Saint Anselm leading scorer Andrew Andary has been named the Northeast-10 Conference Ice Hockey Player of the Year, as the league office announced its all-conference honorees on Wednesday.
Andary is the first Hawks’ player to earn the award since Mike Richard in 2012-13 and the fourth Saint Anselm player to ever win NE10 Player of the Year, as his scoring prowess helped the Hawks earn the No. 2 seed in the 2022 conference tournament.
He led the league with 29 points in conference games this season, which included 12 goals and tying for an NE10-best with 17 assists. Andary’s highlight performance came in a 5-1 win over Post on Jan. 14, as he tallied a hat trick as part of a four-point game.
Among major award winners, Andary was joined by his teammate Nick Howard – the NE10 Goaltender of the Year – as a First Team selection. It is the first time since the 2009-10 season that the same team in the NE10 had student-athletes earn both player of the year and goaltender of the year recognition, when Saint Anselm accomplished the feat with Coleman Noonan and Alex Wyse.
Howard earns top goalie honors after starting all 18 conference games and leading the conference in GAA (2.25). He ranked second in save percentage (.919) and in total saves (467) against conference opponents. Howard becomes the first Saint Anselm goaltender since Colin Soucy in 2017-18 to win the award and the ninth all-time in the Hawks’ parade of all-conference level goalies.
Southern New Hampshire had a pair of major award winners in Joe Fiorino – NE10 Defensive Player of the Year – and Sean Walsh – the Lance “Duke” Brady NE10 Coach of the Year, while Saint Michael’s saw Case Kantgias take home NE10 Rookie of the Year honors.
Fiorino is the first SNHU player to earn defensive player of the year honors, as he helped the Penmen win the NE10 regular-season title and earn the No. 1 seed in the tournament. His plus-22 rating was first among all NE10 players in conference games. Overall, Fiorino accounted for 19 points (five goals, 14 assists), with 15 points (four goals, 11 assists) coming against conference opponents.
Kantgias was a bright spot for Saint Michael’s in 2021-22, tying for seventh in conference scoring with 17 points (11 goals, six assists). He had three multi-point games against NE10 opponents this season, including a four-point game (two goals, two assists) in a 9-1 rout of Southern New Hampshire on Feb. 4. Kantgias is the second Saint Michael’s player to earn Rookie of the Year and the first since Danny Divis in 2013-14.
For the second time in three years, Walsh is the top coach after leading the Penmen to the NE10 regular-season championship in 2021-22. SNHU went 16-8 overall with a 14-5 conference record this season, claiming the No. 1 seed in the tournament. This success comes just two years after a sixth-place finish in the league standings with an 8-10 record. SNHU was picked to finish fifth this year, according to the NE10 coaches’ poll.
FIRST TEAM
F: Conor Foley, Franklin Pierce
F: Andrew Andary, Saint Anselm
F: George Thurston, SNHU
D: Sel Narby, Saint Michael’s
D: Joseph Fiorino, SNHU
G: Nick Howard, Saint Anselm
SECOND TEAM
F: Dante Maribito, Assumption
F: Devan Sheth, Assumption
F: Jake Cox, SNHU
D: Mike D’Ambrosio, Assumption
D: Jack Murphy, Saint Anselm
G: Adam Mercer, SNHU
ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
Ronny Paragallo, Assumption
Cody Rumsey, Franklin Pierce
Patrick Murphy, Post
Tommy Schwartz, Saint Anselm
Case Kantgias, Saint Michael’s
Matt Amante, SNHU
