Blair Riley and Zach Redmond Earn Michigan College Hockey Honors
Click Here For 2009-10 MichiganCollegeHockey.com Award Winners Release (PDF)
A pair of Ferris State University men's ice hockey players, senior Blair Riley (Kamloops, British Columbia) and junior Zach Redmond (Traverse City) have received second-team recognition for the 2009-10 season by MichiganCollegeHockey.com (MiCHO). The announcement of the award winners was made this Thursday (April 1) by the MiCHO staff.
The second-team accolades represent the first for Blair Riley while Zach Redmond is a repeat honoree after garnering second-team laurels following the 2008-09 season. Six individuals apiece were named to the first, second, and all-rookie teams.
Riley, who recently signed an amateur tryout agreement (ATO) with the Springfield (Mass.) Falcons of the American Hockey League (AHL), recorded a team-high 38 points with a squad-best 18 goals and 20 assists in 40 contests this season. All of his offensive statistical numbers represented personal career single-season highs. Riley also produced nine multiple-game performances to go with a plus 12 efficiency rating for the 2009-10 campaign. The FSU left wing was tabbed as the RBC Financial Group Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) Player of the Month for November after garnering both Inside College Hockey.com (INCH) National Player of the Week and CCHA Offensive Player of the Week kudos earlier in the month (Nov. 23).
A 2009-10 All-CCHA Second-Team selection, Redmond placed fourth in team scoring with a career season-best 27 points on six goals and 21 assists in 40 outings this campaign. His six lamplighters and 21 helpers this season both tied for personal career single-season highs. Redmond, a 2008 seventh-round draft pick of the National Hockey League's (NHL) Atlanta Thrashers, was honored three times (Oct. 26, Dec. 14, and Jan. 11) this season as the CCHA's Defenseman of the Week.
Senior defenseman Matt Case (Plymouth, Minn.) and junior goaltender Pat Nagle (Bloomfield) were among six individuals who also received votes in the first and second-team selection process. Case produced 17 points on four goals and 13 assists in 40 games while Nagle turned in a 12-10-3 record with a 2.13 goals-against average and a .923 saves percentage in 26 appearances this season.
Northern Michigan's Mark Olver was named MiCHO's Player of the Year while his teammate Erik Gustafsson received Defenseman of the Year. Their head coach, Walt Kyle earned MiCHO's Coach of the Year. A pair of Michigan State players, Drew Palmisano and Torey Krug were chosen as the Goaltender of the Year and Rookie of the Year, respectively, by MiCHO.
MichiganCollegeHockey.com was started in 2000 and has been a primary source for college hockey fans in the state of Michigan for all the latest news and scores relating to all college teams in the state, including coverage of the state's lone Division I women's team at Wayne State University, ACHA teams, and Division III teams.
MiCHO selected the teams from the seven NCAA Division I men's ice hockey programs in the state of Michigan - Ferris State, Lake Superior State, Michigan, Michigan State, Michigan Tech, Northern Michigan, and Western Michigan.