Mello Named Dartmouth's Top Athlete
HANOVER, N.H. - Dartmouth junior goaltender James Mello was presented with the Alfred E. Watson Trophy in recognition of being named Dartmouth’s finest male athlete of the year Monday at Dartmouth's Celebration of Athletic Excellence.
After playing in only 17 games prior to his junior season, Mello became the Big Green's starter in net early in the year and played in 30 of Dartmouth's 34 games, starting in the final 21 contest of 2010-11. He finished the season first in save percentage and second in goals against average in ECAC Hockey, arguably one of the most competitive hockey leagues in the country this past year. Mello was named second team All-ECAC for his first-ever postseason awards. He helped the Big Green advance to the ECAC Hockey playoffs in Atlantic City for the first time in four years as the Big Green finished with a final national ranking of 15th.
"James was the backbone of our team and clearly his play had a major impact on our team's success," said head coach Bob Gaudet.
