Men’s Hockey Holds Annual Banquet – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/6/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
May 6, 2006
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State men’s hockey team held its annual awards banquet Saturday at The Blackwell in Columbus. The team awards were handed out, while the senior class of Dave Caruso, Nate Guenin, Dan Knapp and Rod Pelley also was honored.
For the second consecutive year, Caruso (Roswell, Ga.) was voted the Bobby Brown Most Valuable Player by his teammates. He started 36-of-39 games for the squad, posting a 2.15 goals-against average to rank eighth nationally this season and third in Buckeye program history. This season, Caruso posted five shutouts to tie the program single-season record and tie the program record for career shutouts with 11. He was a two-time CCHA Goalie of the Week and was named the MVP of the Ohio Hockey Classic. Caruso also participated in the inaugural Frozen Four Skills Challenge. He ends his career as OSU’s all-time leader in goals-against average (2.07) and with the Top 3 single-season marks. Caruso will graduate with a degree in family resource management this spring.
Sophomore Tom Fritsche (Parma, Ohio) was the winner of the Leading Scorer Award for the second-consecutive season. Fritsche had a team-best 30 points and led the squad with 19 assists. He was second on the team with 11 goals. He had three power-play tallies, one shorthanded score and a gamewinner.
Aliquppa, Pa., native Guenin was voted the Joseph W. Smith Best Defensive Player award winner by his teammates. The Buckeyes’ captain this season, he was an honorable mention All-CCHA selection and led the Buckeye defense that ranked 12th in the nation, limiting opponents to 2.4 goals a game. He played in all 39 games and had 11 assists on the year to tie for third on the team. Guenin had a team-best 59 recorded blocked shots.
Junior defenseman Sean Collins (Troy, Mich.) received the Scarlet and Gray Award, which is given annually to the most intense competitor, as voted by the off-ice officials. Collins played in all 39 Buckeye games, leading the defensemen with seven goals and 18 points and ranking third (tied) on the team with 11 assists. He was third on the squad with a +13 rating and blocked 37 shots on the year.
Kenny Bernard, a junior forward from Sarnia, Ontario, was the recipient of the Most Improved Player Award. He had a career-best six goals, eight assists and 14 points while playing in a career-best 38 games. His previous season highs were one goal, six assists and seven points. Bernard led the Buckeyes with three shorthanded goals to tie for the 10th-best mark in a single season in program history. He also had a power-play tally and a gamewinner. Bernard ranked second on the squad with a +15 mark and had a minus rating in just four games.
Junior forward Mathieu Beaudoin, from Sherbrooke, Quebec, received the Center Ice Club Scholar-Athlete Award. A finance major, he was named the CCHA Scholar-Athlete of the Year for Ohio State. He played in 32 games this season, with eight goals, eight assists and 16 points. Beaudoin will be a two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection and three-time Ohio State Scholar-Athlete.
The recipient of the Coaches Award was Pelley, from Kitimat, British Columbia. Pelley, who will graduate this spring with a degree in sport and leisure studies, played in all 39 games, posting 7-7-14 totals. He ended his career second in program history with 165 games played and missed just one game in his four years with the squad. Pelley has been an alternate captain the last two seasons. He had 47 goals, 41 assists and 88 points as a Buckeye.
Rookie forward Nick Biondo was voted the George Burke Most Valuable Freshman, becoming the second-consecutive Parma, Ohio, native to pick up the award, joining Fritsche in 2005. Biondo played in 10 games for the Buckeyes. He scored his first career goal in the win at Michigan Feb. 3 and had an assist vs. Michigan state Feb. 9, ending the year with two points. Biondo stepped into the lineup consistently late in the year after the team had numerous injuries, playing in nine-consecutive games in late January/February.
The Buckeye Sports Bulletin honored its annual Icers of the Month. The winners were Fritsche (October), Caruso (November and January), Collins (December), junior forward Andrew Schembri, from Mississauga, Ontario (February) and Bernard (March).
The Buckeye seniors – Caruso, Guenin, Knapp (Rochester, Mich.) and Pelley – each were presented framed jerseys and accepted into the OSU Hockey Alumni organization. The group was a part of three NCAA tournament teams and the 2004 CCHA championship squad. They had 93 wins over their four years to rank fourth in program history for most wins by a class.
