University of Massachusets Athletics
UMass Hockey Celebrates 2007-2008 Season At Annual Banquet
April 05, 2008 | Hockey
April 5, 2008
AMHERST, Mass. - The UMass Hockey team held its annual Reverse Raffle and Banquet this weekend to celebrate the 2007-2008 season. The coaching staff presented a number of awards, voted by the players, to members of the team who helped the squad on and off the ice throughout the duration of the season. Among the awards presented were the Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards. The Minutemen also honored the team's six graduating seniors, Matt Burto, Patrick Dineen, P.J. Fenton, David Leaderer, Mike Kostka, and Assistant Equipment Manager Mike Scire. Each senior was given a gift to thank them for all of their efforts over the past four seasons. Head Coach Don "Toot" Cahoon also announced the captains for the 2008-2009 season. Cory Quirk and Brett Watson will wear the "C" for the Minutemen next season.
Each player was presented with a team picture at the beginning of the ceremony, while some players were awarded a team superlative for their efforts at certain times this season. The Rookie of the Year awarded was presented by Justin Braun, last season's award winner. The Rookie of the Year was given to James Marcou, who led the team in scoring with eight goals and 24 assists. Marcou's work this season earned him a spot on the Hockey East All-Rookie Team, and he was also named the Hockey East Rookie of the Week on several occasions throughout the year.
The Minuteman Spirit Award was presented to graduating senior Patrick Dineen. Dineen played in seven games this season for UMass, and scored his first collegiate goal against New Hampshire on January 11. Dineen played a pivotal role off the ice as well with his leadership and experience.
The Jack Canniff "Unsung Hero" Award was awarded to Watson, who also won the award last season. Watson's hard work, especially on the penalty-kill, earned the respect of his teammates, coaches and fans. Watson appeared in 31 games this season, tallying one goal and three assists.
The Most Improved Player was given to two players this season, Marc Concannon and Kevin Kessler. Although their efforts were not always shown on the score-sheet, their hard work with Strength and Conditioning Coach Chris Boyko earned each of them more playing time. Concannon dressed for 15 games, scoring his lone point on a goal at Northeastern on February 15. Kessler appeared in 10 games this season, tallying a goal and an assist. He scored his first collegiate goal on February 2 against Maine.
The Coaches' Award was presented to Assistant Equipment Manager Mike Scire, who is a senior at UMass. Scire has been with UMass Hockey for the past three years, helping Equipment Manager Josh Penn in the day-to-day agenda of the team.
The Most Valuable Player Award was given to the Captain of the Minutemen, Mike Kostka. Kostka appeared in every game this season for the Minutemen, tallying nine goals and 12 assists for 21 points. Kostka also led the team in power play goals with seven and a +11 rating. Kostka was also named to the Hockey East Second Team. His leadership skills throughout the season led his teammates to vote him the recipient of the award.
