March 17, 2010

Complete Hockey East Release in PDF Format

Seniors Ben Holmstrom (Colorado Springs, CO) and Carter Hutton (Thunder Bay, Ont.) were honored by the Hockey East Association on Wednesday for their outstanding seasons with the River Hawks. Holmstrom was named the Gladiator Hockey Best Defensive Forward, while Hutton was honored as the Bauer Goaltending Champion.

Holmstrom was recognized for his tenacity and fearless style of play on the defensive end. The first UMass Lowell skater to receive the honor since Doug Nolan (1998-99), Holmstrom finished the season with a plus-seven rating. A River Hawk captain for the past three seasons, the Colorado native orchestrates the forwards on the ice and was a staple of the penalty kill unit.

"Ben epitomizes what Lowell hockey is all about," said head coach Blaise MacDonald. "He competes every second of every shift and is very difficult to play against. He always rose to the occasion at the most critical moments, whether it was a key faceoff win or a big penalty kill. It is a very fitting award and honor for Ben."

In addition to his defensive prowess, Holmstrom enjoyed one of his finer offensive seasons as well. Tied for fourth among the River Hawks, he finished the season with 23 points on nine goals and 14 assists. Holmstrom also led the team with four game-winning goals.

Hutton was bestowed the goaltending honor after finishing with the best goals against average (2.04) and save percentage (.928) among Hockey East netminders in overall play. In league action, Hutton ranked second in save percentage (.920) and third in goals against average (2.35).The Ontario native also led the conference with four shutouts.

"Carter played terrific hockey for us throughout his career," MacDonald said. "He capped off his senior season with outstanding play in net. He gave our team a chance to win every single night and really added an offensive transitional dimension to our game."

Finishing out his career this weekend, Hutton has cemented his legacy with the program after breaking three UMass Lowell records this season. He is now the River Hawks' all-time career leader in shutouts (10), goals against average (2.33) and tied with Nevin Hamilton (Ashland, MA) for career save percentage (.913). In addition, Hutton also set the program's single season record for save percentage.

Narrowly missing out on a third award for UMass Lowell, senior Jeremy Dehner (Madison, WI) finished as the runner-up for the Old Time Hockey Best Defensive Defenseman to Justin Braun (Vadnais Heights, MN) of Massachusetts.