Protopapas named Wayne State MVP

Wayne State Press Release

Wayne State announced the recipients of the 2009-10 team awards at the squad's annual season-end banquet, held last Friday night at the McGregor Memorial Conference Center on the WSU campus.

Senior forward Katrina Protopapas (pictured, with WSU head coach Jim Fetter) was voted the team’s Most Valuable Player. She led the Warriors with 13 goals and finished second with 17 points, both career-highs, and ended the season tied for fifth nationally with nine power-play goals, eighth-most in school history.

Also a three-time CHA All-Academic Team selection, Protopapas completed her collegiate career ranked 11th all-time at Wayne State in points (46), tied for sixth in goals (26), fourth in power-play goals (14) and tied for sixth in power-play points (23). She is also tied for sixth in CHA points (21) and fourth in CHA goals (12).

Rookie of the Year honors went to forward Julie Ingratta, who led WSU with 85 shots on goal. She totaled 15 points, tied for ninth-most by a freshman in program history, and nine assists, tied for 10th-most. Ingratta ended the season ranked fifth in points among College Hockey America rookies.

Senior Chelsea Burnett was named Wayne State’s Best Defensive Player. Burnett, who tied for 10th among CHA defensemen with nine points, completed her career as Wayne State's all-time leader in points (62), goals (17), assists (45), CHA points (29), CHA goals (7) and CHA assists (22) by a defenseman. She ranks fifth overall at WSU in points, assists, and power-play goals (9), and is fourth in power-play points (37), tied for 10th in game-winning goals (3) and tied for 12th in game-winning points (7).

As Wayne State’s top scorer in 2009-10, sophomore forward Alyssa Baldin took the Top Gun award. Baldin led the Warriors with 11 assists and 20 points, both career-highs, and matched her career-best with nine goals. She finished with 10 points in 16 conference games and was particularly sharp down the stretch, recording a point in seven of the last eight games.

The award for Most Improved Player was presented to sophomore defenseman Ciara Lee, who saw a marked increase in playing time this season, having received ice time in all 31 games after playing in just 12 contests a year ago. Lee had a plus/minus rating of even or better in 22 games.

Senior defenseman and captain Christine Jefferson received three awards, including the President’s Award for having the highest grade-point average on the squad, aided by two consecutive 4.00 terms. A three-time CHA All-Academic Team honoree, the elementary education major became the second Warrior in program history to be named CHA Student-Athlete of the Year.

Jefferson also received the Warrior Award from her teammates and the Captain’s Award from Fetter.

In addition, seven Warriors were recognized for having scored their first collegiate goal, and sophomore goaltender Brittany Zeches received an award commemorating her first victory Feb. 27 at Robert Morris.

Photo by Jeff Weiss

Big Chill game to top 80,000 fans

Michigan Press Release

With more than 14,700 tickets sold on the first day of the public sale Wednesday, nearly 80,000 tickets have been sold or allotted for "The Big Chill at the Big House" presented by Arby's, the outdoor ice hockey game between Michigan and Michigan State scheduled for Dec. 11 at Michigan Stadium.

That total would break the current world record for attendance at an ice hockey game, exceeding the crowd of 74,544 when Michigan and Michigan State played Oct. 6, 2001, at Spartan Stadium.

In the first half hour that tickets were made available to the general public (8:30-9 a.m.), 7,067 tickets were purchased. The total reached 11,038 tickets by 10:30 a.m.

"The excitement generated today by the public demand for tickets to The Big Chill at the Big House only reinforces my belief that this hockey game is going to be a very special event," said Dave Brandon, U-M Director of Intercollegiate Athletics. "Until now, I could only imagine how it would be to have 80,000 fans watching the Wolverine hockey team at Michigan Stadium.

"Now that we have hit the 80,000 number, I am visualizing an opportunity to have over 100,000 in attendance. This would make the experience for the players and fans an extra special day they will remember for many years to come."

Michigan will be the first collegiate hockey team to play in three outdoor games. In addition to the game in East Lansing, the Wolverines recently played in the Camp Randall Hockey Classic on Feb. 6, 2010, at Wisconsin.

"I'm not surprised at the response from the Michigan community, whether it's the hockey people or the alumni or people that are just interested in a once in a lifetime event," said Red Berenson, U-M ice hockey head coach. "This has just taken off. You knew it would when you have something this special at the Big House - the first time ever, maybe the only time ever.

Everybody wants to be there. I think we'll be sold out before we know it. It'll be a tough ticket to buy. People who are not sure better get their tickets now. It's just another example of the loyalty and the support of the overall Michigan community."

To purchase tickets, visit MGoBlue.com/tickets or call the U-M Athletics Ticket Office (734-764-0247 or 866- 296-6849). End zone tickets are priced at $15 per ticket. For orders of 15 tickets or more, a group rate of $10 per ticket applies.

TheBigChillAtTheBigHouse.com

Canton native to join Michigan State

MSU Press Release

Michigan State has announced that Greg Wolfe has signed a National Letter of Intent to play for the Spartans. He will join fellow incoming freshmen Lee Reimer and Willie Yanakeff on the Spartan roster in the fall of 2010.

“We are excited that Greg has signed his letter and will be coming to East Lansing in the fall,” noted MSU head coach Rick Comley. “Greg is a skilled player, and has a nose for the net. He can play in every situation, making him a versatile addition. He, Lee and Willie will play a big part in filling out the needs on our roster for coming years. We think that they all will contribute positive things to our program. We currently have a young team, and are excited about adding promising young players to that mix for the coming seasons.”

This season, Wolfe, a Canton native, was involved in a trade deadline deal in the USHL that sent him from Chicago to Omaha. He helped the Lancers to a first-place finish in the West Division, and are still alive in the Clark Cup playoffs, currently facing off with the Fargo Force in the West Division finals, a best-of-seven series. In 18 games with Omaha, he has averaged better than a point per game (7g, 13a) and is a +18. In Chicago, he had a 17-15-32 scoring line in 39 games, with four power-play goals and three shorthanded strikes.

Reimer is also still playing hockey in the AJHL’s Doyle Cup playoffs. In the regular season, Reimer led the Canmore Eagles in scoring with a 33-44-77 scoring line in 59 games, ranking 10th in the league in points, eighth in goals, 10th in assists, 13th in points per game (1.13), sixth in power play goals (11), and fourth in shorthanded markers (4). Through six playoff games, he has one goal and seven assists.

Yanakeff, a Jerome native, had his 2009-10 season shortened by injury, and was also the subject of a mid-season USHL trade from Sioux City to the Waterloo Black Hawks. In his 10 games in Waterloo, he posted a 5-5-0 record and 3.41 goals-against average for the Blackhawks, who finished fourth in the East Division.

Wolfe had originally committed to Western Michigan in January.

Photo courtesy USHL Images

Western Michigan names award winners

Western Michigan Press Release

The Western Michigan hockey team hosted its year-end banquet on Saturday, handing out its yearly awards.

Senior Riley Gill was named the Rob Hodge Most Valuable Player award winner, the first time a goalie has won since Jeff Reynaert in the 2001-02 season. Gill joins Reynaert, Marc Magliarditi and Glenn Healy as the only goalies in program's history to be named the team's MVP.

Gill finished the season with the nation's seventh best save percentage at .923 and added seven wins to his career total, giving him 39 in four seasons. He also left the Broncos with the highest career save percentage in school history at .915.

Senior Tyler Ludwig was named the Neil Smith Most Valuable Defenseman award winner for the second time in his career after taking the honor last season. He becomes the tenth defenseman in program history to win the most valuable defenseman award twice in his career. Only former Bronco Ryan Mahrle has won the award more than once, taking it three times in his career.

Ludwig was WMU's top scoring defenseman on the season with three goals and 11 assists for 14 points. He was named the CCHA Defenseman of the Week after the Broncos swept Notre Dame late in the season. Ludwig also was honored with the Dr. Peter Ellis Academic Award for his excellence in the classroom and finished his four years at Western Michigan with a combined GPA of 3.65 with a major in finance.

Sophomore Greg Squires was honored as the Vic Vanderberg Scoring Award winner after the leading the team with 24 points off of four goals and 20 assists.

Squires, who was last year's Suzanne Klopp Rookie of the Year Award winner along with former Bronco Kevin Connauton, saw teammate Dane Walters honored with the award this season.

Walters played in 31 games as a rookie, scoring two goals with six assists for eight points.

Senior Jared Katz was awarded the Kalamazoo Optimist Hockey Association Grinder award for perseverance on the season, while junior forward Patrick Nagorsen was awarded the Catherine Lawson Sportsmanship award - the first award for Nagorsen in his career.

Freshman defenseman David Chaney was awarded with the Ed Edwards Most Improved Player award for his hard work throughout the season in practice.

Sophomore forward Derek Roehl was awarded the William Saunders Plus-Minus Award for finishing the season with the top plus-minus rating on the season at plus-five.

Photo - seniors Jared Katz, Riley Gill, Cam Watson, Chris Clackson and Jordan Collins - courtesy Zolton Cohen

Bulldogs dole out hardware at banquet

Ferris State Press Release

The nationally-ranked 2009-10 Ferris State hockey team officially wrapped up one of the most successful seasons in the program's history last Friday evening at its annual awards banquet which was held at the Falcon Head Golf Club in Big Rapids.

The banquet, which was sponsored by the FSU Blueline Club, featured the presentation of individual awards, a highlight video of the 2009-10 season, and remarks from the graduating seniors on the 2009-10 team.

Senior Blair Riley received the Most Valuable Player Award after registering his most productive season as a Bulldog this campaign. Riley paced Ferris State in scoring this season with 38 points on 18 goals and 20 assists in 40 games, which all represented career single-season highs. The left wing also produced nine multiple-point games while tallying four power-play goals, two short-handed markers, and a pair of game-winning lamplighters this season while also generating a plus 12 efficiency rating.

Riley, who also was the recipient of the Lloyd Earl Trophy as the team's top points leader, was recognized as the RBC Financial Group CCHA Player of the Month for November after garnering both CCHA Offensive Player of the Week and Inside College Hockey.com National Player of the Week kudos (Nov. 23). Riley was a second-team honoree by MichiganCollegeHockey.com (MiCHO) following the 2009-10 campaign.

He concluded his career ranking tied for 26th place among FSU's all-time leaders in games played (147), tied for 29th in goals (42), and tied for 38th in points (87). A 2009-10 season candidate for the prestigious Hobey Baker Memorial Award as college hockey's top player, Riley signed an amateur tryout agreement contract with the Springfield Falcons of the American Hockey League following this season.

The FSU Scholar-Athlete Award was presented to sophomore defenseman Michael Trebish for compiling the team's highest cumulative grade-point average. An accounting major, Trebish also earned was the team's recipient for the FSU President's Academic Award as a result of possessing the squad's best grade point average. The Bulldog blueliner recorded one point on an assist and had a plus one efficiency rating in 24 contests this season.

Senior defenseman Matt Case was named the Blue Line Competitive Award winner as a result of being the team's top competitor on a daily basis from off-ice conditioning, practice, and games as voted on by his teammates. Case, who also was bestowed with same honor a season ago, recorded career season highs with four goals and 13 assists for 17 points in 40 outings. His points total was ninth highest on the squad and third most among the Bulldogs' defensemen. Following the season, Case began his professional career by inking an amateur tryout contract with the AHL's Norfolk Admirals.

Matt Case and sophomore defenseman Tommy Hill, were chosen as co-recipients of the Steve Banonis Memorial Most Improved Player Award. Hill appeared in a career-most 21 contests this season and chalked up 16 blocked shots, which also was a personal career single-season high.

The Rookie of the Year went to freshman center-right wing Matthew Kirzinger. Kirzinger lead all Ferris State freshmen skaters in scoring with a team 10th-most 14 points on nine goals and five assists in 38 contests. The forward turned in two multi-point game efforts while scoring two power-play goals, one short-handed tally, and a game-winning marker to go with 17 blocked shots.

Senior right wing Cody Chupp picked up the Plus/Minus Award after notching a team-leading 13 efficiency rating this season in 35 contests. Chupp also totaled a career season-best tying and a squad third-highest 30 points total with nine goals and a career season-high 21 helpers. Chupp, who was recently named to the 2009-10 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award All-America Second Team, currently ranks tied for 33rd place on FSU's all-time statistical leaders list in assists (60), 35th in points (95), and tied for 42nd in goals (35) for 144 games. The two-time team captain signed an amateur tryout agreement with the Texas Stars of the AHL upon the conclusion of his collegiate career.

Ron and Patty Patterson along with Jeff Totten were recipients of the FSU Blue Line Club Recognition Award for their numerous contributions to the Bulldog hockey program.

The six seniors on the 2009-10 squad - goaltender Jordan Barber, Matt Case, Chupp, right wing-center Aaron Lewicki, Riley and center Casey Haines were also acknowledged during the banquet.

Academically, a total of 17 student-athletes on this season's team earned FSU Dean's Academic Award status for having at least a 3.20 grade-point average.