Thursday, March 3, 2022

Ryan Romeo recognized as the best

 Brockport defender Ryan Romeo was named the 2022 SUNYAC Herb Hammond Player of the Year and the Defensive Player of the Year in a release by the conference office on Thursday.  Romeo shared the Herb Hammond award with Cortland goalie Luca Durante.   

Romeo is just the second player in program-history since the 1982-1983 season when the award was created to earn the Herb Hammond Player of the Year Award. He joins James Cody, who was named the Player of the Year following the 2011-12 season. He is the first SUNY Brockport skater to earn SUNYAC Defensive Player of the Year since the award was created in 2016.
 
Romeo recently made his third straight all-conference appearance, including his second straight first-team selection.  He is the third (two of his own) Brockport selection to the All-Conference first team dating back to 2016 when Chase Nieuwendyk was named a first team forward.  The first team selection marks the 10th time in program history that a Brockport player has been picked to the SUNYAC's top all-conference team.  He joins Nieuwendyk and Chris Luker as the program's only two-time first team selections. 
 
His 37 points this season are the most for a Golden Eagle since Nieuwendyk registered 37 points back in 2016.  His 25 assists this season are the most for a Golden Eagle since Ian Finnerty registered 25 assists back in 2012. His 25 assists this season are tied for seventh on the program's all-time single season list. He ranks second nationally among defenders in total points and 16th nationally among all skaters.  Over the course of his career at Brockport he has played in 97 career games, and he has 87 total points on 28 goals and 59 assists.

Brockport capped its season with a 14-11-2 overall record and an appearance in the SUNYAC Conference Tournament Semifinals.  Their appearance in the semifinals was the program's first since 2015.