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Men's Ice Hockey Hands Out Awards at Annual Banquet
May 12, 2008
ORONO, Maine--The University of Maine men's ice hockey program handed out awards at the Friends of Maine Hockey 2008 Annual Awards Banquet on Friday night at Jeff's Catering in Brewer, Maine. The program started with a welcome by Friends of Maine Hockey President Jamie Moreau, before being handed over to Master of Ceremonies and voice of the Black Bears Dan Hannigan. The first award of the night, the Madeline Bacon Spirit Award went to the Maine Student Section. Jamie Moreau was named the Friends of Maine Hockey Volunteer of the Year for her outstanding contributions to the program in her first season as President. Alan Kochis and Rod White where honored for their 30 years of volunteer support for helping keep statistics since the program began. The Dale Lick Academic Achievement Award, presented by academic advisor Crissy Kerluke, went to Chris Hahn (Fort Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan). For the second year in a row, he has posted the highest team grade point average. The Most Honored Opponent Award was give to New Hampshire's Mike Radja. Ben Bishop (Des Peres, Mo.) was named the recipient of the Coca Cola Three Stars Award. The three stars of the game are selected after every contest by members of the media. At the end of the year, the results of are tabulated and Bishop was chosen as the recipient. The Stein Award, given to the player who by a variety of methods brings the team to the proper emotional level for the game, was given to Rob Bellamy (Westfield, Mass.). Bellamy finished third on the team in scoring with five goals and 13 assists for 18 points. The Ocean Properties Unsung Hero Award went to Wes Clark (Oakville, Ontario). The award honors a player, who although not always receiving a lot of public recognition, was crucial to the team's success. Clark, who posted a career-high 13 points a year ago, shattered that this season when he led the team in scoring with 10 goals and 11 assists for 21 points.
The Richard Britt Perseverance Award went to Billy Ryan (Milton, Mass.) who was limited to 25 games during the 2007-08 season after being hampered by injuries. He scored six goals and 10 assists for 16 points while truly serving as a leader of the team during the season. Ryan was also recently honored with the University of Maine Outstanding Achievement Award for Community Service for his unselfish volunteer work throughout the greater Orono community the past few years. He was selected from the entire Maine student-body population for this award. The Jack Semler Most Improved Player Award went to Jeff Marshall (Kyle, Saskatchewan). Marshall, who had seen action in just 19 games his first two years in Orono without registering a point, was the lone Black Bear forward to play in all 34 games this season. He scored five goals and added six assists to finish the year with 11 points. He will be the top returning scoring forward for the 2008-09 season. Andrew Sweetland (Bonavista, Newfoundland) was named the Howard Neville Rookie of the Year. Sweetland, who recently signed a professional contract with the Florida Panthers, finished fourth on the team in scoring with eight goals and nine assists for 17 points. Senior captain Travis Ramsey (Lakewood, Calif.) was honored with the Shawn Walsh Defensive Player of the Year Award. Ramsey, the winner of the 2008 M Club Dean Smith Award, excelled both on and off the ice during the 2007-08 season. He was named an official candidate for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. He was also named the M Club Male Athlete of the Year. On the ice, Ramsey scored four goals and added eight assist for 12 points from the blueline. The Harold Alfond Most Valuable Player Award went to Bishop. Bishop, who after the season signed with his hometown St. Louis Blues, finished 13-18-3 in 2007-08 with a 2.43 goals against average and a .920 save percentage. He was named to the Hockey East Second Team in 2008. The night also featured a Video Highlight presentation by Dan Kerluke and Robbie Hayes. All eight Maine seniors gave speeches that reflected on their four years in Orono. There was also a silent and live auction. There were Player Presentations by Simon Danis-Pepin (Vaudreuil-Dorion, Quebec) and Marshall, who have been selected captains for the 2008-09 season. Following the banquet on Saturday, May 10, all eight seniors: Rob Bellamy, Nolan Boike (Arlington, Mass.), Wes Clark, Keenan Hopson (Prince George, British Columbia), Vince Laise (Brampton, Ontario), Travis Ramsey, Billy Ryan and Bret Tyler (Maynard, Mass.) graduated from the University of Maine. -U-M- |
