Ferris State Hockey's CJ Motte Claims Senior CLASS First Team All-America Accolades

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Big Rapids, Mich. - Ferris State University's CJ Motte, who completed his collegiate hockey eligibility as FSU's captain and starting goaltender this past season, recently received the first All-America praise of his career by being chosen to the 2015 Senior CLASS Award All-America First Team.

The All-America teams, chosen by a nationwide vote of Division I men's hockey coaches, national hockey media and fans, are awarded annually to the most outstanding senior student-athletes in Division I men's hockey. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: classroom, community, character and competition.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Awards focus on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive difference as leaders in their communities. 

Motte was one of five first-team Senior CLASS All-America selections and one of only 10 individuals across the country honored overall.

This year marked the sixth consecutive year in which the Bulldogs had one of the initial national candidates for the Senior CLASS Award and corresponding All-America team. It is also the fourth-straight year and fifth time in six seasons in which FSU has had an individual chosen among the 10 national finalists for the prestigious honor.

Former team captains Chad Billins, Kyle Bonis and Scott Czarnowczan each were among the final nominees and advanced to the finalist round of 10 to earn All-America accolades the last three years from 2012-14, respectively. Another former Bulldog and captain, Cody Chupp, was a finalist in 2010 with ex-Bulldog standout and current National Hockey League (NHL) defenseman Zach Redmond among the initial nominees in 2011.

Motte, 23, inked a professional contract this spring with the American Hockey League's (AHL) Bridgeport Sound Tigers in the New York Islanders system as a college free agent following four seasons between the pipes at Ferris State. He appeared in four games professionally with Bridgeport and made 111 saves in 241 minutes of action following his collegiate career. 

The 6'0, 177-pound netminder spent the past four years at Ferris State and led the Bulldogs to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) Final Five each of his final two seasons. He posted a .922 save percentage and a 2.07 goals against average as a senior in 2014-15 while leading the nation with 2,435 total minutes in net. This past year, Motte also became the first goaltender in school history to serve as team captain and claimed All-WCHA accolades for the second-straight campaign.

Motte concluded his Bulldog career as the school's all-time leader in career goaltending victories with a 66-49-12 overall record. He had a personal career-best 28-9-3 mark while ranking among the nation's leaders in 2013-14 as FSU won the WCHA regular-season championship and came within a game of the NCAA Frozen Four for the second time in three seasons.

During his four seasons with the Bulldogs, Motte helped lead Ferris State to two conference regular-season championships, two NCAA Tournament appearances and was a member of the FSU squad that reached the national championship game at the 2012 NCAA Frozen Four. He finished with a career 2.13 goals against average and .926 save percentage in 127 appearances between the pipes while making 3,394 saves and a school-record 15 shutouts. Motte also contributed six assists in his collegiate career while playing nearly every game in net for FSU the last three seasons.

A two-time All-WCHA honoree, Motte was a national top 10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Award in 2013-14 and was twice among the nominees for both the Hobey Baker and the Mike Richter Goaltender of the Year honor. A year ago, he was presented the National Premier Player of the Year Award in college hockey and also chosen as Ferris State's Bulldog of the Year recipient for top male student-athlete.

Before attending Ferris State, Motte suited up for the Waterloo (Iowa) Black Hawks of the United States Hockey League and previously played in the North American Hockey League (NAHL) with the Traverse City North Stars.

Along with his standout accomplishments on the ice, Motte has also been an WCHA All-Academic honoree and was one of the squad's leaders as team captain in spearheading the program's community service efforts on a yearly basis.

For more information on the Senior CLASS program, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.