CCHA Rookie of the Year favorite Bill Thomas of Nebraska-Omaha headlined the conference’s 2004-05 All-Rookie Team, announced Monday.
Thomas, a 21-year-old forward from Pittsburgh, ranked second on the Mavericks in CCHA and overall scoring with 33 and 42 points, respectively. He is the nation’s leading scorer among freshmen.
Nebraska-Omaha had two players named to the team in Thomas and defenseman Joe Grimaldi. Grimaldi, an 18-year-old from Ronkonkoma, N.Y., leads the CCHA with a plus-26 rating overall. He had three goals and 12 assists in 35 games.
Four other schools had one representative apiece.
Ohio State’s Tom Fritsche, an 18-year-old forward from Parma, Ohio, is tied for second in the CCHA and ranks in the top 10 in the nation with 29 assists in 36 games. He is tied for second on the Buckeyes in scoring.
Forward Mike Santorelli of Northern Michigan, a 19-year-old from Burnaby, B.C., owns the freshman goal-scoring title with 14 in conference play, including three CCHA game-winning goals.
Bowling Green’s Mike Hodgson, a 20-year-old defenseman from Surfside, Calif., is the first Falcon to be named to the All-Rookie team since Adam Edinger in 1997. Hodgson scored two goals and added 13 assists.
Wylie Rogers, Alaska-Fairbanks’ 19-year-old goalie, recorded three shutouts in 27 games on the season. The Fairbanks native compiled an 11-11-4 record with a goals against average of 2.90.
Determined by a vote of conference head coaches, the All-Rookie team will be honored at the 2005 CCHA Awards on Wednesday, March 16, at the Fox Theatre in Detroit.
2004-05 CCHA All-Rookie Team
F Tom Fritsche, Ohio State
F Mike Santorelli, Northern Michigan
F Bill Thomas, Nebraska-Omaha
D Joe Grimaldi, Nebraska-Omaha
D Mike Hodgson, Bowling Green
G Wylie Rogers, Alaska-Fairbanks
Honorable mention
Forward — Kyle Greentree, UAF; Chad Kolarik, UM; Domenic Maiani, OSU; Bryan Marshall, UNO; Jonathan Matsumoto, BGSU; Matt Stefanishion, FSU.
Defense — Mitch Ganzak, MIA; Kyle Hood, OSU; Adam Welch, FSU.
Goaltender — Derek MacIntyre, FSU.
