University of Massachusets Athletics
UMass Places 12 On Hockey East All-Academic Team
June 09, 2008 | Hockey
June 9, 2008
AMHERST, Mass. - Headlined by Mike Kostka earning Distinguished Scholar accolades, 12 members of the University of Massachusetts hockey team were named to the Hockey East All-Academic Team as announced by the league office. UMass had the third highest amount of student-athletes honored just behind Maine (16) and UMass Lowell (13). To be named to the All-Academic Team, student-athletes must achieve a 3.0 grade point average in each semester of competition during the school year.
The 12 Minutemen honored is the second-most in program history behind the league-leading 13 who were honored following the 2006-07 season.
Kostka is the first Minuteman since Peter Trovato in 2005 to earn Distinguished Scholar honors. To be named a Distinguished Scholar, a student-athlete must maintain a 3.0 GPA in each of semester over his four-year career.
Joining Kostka on the All-Academic Team are Scott Crowder(+++; Nashua, N.H.), Paul Dainton (Genelle, British Columbia), Patrick Dineen (+++; Bohemia, N.Y.), Martin Nolet (++; Quebec City, Quebec), Brian Keane (Shortsville, N.Y.), Kevin Kessler (++; Marshfield, Mass.), Kostka (*, Ajax, Ontario), Michael Lecomte (St. Hyacinthe, Quebec), James Marcou (Kings Park, N.Y.), Will Ortiz (++; Framingham, Mass.), Brett Watson (++; Media, Pa.), and John Wessbecker (+++, Victoria, Minn.).
[+ denotes each year on the team; * denotes Distinguished Scholar]
For Hockey East, a league-record 91 players were named to the All-Academic Team.
Maine's senior captain, Travis Ramsey (Lakewood, Calif.), UNH senior assistant captain Brad Flaishans (Glendale, Ariz.) and Kostka earned "Distinguished Scholar" status.
Flaishans, Maine's Chris Hahn (Fort Qu'Appelle, Sask.) and Frank Stegnar (Toronto, Ont.) of the UMass-Lowell River Hawks were the first ever trio to be named Hockey East's Top Scholar-Athlete. It marks the first time in the 24-year history of the league that three student-athletes achieved a 4.00 GPA.
