Buckeyes Reveal 2014-15 Team Award Winners – Ohio State Buckeyes
7/24/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
July 24, 2015
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Tanner Fritz led the way for the 2014-15 Ohio State men’s hockey team awards, voted on by the players. Fritz, the leading scorer for the squad, was selected the team’s MVP.
Fritz, a forward from Grande Prairie, Alberta, won the team’s Leading Scorer Award along with Team MVP accolades. He played in all 36 games in 2014-15, posting 27 points with career-high tying 11 goals and 16 assists, leading the squad in assists for the second time in his career. His goal against Michigan Feb. 20 was the 100th point of his Buckeye career and Fritz ended his time with the Scarlet and Gray with 110 points in 142 games played. The recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award in both 2014 and ’15, Fritz was a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection and a four-time Ohio State Scholar-Athlete.
Junior defenseman Craig Dalrymple, a native of Kippen, Ontario, was selected the team’s Best Defensive Player. He skated in the final 28 games of the season after missing time early with an injury. He had seven points, with two goals and five assists, along with a +7 rating and 52 blocked shots (1.86 blocked shots per game). A 2015 Bucks Go Pro intern, Dalrymple was an Academic All-Big Ten choice and Ohio State Scholar-Athlete.
Forward Matthew Weis, from Freehold, N.J., was voted the team’s Rookie of the Year. A Big Ten All-Freshman Team selection, Weis led the Buckeye rookies with eight goals, 14 assists and 22 points, ranking second on the squad in assists and tying for third in points, while playing in 33 games. He ended the year fourth in points among Big Ten freshmen.
The Most Improved Player award went to freshman forward Nicholas Jones of Edmonton, Alberta. He played in 26 games (including 21 of the last 23) and had six points, including five assists, along with a +4 mark. Jones earned Ohio State Scholar-Athlete accolades.
For the second time in his career, Stillwater, Minn., native Matt Johnson was voted the Unsung Player by his teammates. The forward played in 33 games and had a career high 13 goals, seven assists and 20 points, ranking fifth on the team in points. Johnson was elevated to an alternate captain in December, wearing an “A” for the second half of the season.
Senior defenseman Justin DaSilva, who earned his degree in sport industry in the spring, received the team’s Scholar-Athlete award. A three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection and four-time Ohio State Scholar-Athlete, DaSilva played in 27 games in 2014-15 and had six points, with two goals and four assists. He led the team with 60 blocked shots and was 11th nationally with 2.22 blocked shots a game. The Cambridge, Ontario, native played in 122 games as a Buckeye and had 23 points (7g, 16a) and 257 blocked shots, leading the nation in blocked shots per game as a junior.
