FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ravens Earn a Pair of Major Awards.
MANSFIELD, Mass. – For the second-consecutive season, Franklin Pierce's Alex Lester has been voted the Northeast-10 Conference Ice Hockey Player of the Year – becoming just the fourth player to earn multiple Player of the Year honors since the NE10 began to sponsor ice hockey in 1999-2000.
Lester highlights the All-Conference selections by the league's head coaches, as announced on Tuesday afternoon by the NE10 office. He is the first player to earn back-to-back Player of the Year recognition since Assumption's Taylor Larsen in 2010-11 and 2011-12.
Additionally for Franklin Pierce, Shaun Millerick has become the first-ever recipient of the Lance "Duke" Brady Coach of the Year award. The newly-named award is in honor of Lance Brady, former Assumption ice hockey coach, who passed away in February of 2019.
Saint Michael's Sel Narby was tabbed Defensive Player of the Year, while Stonehill's Matthew Schoen and Southern New Hampshire's George Thurston were honored with Goaltender and Rookie of the Year, respectively.
Saint Anselm led all teams with six players earning an All-Conference nod, while Saint Michael's was second with four. Only Stonehill had multiple First Team selections, as Cameron Wright joined Schoen with that recognition.
Lester had another monster season for the Ravens, who grabbed the final NE10 playoff spot on the last day of the regular season – earning a trip to Assumption on Saturday for a semifinal matchup. The senior forward led all NE10 players in scoring with 38 points, coming on league-highs of 17 goals and 21 assists. His best performance of the season came in a four-point outing (three goals, one assist) against Saint Anselm on Dec. 7, netting the Ravens a 5-3 victory.
Narby was a big reason for Saint Michael's making a run in the second half of the season, as his defensive play helped the Purple Knights allow just 79 goals this season – the second-fewest in the NE10. He accounted for eight goals and 18 assists (26 points total) this season, while racking up six multi-point games. Saint Michael's earned a semifinal home game on Saturday as the No. 2 seed in the league championship.
Schoen netted the highest save percentage among NE10 goaltenders this season at .932, helping the Skyhawks to a 5-2-1 record in the month of February and a place in the NE10 Championship as the No. 3 seed. His 10 wins between the pipes ranked second in the league, while his 748 saves and 1228:37 minutes in goal this season were both league-highs.
A sensational rookie campaign for Thurston included 20 points, with 12 goals and eight assists, making him Southern New Hampshire's leading scorer in his first season as a member of the reigning league champion. Thurston's biggest game was a four-goal effort in a 5-1 victory against Franklin Pierce back on Nov. 8. He is the first Penmen since James Gabrione (2012-13) to win NE10 Rookie of the Year.
On the final day of the season, Millerick and the Ravens grinded out a crucial 1-0 win against Assumption to earn a place in the NE10 playoffs – leading him to being named the recipient of the Lance "Duke" Brady Coach of the Year award. Franklin Pierce went 15-11-4 this season, including 8-7-3 (19 points) in league play. He becomes just the second coach in Ravens' history to win Coach of the Year (Jaymie Harrington, 2012-13).
The NE10 semifinals are scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 29, as top-seeded Assumption hosts Franklin Pierce at 8:30 p.m. and second-seeded Saint Michael's welcomes Stonehill at 4 p.m. The championship game is scheduled for Saturday, March 7, and the highest seed remaining will serve as host.
Player of the Year
Alex Lester, Franklin Pierce
Defensive Player of the Year
Sel Narby, Saint Michael's
Goaltender of the Year
Matthew Schoen, Stonehill
Rookie of the Year
George Thurston, SNHU
Lance "Duke" Brady NE10 Coach of the Year
Shaun Millerick, Franklin Pierce
All-Conference First Team
Alex Lester, Franklin Pierce, F
Mike Ferraro, Saint Anselm, F
Cameron Wright, Stonehill, F
Sel Narby, Saint Michael's, D
Robert Roche, Assumption, D
Matthew Schoen, Stonehill, G
All-Conference Second Team
Robert Holyoke, Assumption, F
Tyler Hackett, Post, F
Anthony Iacullo, Saint Anselm, F
Jeremy Routh, Saint Michael's, F
Dave Almeida, Saint Anselm, D
Liam O'Sullivan, Saint Anselm, D
Joe Fiorino, SNHU, D
Brandon Brown, Post, G
Tim Decker, Saint Michael's, G
All-Rookie Team
Conor Foley, Franklin Pierce
Andrew Andary, Saint Anselm
Nick Howard, Saint Anselm
Jeremy Routh, Saint Michael's
Matt Schreiner, Saint Michael's
James Nash, SNHU
George Thurston, SNHU
Brendan Nehmer, Stonehill
ABOUT THE NE10
The NE10 is an association of 14 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.
Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.