Hunwick named U-M's captain at banquet

Michigan handed out its annual awards to six players while also announcing its captains for the 2006-07 campaign at the annual Dekers Blue Line Club Banquet on Saturday at the Ann Arbor Sheraton.

Head coach Red Berenson selected rising senior defenseman Matt Hunwick (pictured) as the captain for the 2006-07 season. Senior forward T.J. Hensick and senior defenseman Jason Dest will each wear an "A" as alternate captains. Hunwick and Hensick were alternate captains during the 2005-06 campaign.

Graduating senior captain Andrew Ebbett was awarded the Hal Downes Trophy as U-M's most valuable player. Ebbett ranked second on the team in points (42) and assists (28) while leading the Wolverines with a +16 plus/minus rating. Ebbett's 14 goals and 42 points were career highs.

For leading the Wolverines in points, Hensick was the recipient of the Doc Losh Trophy. The junior forward recorded 17 goals and a career-high 35 assists for 52 total points in 2005-06. Hensick earned All-CCHA second team honors. He also won the Doc Losh Trophy as a freshman in 2003-04.

Hunwick was the winner of the Vic Heyliger Trophy as U-M's most outstanding defenseman for the second consecutive season. The award was voted on by his teammates. Hunwick had an 11-19-30 scoring line and was +15 on the season. His 11 goals and 30 points were career highs, while his 19 assists tied his career best. He was an All-CCHA second team selection.

The Alton D. Simms Trophy for the most improved player as determined by the team was given to freshman forward Danny Fardig. Fardig, a walk-on whose father (Don) and uncle (Dave) both played for the Maize and Blue, played in 38 of 41 games and accumulated four goals and three assists.Fardig also garnered the Dekers Club Award as the "most colorful rookie" per the Dekers Club membership.

The Howard Colby Award for sportsmanship went to Ebbett. The senior was the consummate team player on and off the ice. He took just seven penalties for 25 minutes while being one of the hardest working players on the ice for U-M every game.

Chosen by the coaching staff, the Joseph E. Barss Award for the best team player was given to outgoing senior alternate captain Brandon Kaleniecki. Kaleniecki battled through injuries to play in 36 games, tallying 17 goals, which tied for the team lead, and nine power-play markers, a team best. He added a career-high 12 assists for 29 points in 2005-06.

Tim Cook was the recipient of the Carl Isaacson Award for the second straight year. The laurel is given to the player who exhibits the highest scholastic average as well as athletic ability. Cook is a junior majoring in history. The defensive-minded rearguard missed just one game all season and recorded his first career goal in addition to chipping in with two assists. Cook was also U-M's representative on the CCHA All-Academic team.

The Wolverines went 21-15-5 in 2005-06 while qualifying for their 16th consecutive NCAA Tournament. U-M graduates forwards Ebbett and Kaleniecki and goalie Noah Ruden. Twenty-three members of the 2005-06 team are slated to return in 2006-07.

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.

Bateman named NMU captain for '06-07

Pat Bateman has been named captain of the Northern Michigan University hockey team for the 2006-07 season.

“Pat has clearly emerged as the leader on the team,” Wildcats' head coach Walt Kyle said. “He has grown and matured in his time here at NMU. He has the ability to lead.”

Bateman, a 6-foot-1, 200-pound, forward from Calgary, Alberta, was an assistant captain for 2005-06 where he appeared in 39 games with 10 goals, 19 assists for 29 points.

For his career at NMU, Bateman has played in 110 games and has 72 (29-43) points.

“Pat has the respect of the team and coaching staff at NMU,” Kyle said.

CCHA officials work Wisconsin's title win

For the second year, three Michigan CCHA officials called the NCAA national championship. Last night, Wisconsin beat Boston College, 2-1, in Milwaukee for their sixth NCAA crown.

Referee Matt Shegos officiated alongside assistant referees Keith Sergott and Kevin Langseth, also from the CCHA.

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