MSU's Krug named CCHA's top player

CCHA Press Release

Junior defenseman Torey Krug of the Michigan State Spartans was named the RBC Financial Group CCHA Player of the Year at the annual CCHA Awards Show this evening.

Nine individual awards were handed out at Detroit’s historic Fox Theatre, including six determined by a vote of the league’s 11 coaches.

Krug tied for the league lead in points with 29, making him the first defenseman to accomplish the feat since 1986-87. The Livonia native recorded 12 goals and 33 points overall, including nine multi-point performances, good for fifth nationally among blueliners. His +18 is tied for eighth among defensemen in the country.

Ferris State’s Bob Daniels was named the CCHA Coach of the Year. Ferris State, picked to place ninth in the league in a preseason coaches poll, finished in first place for the second time in school history. The Bulldogs went on a 15-game unbeaten streak at the end of the regular season, vaulting them to No. 1 in the nation for the first time in program history.

Michigan’s Alex Guptill, the 2012 Rookie of the Year, was the only freshman to be named the league’s Postgame Offensive Player of the Week. The Wolverines forward was also Gongshow CCHA Rookie of the Week twice as well as the Gongshow CCHA Rookie of the Month in January. Guptill led Michigan and all CCHA rookies in scoring both overall (16-16-32) and in league play (13-12-25). His totals tied him for the national lead among first-year players in goals while tying him for eighth in points.

Ferris State senior defenseman Chad Billins was named the Scholar-Athlete of the Year. A marketing major with a 3.82 GPA, Billins is a three-time Dean’s Academic Award winner and a finalist for this year’s Lowe’s CLASS Award. The Marysville native tied Krug for the league lead among defensemen in assists with 18, while finishing second on his team in scoring with 29 points overall.

Miami senior goaltender Cody Reichard received the Mike and Marian Ilitch Humanitarian Award as the league’s top citizen, based on his contributions off the ice, as well as on, to his team, his program, his school and his community. Reichard, a Celina, Ohio native, was inspired by the generous amounts of community service NHL players perform and decided to bring that love and support for the community to the college game. He came up with Swoop’s Stoop after talking about it at length with his goalie coach. Swoop’s Stoop is an initiative that seeks to help sick children at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. The program started out small by recognizing a few children at Miami home hockey games and has now expanded into a fully-funded program providing many more opportunities for children facing life-threatening illnesses.

Lake Superior State junior forward Domenic Monardo was presented with the Terry Flanagan Memorial Award in recognition of his perseverance, dedication and courage while overcoming severe adversity. In the 2007-08 season, Monardo broke his C2 vertebra, which contains major blood vessels to the brain, while playing junior hockey in Oakville, Ont. Monardo managed to avoid surgery but was fitted for a neck brace and told he might never play hockey again. This season, Monardo led the Lakers in points with a scoring line of 11-18-29.

Krug was named CCHA Best Offensive Defenseman for the second straight year. The Spartans' second-year captain saved his best for league play, recording 11 of his 12 goals in conference action as well as 29 of his 33 overall points. Krug became the first blueliner in school history to lead all CCHA players in points.

Western Michigan sophomore Dan DeKeyser was honored as the Best Defensive Defenseman. DeKeyser finished +11 this season while racking up 30 minutes of ice time per game.

Michigan senior captain Luke Glendening became the second Wolverine in as many seasons to win the Best Defensive Forward award. Ex-Michigan standout Carl Hagelin won the award in 2011. Glendening was a part of a Wolverines squad that gave up just 2.14 goals-per game, second in the league this season.

Photo - Miami associate coach Brent Brekke and WMU defenseman Dan DeKeyser - courtesy Dave Reginek