SUNYAC Announces 2020 Top Awards for Men's Ice Hockey
CORTLAND, N.Y. - The 2020 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) men's ice hockey awards have been nominated and voted on by the conference coaches. The honors include the Herb Hammond Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Goaltender of the Year and Rookie of the Year.
Geneseo and Oswego will face off in the 2020 SUNYAC men's ice hockey championship, Saturday at 7 p.m. at Geneseo's Wilson Ice Arena. Visit mysunyacstore.com for all SUNYAC men's ice hockey championship apparel available now until March 10.
Herb Hammond Player of the Year - Conlan Keenan, Sr, Geneseo
Conlan Keenan's phenomenal senior season has given him his second straight Herb Hammond Player of the Year Award. The First team All American last year picked up where he left off, totaling 50 points with 22 goals and 28 assists -- helping the Knights sit at the top as the No. 1 scoring offense in Division III. Keenan is also fourth in the nation for goals per game (.85). He was a force to be reckoned with in the SUNYAC, leading the conference in goals (22), while having three game winning goals and two hat tricks. Keenan currently has 86 career goals and 86 career assists, putting him third in goals and among the top 10 in points (172) in school history. The Knights will face Oswego on Saturday, looking to clinch their third-straight SUNYAC title and seventh overall.
Defensive Player of the Year - Charlie Manley, Sr, Fredonia
Charlie Manley was a crucial part of the Fredonia defense that held its conference opponents to 51 goals during the 2019-20 campaign. Manley was also a contributor to the offense this season tallying 17 points on 10 goals and seven assists. While Manley was a scoring defenseman all year, his play was also backed up by relentless toughness, with 15 blocks in his senior year he helped his goaltenders reach a .912 save percentage during the 2019-20 season.
Co-Goaltender of the Year - Emil Norrman, Fr, Buffalo State
Emil Norrman, the 6'1 freshmen from Kungsbacka, Sweden had a 2.11 goals against average, which was third in the SUNYAC and a .932 save percentage, which took the top spot in the conference and 16th in Division III this season. Norrman also tallied two shutouts this year against Brockport and Oswego, which contributed to Buffalo State being in the top five in all defensive stats in the SUNYAC, including saves, save perecentage, goals against, goals against average and power play goals against. Norrman was a two-time SUNYAC Goaltender of the Week and also had one goal during his freshman campaign against Oswego.
Co-Goaltender of the Year - Aaron Mackay, Jr, Geneseo
Aaron Mackay was respectively one of the best goaltenders in the nation this year being ranked nationally in all positional accolades. So far this season, Mackay posted a 1.97 goals against average which is second in the SUNYAC and 13th in Division III, while holding a .916 save percentage which puts him in the top five in the conference. The Geneseo Knights, with the help of Mackay in net, is No. 1 in the SUNYAC for win percentage, team goals against and power play goals against. Geneseo clinched the No. 1 seed going into the SUNYAC playoffs with a 13-1-2 conference record. In his third season with the Geneseo Knights, Mackay had two shutouts, one coming on Saturday night against Potsdam in the SUNYAC semifinal. With the win, the Knights will compete for their third-straight SUNYAC title as they host the championship game against Oswego on Saturday.
Rookie of the Year - Nikita Kozyrev, Fr, Buffalo State
Nikita Kozyrev, the freshman forward from Tallinn, Estonia tallied 32 points with nine goals and 23 assists, which is tied for third in the conference. Kozyrev finished 23rd in Division III for assists per game with .88 and 41st nationally for points per game. He was a huge contributor to the dynamic Buffalo State offense, that was third in the conference in goals per game. The rookie also had two game winning goals and five power play goals in his 2019-20 campaign. Kozyrev was named SUNYAC Rookie of the Week four times and SUNYAC Athlete of the Week once, making him the player with the most ice hockey weekly awards this season.
