March 31, 2009
Media Contact: Jon Litchfield (617) 373-3643

The New England Hockey Writers All-Star teams and awards for Women’s Division I as well as Men’s Div. II and Div. III have been released. The annual awards banquet will be held on Monday, April 13 at the Prince Restaurant in Saugus, Mass. The All-Star teams and special award winners will be presented. Coaches, student-athletes, family members and friends should plan on attending this function. Contact John Gruppo at (617) 373-7409 for information on attending this event. Cost is $30 per person.

For the New England Women’s Div. I teams and awards, Most Valuable Player Sarah Vaillancourt of Harvard and Coach of the Year Brian McCloskey of New Hampshire garnered top honors. Vaillancourt led all New England scorers with 25 goals and 27 assists for 52 points. Her 1.93 points per game ranked fourth in the nation. McCloskey led the Wildcats to the Hockey East title and the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals despite a roster depleted with injuries. UNH went 24-6-5 overall and 15-2-4 in Hockey East.

In ECAC East/NESCAC, Amherst swept the top awards as defenseman Jeff Landers was named ECAC East/NESCAC MVP and Jack Arena was named Coach of the Year. Landers, a senior, posted a 9-33-42 scoring line in 28 games. The Lord Jeffs went 22-5-1 overall and 16-2-1 in conference games. They advanced to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals.

In ECAC Northeast, Jeffrey Hazelwood of Curry was named MVP and Lou Izzi of Nichols was named Coach of the Year for the second season in a row. Hazelwood posted 48 points on 25 goals and 23 assists in 27 games. His 25 goals ranked third in the country. Izzi led Nichols to a 25-4-0 overall record, including a 16-1-0 conference mark. The Bison won the ECAC Northeast title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.