DANBURY, Conn. – The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Men’s West Hockey League announced its yearly awards and all-conference teams.
Hobart College, the top seed in the 2016 ECAC Men’s West Tournament, captured three of four major awards, as senior forward Mac Olson was tabbed as Player of the Year, senior forward Ben Gamache garnered the Defensive Player of the Year honor and Mark Taylor collected his second Coach of the Year award in as many seasons. Utica College’s Hayden Dawes was voted the league’s Rookie of the Year to round out the yearly awards.
Olson earns the Player of the Year award after finishing with 17 points in 15 ECAC West games. The senior recorded nine goals and eight assists in conference action, second-most in the league in those regards, while also serving as the lynchpin of a Statesmen’s penalty kill which neutralized 92.3 percent of opposing power-play opportunities in ECAC West play, best in the league. Olson also proved his durability in 2015-16, skating in all 25 games for Hobart while serving as co-captain.
Gamache captures the Defensive Player of the Year honor after exhibiting a commitment to two-way hockey in 2015-16 which proved key to helping Hobart allow a league-low 32 goals in ECAC West play. Despite being limited to just 11 games in conference action, the senior posted 15 points on five goals and 10 assists to finish in the top five for assists, points and plus-minus (plus-12). Additionally, the co-captain played a large role on special teams for the Statesmen, helping Hobart post the second-most power-play goals in league play (12) along with the conference’s top penalty kill (92.3 percent).
Dawes takes home Rookie of the Year accolades after a strong start to his collegiate career. The rookie picked up points in his first eight games for the Pioneers and continued that output through much of the season. The first-year forward led Utica with 10 points in conference play (five goals, five assists) and 17 points overall (nine goals, eight assists), with the Alberta native’s 10 points in league play also leading all ECAC West rookies. Dawes was previously named ECAC West Rookie of the Week for the week ending Jan. 3.
Taylor was voted Coach of the Year by his peers for the second-straight season after steering the Statesmen to a 19-4-2 overall record to go along with a 12-3-0 mark against league opposition. Taylor’s charges posted a perfect 11-0-0 mark on their home ice in 2015-16 en route to capturing the top overall seed in the 2016 ECAC Men’s West Tournament. In his 15th season behind the bench for Hobart, the 2016 ECAC West Coach of the Year award marks the sixth such recognition of his career.
2016 ECAC MEN’S WEST MAJOR AWARD WINNERS
- Player of the Year: Mac Olson – Hobart College
- Defensive Player of the Year: Ben Gamache – Hobart College
- Rookie of the Year: Hayden Dawes – Utica College
- Coach of the Year: Mark Taylor – Hobart College
2016 ECAC MEN’S WEST ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS
All-ECAC Second Team
- F: Carter Shinkaruk – Elmira College
- F: Stephen Gaul – Manhattanville College
- F: Brian Depp – Elmira College
- D: Jon Neal – Hobart College
- D: Anthony Ragone – Manhattanville College
- G: Michael Fredrick – Utica College
ECAC West All-Rookie Team
- F: Hayden Dawes – Utica College
- F: Cory Anderson – Manhattanville College
- F: Matt Lippa – Manhattanville College
- D: Tanner Shaw – Hobart College
- D: J.R. Wojciechowski – Nazareth College
- G: Michael Fredrick – Utica College