#CommittedLeaders: USPHL Alumni Earned More Than 190 Conference Awards At NCAA Level In 2021-22

After a topsy-turvy 2020-21 season, in which some college hockey teams didn’t get to play a single game, it was largely back to normal for the 2021-22 season with all teams nationwide at the NCAA level playing full seasons.

And with that, for the first time since 2019-20, all conferences gave out awards to the top performers, both during the season and at the end.

#USPHLAlumni performed very well in this respect, earning more than 190 conference awards in the NCAA Division I, II and III levels. This group included 10 All-Americans, two at the Division I level and eight more in the Division III world.

There were also more than 60 USPHL alumni who wore letters of captaincy for their NCAA teams this year, including 15 at the NCAA Division I level. Some kept their letters or were upgraded from prior seasons, which goes to show that USPHL Alumni are #CommittedLeaders. Below is a breakdown by division of some amazing accomplishments by USPHL alumni.

 

NCAA Division I

– Five players earned individual end-of season awards, including ECAC Hockey Player Of The Year Yaniv Perets (Quinnipiac), a former Boston Junior Bruins NCDC player who helped them win the 2019 Dineen Cup. He was one of the two USPHL Alumni who earned Division I All-American honors. Perets was also Goaltender Of The Year.

Three alumni in the Atlantic Hockey Association earned individual postseason awards. Former USPHL Premier standout Colin Bilek and USPHL 16U star Neil Shea tied as Scoring Co-Champion. Former South Shore Kings (NCDC) player Jake Stella was named Best Defensive Forward.

– Colin Bilek joined Perets as the two USPHL alumni earning Division I All-American honors.

– Former Islanders Hockey Club 16U player Jordan Harris earned Hockey East Best Defensive Defenseman honors.

– Thirteen USPHL alumni were named to postseason All-Conference and/or All-Rookie teams.

– USPHL alumni earned 47 weekly awards, and 11 monthly awards.

 

NCAA Division II/III 

Four of the eight USPHL alumni who earned Division III All-American honors were from one team – Utica College. This included the United Collegiate Hockey Conference’s Player Of The Year, former USPHL 18U standout Dante Zapata, and former Charlotte Rush blueliner Justin Allen, named the UCHC Defensive Player Of the Year. Former Hampton Roads Whaler Regen Cavanagh and NCDC alum Buster Larsson were also named All-Americans from Utica.

– Also taking in All-American honors were former Connecticut Jr. Ranger and Endicott College goalie Conor O’Brien, the Commonwealth Coast Conference’s Player and Goaltender Of the Year; Lucas Michaud, a former Islanders Hockey Club player skating for Trinity College, who was also named Player Of The Year in the NESCAC; SUNY-Brockport’s Ryan Romeo, a former Jersey Hitmen player, and SUNY-Geneseo’s Chris Perna, who played in the NCDC, also earned All-American honors, and Romeo was Co-Player Of The Year in the SUNYAC.

USPHL alumni captured 16 individual end-of-season awards across the NCAA Division III landscape, sweeping all four individual awards in both the Commonwealth Coast Conference and Northeast-10 Conference.

– USPHL alumni took in 186 weekly awards in NCAA Division II and III hockey, including more than 50 percent of awards given out in the CCC, MASCAC, Northeast-10, and UCHC.

– Our alumni in the CCC saw the greatest success, winning 43 of 53 weekly awards, or 81 percent.

– More than 40 USPHL alumni wore letters on their chests during the 2021-22 season in NCAA Division II and III hockey.

 

For opportunities to join the USPHL, which has sent more than 4,000 players to college hockey since its 2013 inception, go online to our Tryouts page, featuring contact information for all Member Organizations and information on upcoming camps.