RPI Announces Year-End Award Winners
TROY, N.Y. – The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)
men’s ice hockey team held its season-ending banquet, where
the team’s 2010-11 award winners were announced. Seven awards
were presented by head coach Seth Appert and
his staff. They were:
• Most Valuable Player: Chase
Polacek & Allen York
• Best Defensive Player: Jeff Foss
• Top Rookie: Brock Higgs
• Most Inspirational: John Kennedy &
Ben Mayo
• Community Service: John Kennedy & Justin
Smith
• Scholar-Athlete: Alex Angers-Goulet
• Most Improved: C.J. Lee
Polacek (Edina, MN/Academy of Holy Angels), a senior forward, and
York (Wetaskiwin, AB/Camrose Kodiaks), a junior goaltender, shared
the highest honor by being named co-Most Valuable Players. Polacek
played in all 38 games, tallying 21 goals and 27 assists for 48
points. He was first on the team in goals, points, power play goals
(11), shorthanded goals (2) and game-winning goals (9) on his way
to being selected as a National All-America, ECAC Hockey Player of
the Year, All-ECAC Hockey First Team and Hobey Baker Award finalist
– each for the second straight season. This is the third time
he has been the team’s MVP.
In 34 games this year, York was 18-11-4 record with a 2.17 goals
against average and a .924 save percentage. He played 87.1% of the
team’s games, posting two shutouts during 2050:46 minutes. He
was a finalist for the ECAC Hockey Ken Dryden Award, presented
annually to the league’s top goaltender for the second year
in a row. York and Polacek ranked among the national leaders in
numerous categories at their respective positions.
Foss (Moorhead, MN/Moorhead HS), a senior defenseman, was
recognized after once again playing every game, usually against the
opposition’s top forwards. He registered a career-high 14
points on three goals and 11 assists this year, in which he helped
the Engineers to 20 wins and their first NCAA Tournament appearance
since 1995.
Rensselaer’s top rookie was Higgs (Kingston, ON/Kingston
Voyageurs), a forward who had 21 points on nine goals and 12
assists in 33 games. He was first among the team’s freshmen
in scoring and fourth overall. He missed five games due to
injury.
Kennedy (Saginaw, MI/St. Louis Bandits), a senior defenseman,
earned his two awards for his selfless dedication to his teammates
and the community. On the ice the second-year captain had four
assists in 31 games, often playing injured. Off the ice he
spearheaded numerous volunteer efforts, including the team’s
involvement with the Troy-Albany Youth Hockey Association, Relay
for Life, STRIDE Adaptive Sports and the United Way and Prospect
Park cleanup efforts.
A junior forward, Smith (Hammonds Plains, Nova Scotia/Langley
Chiefs), who enthusiastically participated in a the team’s
volunteer efforts, shared the Community Service Award, while Ben
Mayo, a local teenager who is an honorary member of the Engineers,
joined Kennedy in accepting the Inspirational Award as Mayo
continues in his battle against cancer.
Angers-Goulet (St. Augustin, Quebec/Langley Chiefs), a junior
forward, carries a team-best 3.85 cumulative grade point average
– including a perfect 4.0 in the fall – as a business
and management major to earn the Scholar-Athlete Award. In 36 games
he scored six goals with five assists for 11 points.
The team’s Most Improved Player Award went to Lee (Staten
Island, NY/Green Bay Gamblers), who tallied 17 points on five goals
and 12 assists in 30 games this year as a sophomore. In 28 games a
season ago, the forward had three assists.
The 2010-11 Engineers posted a 20-13-5 record, a national ranking
for most of the season and the trip to the NCAA Tournament. The
team recorded back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in
nearly 10 years (2000-01 & 2001-02) and ranked in the top-15 in
the country in scoring defense (2.37 goals against average; 7th),
penalty kill (84.3%; 12th) and winning percentage (.592; 15th).
