ECAC West Release
Utica, N.Y. (2/25/2011) – Four student-athletes on the Utica College men's hockey team were named to ECAC Men's West All-Conference teams and Head Gary
Gary Heenan was selected as the Conference's Coach of the Year for the second time in his career on Friday. Junior captain
Tim Coffman (Elverson, PA/Laconia (AJHL)) was named to the all-conference first team, sophomore
Evan Chlanda (Islip, NY/Springfield (EJHL)) was a second team selection and freshman
Trever Hertz (Jaffray, British Columbia/Quesnel Millionaires (BCHL)),
Evan Smith (Penticton, British Columbia/Calgary Royals (AJHL)) and
Mike Slowikowski (Ewing, NJ/N.J. Hitmen (EJHL)) earned all-rookie team accolades.
The nationally-ranked No. 9 Pioneers, who have won a program-record 17 games and have been a
fixture in the nation's top 15 all season, will return to the ice on Saturday when they travel to second seeded Neumann University for a semi-final game of the ECAC Men's West Conference Tournament at 7:30 p.m.
Coach Heenan, in his tenth season as the Pioneers head coach, was also named the conference's coach of the year in 2004-05 after the Pioneers won the regular season title. Heenan, who is the only head coach in the program's history, has 129 wins under his belt. He has led Utica to eight straight conference tournament appearances and they have won ten games or more in nine out of ten seasons. Over the course of his career he has coached two ECAC West Rookies of the Year, a Goalie of the Year, a Defensive Player of the Year and an outright Player of the Year.
Coffman, who was the conference's rookie of the year two years ago, is making his first appearance on the first team and he leads the conference in scoring and ranks 23rd in the nation with 1.42 points per game headed into post season play. He has totaled 34 points (11 goals, 24 assists) through 25 games. Coffman tallied seven multi-point games this season and totaled a career-high six assists in the Pioneers' win over Franklin Pierce on Oct. 29. Earlier this season Coffman became the second player in program-history to score 100 or more career points and he needs 14 more points to break the school's all-time scoring record.
Chlanda, who was an all-rookie team selection one year ago, ranks second on the team with 26 points on 11 goals and 15 assists. He scored four points on two different occasions and he led UC with six goals in conference play. Chlanda enters conference play with 40 career points (20 goals, 20 assists).
Freshman forward
Trever Hertz (Jaffray, British Columbia/Quesnel Millionaires (BCHL)), goalie
Evan Smith (Penticton, British Columbia/Calgary Royals (AJHL)) and defender
Mike Slowikowski (Ewing, NJ/N.J. Hitmen (EJHL)) each earned all-rookie team status after phenomenal
freshman campaigns. Hertz currently ranks fourth on the team with 20 points (ten goals, ten assists). Hertz's point production has come in spurts so far this season as he totaled four games with two points or more. He posted a career-best five points in the Pioneers' win over Franklin Pierce on Oct. 29. He finished the year ranked 30th nationally among rookie scorers with an average of .80 points per game.
Smith, who split time all year with classmate
Nick Therrien (Rochester, NH/NY Apple Core (EJHL)), finished the regular season with a 9-3-1 record. He enters the conference tournament ranked sixth in the country and leading the conference with a 1.99 goals against average. He also ranks 15th nationally with a .921 save percentage.
Slowikowski played in all 26 games and record ten points on the defensive end. He helped the Pioneer goalies to a combined 2.26 goals against average and he also helped the UC defense kill 84.3 percent of the opponents power-play opportunities.
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