Hockey announces 2018-19 team awards

HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Michigan Tech hockey team held its annual awards team dinner on Tuesday (April 16). Head coach Joe Shawhan recognized seven different Huskies with senior forward Jake Lucchini taking home the Merv Youngs Award as the team's most valuable player. 

Lucchini (Trail, British Columbia) received both the Merv Youngs MVP Award and the Gary Crosby Memorial Award as the teams' leading scorer for the second season in a row. Lucchini never missed a game in his Tech career, skating in 164 contests. He led all active college players in the category and finished one game short of tying a Tech record. Lucchini became the 66th player in Tech history to reach 100 career points, finishing with 104 points on 45 goals and 59 assists. As a senior, he co-captained the Huskies and led the team in points with 26 on 11 goals and 15 assists. Lucchini was named to the WCHA All-Academic team. He signed an NHL contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins on March 11 and played 15 games for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the AHL at the end of their regular season.

Senior forward Dylan Steman (Hanover, Minnesota) collected the Harold Meese Sportsmanship Award and the George McCarthy Performance Award for Scholastic and Athletic Achievement. Steman played 154 career games for the Huskies over five seasons. He tallied 70 points on 27 goals and 43 assists. He was a four-time WCHA Scholar-Athlete, four-time WCHA All-Academic team member, Tech co-captain in 2018-19, and alternate captain in 2017-18. Steman signed with the Hershey Bears on March 27 and appeared in four games at the end of the regular season. The Bears begin a Calder Cup Playoff run Friday against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

Senior goaltender Devin Kero (Hancock, Michigan) earned the John MacInnes Slide Rule Award for his 4.0 GPA as he pursues his MBA. He was a four-time WCHA Scholar-Athlete and a four-time member of the WCHA All-Academic Team. Kero appeared in 30 games in his Tech career and held a 2.61 goals-against average and .905 save percentage. As a senior, he had 2.34 goals-against average and .912 save percentage in nine games. Kero stopped 20-of-21 shots in a 2-1 win over Alaska (Nov. 23) on Copper Country Strong night. He rounded out his career not allowing a goal over his final 60 minutes and 26 seconds.

Sophomore defenseman Seamus Donohue (North Oaks, Minnesota) was presented with the Gitzen-Loutit Memorial Award as the outstanding defensive player. He skated in all 38 games and led the team with 21 assists while adding a goal for a career-high 22 points. He had five multi-point games, including three assists in a 3-2 win over Alaska Anchorage (Feb. 22). Donohue was second on the team and ninth in the WCHA with 58 blocked shots. He was named the WCHA Defensive Player of the Week on November 12 after tallying three assists in a sweep at Ferris State. Donohue was named a WCHA Scholar-Athlete and to the WCHA All-Academic Team.

Junior forward Raymond Brice (Houghton, Michigan) received the Rick Yeo Unsung Hero Award. He skated in 28 games and scored three goals while adding seven assists. Brice had a goal and an assist in a 5-4 win at Ferris State (Nov. 9) and also scored at Clarkson (Nov. 16) and in Game 1 of the WCHA Playoffs at Bowling Green (March 8). Tech was 5-1 when he recorded an assist. He was named to the WCHA All-Academic Team.

Forward Brian Halonen (Delano, Minnesota) took home the Norbert Matovich Memorial Outstanding Freshman Award. Halonen was named to the WCHA All-Rookie Team after he led the Huskies—and all WCHA rookies—with 12 goals after skating in 35-of-38 games this season. He also added nine assists and was third on Tech with 21 points to rank third amongst WCHA freshmen. Six of his points came on the power play with three goals and three assists. Halonen also ranked third amongst league freshmen with 87 shots on goal.

Sophomore defenseman Tyler Rockwell (San Jose, California) picked up the Elov Seger Memorial Most Improved Player Award. He played in 35-of-38 games in his second season and tallied seven points while leading the Huskies with a plus-6 rating. Rockwell was named the WCHA Defensive Player of the Week on November 26 after tallying three points in a sweep of Alaska. He scored his first career goal and had a pair of assists versus the Nanooks on November 24. Rockwell was named to the WCHA All-Academic Team. He also scored at Bowling Green (Jan. 12).

Merv Youngs Award (Team MVP)
The award is named after Merv Youngs, a journalist and editor for the Daily Mining Gazette. Youngs is credited with convincing Doc Gibson to join and organize the Portage Lake hockey organization.

Gary Crosby Memorial Award (Leading Scorer)
The award is named after Gary Crosby who led Tech in scoring his sophomore season and was drafted and signed by the LA Kings after the season. Unfortunately, he was killed in a car accident soon after. He played 67 games for the Huskies from 1970-72.

Harold Meese Sportsmanship Award
The award is named after Harold Meese, a professor and dean of students at Michigan Tech from 1947-83. He was an active supporter of the Huskies and has a sportsmanship award named in his honor across all sports teams. Meese was inducted into the Michigan Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 1986.

George McCarthy Performance Award for Scholastic and Athletic Achievement
The award is named after the late George McCarthy, a former hockey player and member of Michigan Tech's Sports Hall of Fame. McCarthy played for the Huskies from 1935-38 and was named the team MVP all three seasons.

John MacInnes Slide Rule Award
The award is named after legendary hockey coach John MacInnes who had a record of 555-295-39 from 1956-82. MacInnes was most proud of the fact that 94 percent of his hockey letter winners graduated with degrees. He won three NCAA Championships as head coach of the Huskies and is in the US Hockey Hall of Fame, UP Sports Hall of Fame, and Michigan Tech Sports Hall of Fame.

Gitzen-Loutit Memorial Award (Outstanding defensive player)
An annual award since the 1957-58 season, the Gitzen-Loutit Memorial Hockey Award, is presented each year to Tech's most outstanding hockey defenseman in their honor. Robert Gitzen played hockey for Tech from 1949-50. He and team manager Dick Loutit, were killed in a bus accident while the team was traveling home from a series at Michigan State on January 14, 1950.

Rick Yeo Unsung Hero Award
The award is named after Rick Yeo who played hockey for Tech from 1963-66, winning the NCAA Championship in 1965. He was also an assistant coach for Tech from 1973-76 and then the Athletic Director from 1990-2005. He was inducted into the Michigan Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 1988.

Norbert Matovich Memorial Outstanding Freshman Award
The award is named after Norbert Matovich who was a freshman hockey player from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. In 1966 he was killed in a car accident over Christmas break.

Elov Seger Memorial Most Improved Player Award
The award is named after Elov Seger, who passed away in the mid-sixties as a result of a brain tumor. Throughout his career, he battled against great odds and was always successful. He played for Tech from 1959-62 and was an All-American in 1962 when the Huskies won the NCAA Championship. He was inducted into the Michigan Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 1998.