2013 All-USCHO Division III Teams

Erie, Pa (3/23/2013) – USCHO.com released it 2013 All-USCHO men's hockey teams on Friday and Utica College sophomore Louie Educate (Chicago, IL/Aberdeen (NAHL)) and freshman Donny Olivieri (Philadelphia, PA/Bismarck (NAHL)) were both honored.  Educated was a third team selection, while Olivieri was named to the All-Rookie Team.  Utica Head Coach Gary Heenan was a runner-up for the national Coach of the Year Award. The D-III awards are voted on each year by the USCHO.com website's Division III columnists and editor.

Educate, who was also an American Hockey Coaches Association CCM All-American First Team selection, finished the year ranked 23rd in the nation with an average of 1.29 points per game after totaling 18 goals and 18 assists.  He was named the ECAC Men's West Player of the Year this past season after leading the conference in scoring. He also tied for the team-lead with 19 points in conference play. He tied for the team lead with three game-winning goals and he finished the season just one goal shy of the school's single goal scoring record of 19 set by All-American Tim Coffman (Elverson, PA/Laconia (AJHL)) back in 2010. Educate, who spent his freshman campaign at Nichols College, now has 78 career points.

Freshman Donny Olivieri (Philadelphia, PA/Bismarck (NAHL)) finished the season as the highest scoring rookie defender in the nation with an average of 0.81 points per game. The ECAC West All-Rookie selection led the Utica defense with 22 points this season on five goals and 17 assists. On the defensive end he helped UC goalie Nick Therrien (Rochester, NH/NY Apple Core (EJHL)) register a school-record 19 victories, and a 2.21 goals against average, to go along with a .921 save percentage.

As a team, Utica made its first trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament this past season, posting a strong enough regular season resume to earn a bye and an opportunity to host Bowdoin in quarterfinal action at the friendly confines of the Utica Memorial Auditorium.  After falling behind 2-0 to the Bears, UC was able to rally with four unanswered goals to earn the 4-2 victory and a right to play in the coveted frozen four at legendary Herb Brooks Arena.

The Pioneers wrapped up its banner year with another program-best, finishing the season ranked No. 5 in the final edition of the USCHO.com National Poll.  UC (21-6-1) closed out its 2013 season last Friday night with a loss in the NCAA Division III Tournament semifinals in Lake Placid, NY, to the eventual national champion Wisconsin-Eau Claire. The No. 5 ranking is the highest the Pioneers have ever finished in the USCHO.com final regular season poll.

It truly was a record breaking year for the Pioneers as they earned a share of the ECAC Men's West Conference regular season title after posting a school-record 11-3-1 record in conference play. The Pioneers had never won more than nine games in conference play before this season. They won the conference title, an honor they shared with Hobart College, marking their second regular season title in program-history (last time UC won the regular season title was in 2004-05). Despite sharing the ECAC West Regular season title, the Pioneers earned the top seed in the conference tournament due to a 2-1 season series advantage over Hobart.

According to the KRACH rankings on USCHO.com the Pioneers endured the strongest strength of schedule in the country. UC also ranked second, behind Norwich, in Round Robin Winning Percentage (.8899). Round Robin Winning Percentage is what your theoretical winning percentage would be if you played every other team, one time each.

Wisconsin-Eau Claire coach Matt Loen, who led the Blugolds to their best season in school history and finished with their first NCAA national championship in their first D-III Frozen Four, was voted as the USCHO D-III Coach of the Year. Loen beat out Oswego's Ed Gosek and Utica's Gary Heenan for the award.

Wisconsin-Eau Claire and Oswego State, which battled in the final of the Men's Hockey D-III Championship in Lake Placid, each placed three skaters on the All-USCHO teams to lead the way. St. Norbert, Adrian, and Massachusetts-Boston each placed two skaters.