COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Omaha hockey team was one of two National Collegiate Hockey Association teams to place a league-best 20 players on the inaugural Scholar-Athlete Team.
The team, comprised of 133 NCHC players was announced today, the first in a series of post-season awards given by the conference.
In addition, eight student-athletes were named to the first-ever NCHC Scholar-Athlete team, one from each member school. Junior defenseman
Brian O'Rourke represented the Mavericks.
Other members of the 2013-14 NCHC Scholar-Athlete Team are Western Michigan senior forward Chase Balisy, St. Cloud State senior forward Nic Dowd, Minnesota Duluth junior forward Adam Krause, Colorado College senior forward Alexander Krushelnyski, Denver sophomore forward Gabe Levin, Miami sophomore forward Kevin Morris and North Dakota senior defenseman Dillon Simpson.
Each school selected their recipient based on criteria that included having at least a 3.25 grade-point average and having competed in at least 25 percent of their teams' games in their career. Scholar-Athlete Team representatives also demonstrated athletic achievement on the ice and have given back to the community and/or the campus though service opportunities. To be eligible, a student-athlete must have completed a full year at their school.
The inaugural NCHC Scholar-Athlete Team includes five players who wear a letter, including four captains, while seven of the eight members have a GPA north of a 3.6. Half of the team is seniors, while a pair of sophomores and juniors also makes up the squad. Four members of the Scholar-Athlete Team are finance majors, with two others in a business-related field. On the ice, two of the team members finished in the top six in conference-only scoring, while another member led all defensemen in NCHC scoring.
Along with the eight student-athletes on the Scholar-Athlete Team, a total of 133 NCHC student-athletes received Academic All-Conference recognition for achieving a cumulative GPA above 3.0. Year in school and athletic success are not criteria for this award. Nebraska Omaha and St. Cloud State led the way with 20 honorees each, while Denver and Miami each had 19 student-athletes represented on the Academic All-Conference Team. Below is the Mavericks' Academic All-Conference Team:
Omaha
Ian BradyBrian CooperJake GuentzelRyan MassaJaycob MegnaBrock MontpetitBrian O'RourkeAustin OrtegaJustin ParizekAaron PearceReed PetersJames PolkZahn RaubenheimerJohnnie SearfossNick SeelerAlex SimonsonKirk ThompsonRyan WaltersMatt YousoDominic ZomboThe inaugural NCHC Scholar-Athlete of the Year will then be chosen from the Scholar-Athlete Team, with the winner being announced at the NCHC Awards Celebration March 20 in Minneapolis.
