CCHA Awards
By Fetch
The CCHA was a pretty top heavy league this year, with a clear separation after the top three. It also had a lot of offensive talent, along with the low scoring environment that usually accompanies CCHA games. As such, the all-CCHA teams were extremely tough to fill out.
Player of the year – Andy Miele, Miami
The Redhawks were the best offensive team in the conference this year, scoring 103 goals in league play. Miele was the driving force of said offense, scoring 2 points per conference game. In addition, Miele only went 5 games all year being held off the scoresheet entirely. Miami was 1-2-2 in those 5 games. Miele both scored goals (16), and had an insane number of assists (40, which led the conference) for the Redhawks.
Coach of the year – Jeff Jackson, Notre Dame
The Irish lost Kyle Palmieri to the AHL in the offseason, as well as prized recruit Jarred Tinordi to the CHL. They also had to deal with rumors that Riley Sheahan was going to leave for the OHL. All the Irish did was finish second in the CCHA and have a shot at winning it on the final weekend. Though they were ranked in the 10-15 range in the preseason, I thought an NCAA tournament berth was a longshot for the Irish this year, and Jackson proved me wrong.
Freshman of the year – Anders Lee, Notre Dame
It was a two horse race between he and TJ Tynan but I settled on Lee due to him scoring more goals. They each had similar numbers against the top teams in the conference, and Notre Dame had similar numbers when they scored vs. when they didn’t score. I obviously wouldn’t object to Tynan being named Freshman of the year, but based on the handful of times I saw Notre Dame, and the higher goal total, Lee wins for me.
1st team
F – Andy Miele, Miami
F – Reilly Smith, Miami
F – Anders Lee, Notre Dame
D – Jon Merrill, Michigan
D – Zach Redmond, Ferris State
G – Cal Heeter, Ohio State
2nd team
F – Carl Hagelin, Michigan
F – Sergio Somma, Ohio State
F – TJ Tynan, Notre Dame
D – Torey Krug, Michigan State
D – Chris Wideman, Miami
G – Kevin Kapalka, Lake Superior State
3rd team
F – Pat Cannone, Miami
F – Chase Balisy, Western Michigan
F – John Albert, Ohio State
D – Aaron Gens, Alaska
D – Matt Tennyson, Western Michigan
G – Scott Greenham, Alaska