ERIE, Pa. – 11 members of the Mercyhurst College men’s hockey team were named to the Atlantic Hockey Association All-Academic Team, released Wednesday afternoon by AHA league officials.
To qualify for the Atlantic Hockey All-Academic Team an individual must post a 3.0 grade point average or higher in all of the academic periods during which his team was actively competing.
Altogether, 135 student-athletes representing the 10 AHA institutions were honored this season for their excellence in the classroom, eclipsing the mark of 129 recognized during the 2007-08 season.
RIT led all schools with 22 selections, followed by American International and Canisius with 18 apiece. AIC had the most returning members with 12, while RIT followed with 11 players that appeared on last year’s squad.
Eight of Mercyhurst’s 11 selections were returning members, highlighted by alumni
Kirk Medernach and
Bobby Phillips, who have made the list in each of their four seasons with the team. Seniors
Matt Fennell,
Derek Fisher,
Neil Graham and
Chris Risi earned their third-consecutive selections, while recent graduate
Matt Lundin and junior
Steve Cameron earned their second-straight selections.
Senior
Cody Collins and juniors
Dan Bremner and
Scott Pitt rounded out the Laker picks, making their first appearances on the squad.
In addition to making the All-Academic team, Fennell also earned his second-straight nod to the Academic All-Star Team, joining Jay Clark of Army, Frankie DeAngelis of American International, Dean Yakura of American International, Steve McLeod of American International and Anton Kharin of RIT.