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University of Massachusets Athletics
UMass Hockey Announces Team Awards At Annual Banquet
April 18, 2015 | Hockey
April 18, 2015
AMHERST, Mass. - The Massachusetts hockey program announced its team award winners as the squad held its annual banquet on Saturday afternoon in the Massachusetts Room in the Mullins Center. All four classes were represented among the honorees, which were headlined by Frank Vatrano claiming Team MVP recognition.
Vatrano posted a team-high 18 goals to go along with 10 assists in 2014-15, finishing second on the squad in scoring after appearing in all 36 games. The East Longmeadow, Mass., native ranked 10th in Hockey East in goals scored, sixth in power-play goals (6) and first in shots on goal (194). In League play, Vatrano registered 15 points on nine goals and six assists in 22 Hockey East games. He was a Walter Brown Award Semifinalist and a candidate for the Hobey Baker Award in 2014-15, as well. Vatrano became the sixth Minuteman in UMass' Hockey East era to score at least 18 goals in one season and his 18 tallies were the most by a UMass player since 2009-10.
Troy Power, the ninth two-year captain in program history and the fourth in the team's Modern Era, received the Minuteman Award, which is presented to the player "recognized by the team for having exemplified the standards upon which the UMass program is built...dedication, determination, character and sportsmanship."
Power saw action in 31 games in his final year in the Maroon & White and logged 16 points on six goals and a career-high 10 assists with four power-play goals and one game winner. He appeared in 20 Hockey East games and contributed four goals and six assists in those contests. Power reached the century mark in games played on Nov. 21, 2014, vs. Boston College and scored his 50th career point this season as well, notching the tying goal that ultimately forced overtime in UMass' 5OT victory at Notre Dame in the Hockey East Tournament.
Freshman Dennis Kravchenko was selected as the team's Rookie of the Year after he finished fifth in the nation in freshman scoring in 2014-15 with 33 points on 10 goals and a team-best 23 assists over 36 games. The Laguna Niguel, Calif., native became the first freshman to lead UMass in scoring since 2007-08 and just the third in the program's Hockey East era.
His totals included three power-play goals and one game winner with six points on the power play, while he also assisted four of UMass' eight shorthanded goals. Kravchenko won a squad-best 371 draws and posted a .499 faceoff percentage. In Hockey East play, Kravchenko had a team-high 21 points (8g, 13a) in 22 league contests to rank 10th in the league and second among freshmen.
Junior Shane Walsh and senior Oleg Yevenko shared the Jack Canniff Unsung Hero Award, "given to the UMass player recognized by his teammates to have contributed the most to the team without receiving the recognition that others have."
Walsh had a breakout year, more than tripling his career total in goals scored from his two previous seasons in a UMass uniform, finishing second on the team with 14 tallies. The West Roxbury, Mass., native had career high 22 points (14g, 8a) in 36 games and led the Minutemen with three game-winners.
Remarkably, 12 of Walsh's 14 tallies came in the second half of the season over a span of 18 games and he ranked in the top 25 nationally in goals scored after Jan. 1. Among those, Walsh netted one of the most memorable goals in program history, ending the longest game in NCAA Division I Hockey history after 151 minutes, 42 seconds, with the game winner for the Minutemen in the fifth overtime at Notre Dame in the Hockey East Tournament.
Yevenko recorded a career-high five points with five assists in 36 games in 2014-15, three of which came in Hockey East play. The Minsk, Belarus, native ranked second in Hockey East with 81 blocked shots, 11th nationally. He blocked a career high seven shots in UMass' 3-2 win on the road at #14 Quinnipiac in November, one of five games in 2014-15 where he registered five or more blocks.
Freshman Riley McDougall received the team's Most Improved Player award. McDougall scored all five of his goals in his final 13 games of the season, including his first career shorthanded goal at Notre Dame in the Hockey East Tournament. The Calgary, Alberta, native, tied for second among the team's freshmen in goals scored with five, helping UMass finish second in the nation in freshmen scoring in 2014-15.