Wildcats dole out '05-06 awards

The Northern Michigan University hockey awards banquet was held yesterday and Nathan Oystrick and Rob Lehtinen each picked up two awards.

Oystrick walked away with the Tom Laidlaw Best Defenseman and the Gary Emmons Most Valuable Player Awards. Oystrick was a first-team selection to the 2005-06 Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) All-Conference Team. He had 29 points on nine goals and 20 assists for the 2005-06 season. Oystrick was recently named to the RBK All-American Ice Hockey Team as a second-team selection to the West Team.

Lehtinen was awarded the Dallas Drake Defensive Player of the Year and the Steve Weeks Unsung Hero Awards. For the season he registered 16 points on four goals and 12 assists.

The Dennis Sibilsky Memorial Senior Award went to Geoff Waugh. This award is given by the coaching staff to the player who exemplifies sportsmanship, leadership and ability on the ice and in the classroom. Waugh was an assistant captain for the Wildcats for the past season as he ended the campaign with seven assists.

The Brad Werenka Coaches Academic Award was given to John Miller. This award is awarded by the coaching staff to the player who performed best in the classroom over the course of the 2005-06 season. Miller currently has a 3.4 cumulative grade-point average in entrepreneurship.

Jamie Milam was named the recipient of the Ed Ward Most Improved Player Award. He had career-highs for the season in assists (22) and points (29).

The Clara Pantalone Memorial Community Service Award went to Bill Zaniboni. This honor is given by the coaching staff to the player who contributed the most to the community, in terms of working with children and people, during the course of the season. Zaniboni has volunteered his time for skate with the ‘Cats, the YMCA, one-on-one goaltending tutoring and the NMU Sports Festival.

Dirk Southern, who was second on the team in points with 34, was the recipient of the Bill Joyce Best Forward Award. He had a team-high 23 assists and 11 goals for the season.

Nathan Sigmund was named the winner of the Don Waddell Best Freshman Award. He led all freshmen scorers with eight points for the season on three goals and five assists.

Wednesday, two award winners were named as well.

Andrew Contois was selected to receive the Jim Mussatto Memorial Fitness Award. The award is given to a player that holds the highest combined ranking in the following categories: three-mile run, bench press, push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, squats and lowest body fat.

The Steve Bozek Plus-Minus Award was awarded to Matt Maunu. This award is given to the player who had the best rating for being on the ice for the most goals scored and the fewest goals against. Maunu had a +11 for the 2005-06 season.