 50
scoring list of all-time. He was a member of the Dean’s List
each semester and has been active in numerous charitable events.
Her plans to go to medical school and return to his native Quebec
as a family physician or an orthopedist.
Adam Presizniuk, one of the Dutchmen assistant captains this
season, took home the Best Defensive Forward award. He has been an
influence on all special teams play for Union during his four years
at Union. Presizniuk was a major contributor to Union on faceoffs,
best penalty-kill situations, and played on the team’s top
lines. Despite missing six games with a thumb injury, Presizniuk
finished fifth on the team in scoring with 29 points (12 goals, 17
assists). On Oct. 9, Presizniuk set a school record with five
assists in a 7-3 win against Sacred Heart. He became the
school’s all-time leader in scoring and assists in the
Division I era on Jan. 7 against St. Lawrence. With an assist in
the third period, Presizniuk passed Jason Walters (’10) on
the scoring list, and Joel Beal (’05) on the assists list.
Presizniuk has 131 points (48 goals, 83 assists) in 145 games
played.
Brock Matheson, a native of Ganonoque, Ontario was named the
league’s Best Defensive Defenseman leading ECAC Hockey with a
plus/minus rating of +19 this season. He set a career-high with a
+25 rating in overall games. Matheson is a key force for the
Dutchmen on all special teams units, where he registered a plus
rating in 19 games and only had a minus rating seven times this
season. The senior is one of two defenseman to start in all 36
games that the Dutchmen have played this season. Matheson has taken
a leadership role being the only senior defenseman on a squad that
leads the nation in scoring defense only allowing 2.03 goals per
game. On the other end of the ice Matheson set career-highs with
seven assists and ten points.
Nate Leaman earns his second consecutive Tim Taylor Award as the
Dutchmen captured their first-ever Clear Cup after posting a 17-3-2
conference record. The Dutchmen finished the regular-season with an
overall record of 25-7-4, setting school records for most
conference and overall wins. Union went 14-1-1 in its final 16
games, all against ECAC Hockey opponents in helping seal the
conference title. Leaman’s squad posted a 31.1% success rate
overall on the power-play which was tops in the nation. The
Dutchmen only surrendered 2.10 G/GM which led the nation as well.
The Union defense has held its opponents to two or fewer goals 22
times this season. The Dutchmen only allowed 43 goals to their ECAC
Hockey opponents during the regular-season. The Dutchmen are
seventh in the nation in scoring offense with an average of 3.69
goals per game.
