The CCHA honored its league award winners at the 2002 CCHA Awards presentation Thursday night in Detroit’s historic Fox Theatre.<\/p>\n
For the second straight year, Michigan State goaltender Ryan Miller was named the league’s Player of the Year. Alaska-Fairbanks head coach Guy Gadowsky is the 2001-02 Coach of the Year, and Western Michigan’s Pat Dwyer was named Rookie of the Year.<\/p>\n
The evening also included a moving tribute to MSU head coach Ron Mason, who is stepping down at the end of the season to become Michigan State’s athletic director.<\/p>\n
In a video clip, Red Berenson, head coach of MSU archrival Michigan, joked that Mason has been promising to take him fishing for a number years. “Now that he’s retiring, maybe he’ll actually do it,” said Berenson.<\/p>\n
Mason — college hockey’s all-time winningest coach — was honored with a lifetime achievement award, presented by Detroit Red Wings head coach Scotty Bowman — hockey’s all-time winningest coach.<\/p>\n
On receiving the award, Mason talked about the connection between professional and college hockey in Michigan, and said, “I think hockey in particular, is a really solid small family.”<\/p>\n
Other highlights included the presentation of Best Defensive Forward to UAF’s Bobby Andrews, who said, “I’d really like to thank my old man for preaching that [defensive side of hockey].”<\/p>\n
Michigan goaltender Kevin O’Malley received the Mike and Marian Ilitch Humanitarian Award for his extensive volunteer work. O’Malley’s acceptance speech was the best of the evening by a player. “I did some research,” said O’Malley, “and the last Wolverine to win this award was Blake Sloan. Two years later, he won the Stanley Cup with the Dallas Stars, so I’m really looking forward to 2004.”<\/p>\n
Ohio State’s Scott Titus was given the Terry Flanagan Memorial Award, named after the former Bowling Green assistant coach who died of cancer in 1991. After the 1999-2000 season, Titus had surgery on his upper right arm to remove a staph infection that spread through four inches of bone. Doctors originally diagnosed Titus with bone cancer. The Buckeye defenseman missed the 2000-01 season because of the extent of surgery.<\/p>\n
Not surprisingly, Ryan Miller was named the league’s Best Goaltender. Best Offensive Defenseman honors went to Miller’s teammate, John-Michael Liles. Ferris State’s Rob Collins was singled out as the league’s leading scorer — the first Bulldog to achieve that honor. Michigan’s Mike Komisarek is the 2001-02 Best Defensive Defenseman.<\/p>\n
The league also honored All-Conference Teams, named earlier in the week.<\/p>\n
2001-02 All-Conference Team<\/b><\/p>\n
First Team<\/b>
\nRob Collins, senior forward, FSU
\nJeff Hoggan, senior forward, UNO
\nChris Kunitz, junior forward, FSU
\nMike Komisarek, sophomore defenseman, UM
\nJohn-Michael Liles, junior defenseman, MSU
\nRyan Miller, junior goaltender, MSU<\/p>\n
Second Team<\/b>
\nBobby Andrews, senior forward, UAF
\nMike Cammalleri, junior forward, UM
\nJohn Shouneyia, junior forward, UM
\nAndrew Hutchinson, senior defenseman, MSU
\nGreg Zanon, junior defenseman, UNO
\nDan Ellis, sophomore goaltender, UNO<\/p>\n
2001-02 Bauer All-Rookie Team<\/b><\/p>\n
Pat Dwyer, forward, WMU
\nEric Nystrom, forward, UM
\nJim Slater, forward, MSU
\nAaron Voros, forward, UAF
\nEric Werner, defenseman, UM
\nMatt York, defenseman, FSU
\nMike Brown, goaltender, FSU<\/p>\n
2001-02 All-Academic Team<\/b><\/p>\n
Bobby Andrews, senior forward, UAF
\nDavid Cousineau, junior defenseman, WMU
\nBrad Fast, junior defenseman, MSU
\nAdam Hall, senior forward, MSU
\nDavid Inman, senior forward, ND
\nMiguel Lafleche, junior forward, OSU
\nPeter Michelutti, junior forward, NMU
\nDaniel Samuelsson, senior defenseman, UNO
\nJared Sylvestre, freshman forward, UAF<\/p>\n
2001-02 Perani Cup Winners<\/b><\/p>\n
Lance Mayes, junior goaltender, UAF
\nTyler Masters, junior goaltender, BGSU
\nChris Kunitz, junior forward, FSU
\nMatt Violin, freshman goaltender, LSSU
\nDavid Burleigh, junior goaltender, Miami
\nJosh Blackburn, senior goaltender, UM
\nRyan Miller, junior goaltender, MSU
\nDan Ellis, sophomore goaltender, UNO
\nChad Theuer, senior forward, NMU
\nDavid Inman, senior forward, ND
\nR.J. Umberger, sophomore forward, OSU
\nJeff Reynaert, senior goaltender, WMU<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The CCHA honored its league award winners at the 2002 CCHA Awards presentation Thursday night in Detroit’s historic Fox Theatre. For the second straight year, Michigan State goaltender Ryan Miller was named the league’s Player of the Year. Alaska-Fairbanks head coach Guy Gadowsky is the 2001-02 Coach of the Year, and Western Michigan’s Pat Dwyer […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":140328,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n