Hockey East Awards
By Fetch
This year Hockey East rebounded from perhaps a poor showing in the regular season to flourish in the postseason. Conference tournament champ Boston College will play in next weekend’s Frozen Four, and two Hockey East players are in the Hobey hat trick.
Player of the year – Gustav Nyquist, Maine
Nyquist led the nation in points (61) and points per game (1.56). While he had 10 less goals than Bobby Butler, Nyquist got his points while being really the only quality forward for Maine, while Butler played on the regular season champs.
Coach of the year – Mark Dennehy, Merrimack
While Merrimack was a game under .500 in conference, they also finished in 6th place and made the playoffs for the first time in a handful of years.
Freshman of the year – Stephane Da Costa, Merrimack
Da Costa had a hat trick in his first game, and finished third in the league in points in conference play. He led all HE Freshman in goals and points.
All Hockey East 1st team
F – Gustav Nyquist, Maine
F – Bobby Butler, UNH
F – Cam Atkinson, Boston College
D – Blake Kessel, UNH
D – Colby Cohen, Boston University
G – Carter Hutton, UMass-Lowell
All Hockey East 2nd Team
F – Brian Gibbons, Boston College
F – James Marcou, UMass
F – Brian Flynn, Maine
D – Justin Braun, UMass
D – Jeremy Dehner, UMass-Lowell
G – Alex Beaudry, Providence
All Hockey East 3rd team
F – Stephane Da Costa, Merrimack
F – Casey Wellman, UMass
F – Paul Thompson, New Hampshire
D – Kevin Shattenkirk, Boston University
D – Will O’Neill, Maine
G – Rob Madore, Vermont