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March 18, 2004
ST. PAUL, Minn. - Senior Connor James (Calgary, Alberta) was named Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) Student-Athlete of the Year and senior Ryan Caldwell (Deloraine, Manitoba) was named WCHA Defensive Player of the Year, it was announced today at the 2004 WCHA Awards Banquet. Caldwell was also named Second-Team All-WCHA, while senior goaltender Adam Berkhoel (Woodbury, Minn.) and sophomore forward Gabe Gauthier (Buena Park, Calif.) were named Third-Team All-WCHA and freshman defenseman Matt Carle (Anchorage, Alaska) was named to the All-WCHA Rookie Team.
James is Denver's fourth student-athlete to earn the prestigious WCHA Student-Athlete of the Year honor. He has maintained a 3.5 grade-point-average in a challenging finance/marketing major in four years at Denver. Professor Ron Rizzuto says, "Connor is a smart and hard working student who is serious about getting a good education. He has really good people skills as well." James has volunteered his time with the DU Youth Hockey Association and Starlight Children's Foundation. He also visits local schools to promote good grades while participating in hockey. James has also been a major force on the ice this season for the No. 9 Denver Pioneers. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound forward is one of the fastest and most talented players in all of college hockey. James is Denver's second-leading scorer this season with 35 points on 12 goals and 23 assists in 38 games. He is currently tied for 20th on Denver's all-time scoring list with 147 points on 56 goals and 91 assists in 158 career games. He suffered a fractured right fibula on March 5 against Colorado College and hopes to return to the Pioneer line-up should the team advance to the Frozen Four in Boston, Mass., on April 8-10.
Caldwell is the second consecutive Denver defenseman to earn WCHA Defensive Player of the Year honors. Denver's Aaron MacKenzie shared the honor with St. Cloud State's Joe Cullen last season. Caldwell has been the driving force behind the Pioneers' success this season. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound, senior captain has led the team with his on-ice play, toughness and ability to play through pain. Caldwell has scored 25 points on a career-best 13 goals and 12 assists in 38 games. He has suffered numerous injuries, but has shown his ultimate leadership by playing at less than 100%. Caldwell's 13 goals lead all WCHA defensemen. He is among Denver's career defensemen leaders in points (7th), goals (7th) and assists (T-9th). Caldwell's 304 career penalty minutes rank fourth all-time at Denver.
Berkhoel earns his second All-WCHA third-team honor after leading the Pioneers with a 20-11-4 overall record, 2.60 goals against average (GAA) and .914 saves percentage (Sv%) in 35 games. He posted a career-best five shutouts, was named Red Baron WCHA Defensive Player of the Week three times and went 7-0-2 with a 1.96 GAA and .933 Sv% during Denver's pivotal nine-game unbeaten streak from Jan. 31-March 5. Berkhoel ranks among Denver's career goaltending leaders in saves percentage (2nd), shutouts (2nd), goals against average (4th) and wins (T-7th).
Gauthier earns his first league honor after leading the Pioneers in points (41), goals (17), assists (24), power-play goals (7), game-winning goals (5), multi-point games (10) and face-off percentage (.600). The 5-foot-9, 185-pound, two-way forward tallied a career-high four-point effort at Minnesota State on Dec. 20 and added a three-assist effort at Alaska Anchorage on Nov. 14. Gauthier tallied three two-goal games this season and was named the Red Baron WCHA Offensive Player of the Week on Nov. 17.
Carle earned the WCHA All-Rookie team honor despite missing eight league games. Carle totaled 19 points on four goals and 15 assists in 20 league games. He finished in a first-place tie for most points among all WCHA defensemen and was named the Red Baron WCHA Rookie of the Week three consecutive times (Feb. 16, Feb. 23 and March 1. In addition, Carle was named the USCHO.com National Defensive Player of the Week on March 1 and the CSTV/HCA Defensive Player of the Month for February. Carle contributed two four-point efforts during Denver's nine-game unbeaten streak from Jan. 31-March 5.
The Pioneers also landed eight student-athletes on the All-WCHA Academic Team. Berkhoel, James and Caldwell were joined on the All-WCHA Academic team by senior Max Bull (Faribault, Minn.), junior Jussi Halme (Nokia, Finland), junior Matt Laatsch (Lakeville, Minn.), sophomore Ted O'Leary (Arvada, Colo.) and junior Kevin Ulanski (Madison, Wis.). To earn a position on the All-WCHA Academic Team, student-athletes must meet the following criteria: 1) have completed at least one year of residency at present institution prior to current academic year; 2) have a grade point average of at least 3.00 (on a 4.00 scale) for the previous two semesters or three quarters, or may qualify if his overall GPA is at least 3.00 for all terms at his present institution; and 3) have competed in at least one-half of his institution's varsity intercollegiate ice hockey games during the current season (goaltenders must have played at least 33% of his team's minutes during the course of the season to be eligible).
Denver (23-12-5 overall) awaits a possible at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, March 21. The NCAA will announce the 16-team field live on ESPN2 beginning at 12:30 p.m. MT. The NCAA Tournament begins on Friday, March 26.
