Friday, February 24, 2012

CODY IS THE CONFERENCE'S BEST!

The State University of New York Athletic Conference has announced the Coach of the Year, Herb Hammond (Player) of the Year and Rookie of the Year awards for the 2011-12 men’s ice hockey season. The awards are voted on by the conference coaches.

The Player of the Year award is named after Herb Hammond who coached at SUNY Oswego (1969-1980) and Plattsburgh (1981-83). At Oswego he compiled a 176-122-5 mark and at Plattsburgh a 52-17-4 record. He was named the 1982 Division III Coach of the Year. He also coached at Division I Brown University from 1983-88. He left coaching to become a National Hockey League score for 11 seasons before his death in 2009.

The 2012 Herb Hammond award goes to The College at Brockport senior forward James Cody (Schwenksville, PA). This is the first time a Brockport athlete has been voted the Player of the Year since the award began in 1983-84. Cody is a two time All-SUNYAC selection including first team honors this season. Cody scored 11 goals and had eight assists in 15 SUNYAC regular-season games. Overall, he ranked 22nd in points per game (1.42) in NCAA Division III with 19 goals and 15 assists. His 19 goals led the conference this season while his 34 points ranks fifth. During the 2011-12 season, Cody eclipsed the 100 points mark for his career as he finished with 116 career points (60 goals, 56 assists) and led the Golden Eagles in scoring three of his four years.

Fredonia forward Jared Wynia (Calgary, Alberta) has been selected the Rookie of the year. Wynia is the third Blue Devil to earn the honor and the first since Eric Preston in 1993-94. The other Fredonia rookie was Paul Kkwiatkowski (1988-89).

Wynia has played in 19 games this season and ranks fifth on the team with 15 points on nine goals and six assists. Six of his goals have been scored on the power play, ranking him third in the conference as Fredonia is effective 21.5 percent of the time. Wynia helped lead the Blue Devils to a No. 5 seed in the conference tournament with a league record of 6-7-3. Fredonia defeated fourth-seeded Geneseo in the quarterfinals, 4-1, and will face No. 1 Oswego in the semifinals for the second straight year on Feb. 25.

Plattsburgh State head coach Bob Emery has been named the SUNYAC Coach of the Year for the sixth time in his career. In his 23rd season behind the Cardinal bench, he has guided his team to a current 17-4-4 overall record and a No. 2 seed in the conference tournament with a league mark of 12-3-1. During the season Emery became the 20th coach in NCAA history to attain 500 wins, and just the fifth to do it exclusively at the Division III level. The Cardinals are the second-seed for the sixth time in tournament history, making 21 consecutive trips to the SUNYAC post-season and 25th overall.


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