DENVER - Junior co-captain Drew Shore (Denver, Colo.) was named Most Valuable Player, Best Offensive Player and Three Stars of the Game Point Leader as the University of Denver celebrated its 56th Annual Hockey Awards Evening tonight at the Cable Center on the DU campus.

The Pioneers (25-14-4) advanced to the NCAA Midwest Regional and played in the WCHA Final Five championship game for the second consecutive season. DU advanced to its school-record fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament and joined Michigan as the lone teams in college hockey to post 11 consecutive 20-win seasons. The Pioneers also landed 18 members on the All-WCHA Academic Team.

In addition, the Pioneers said goodbye to seniors Nate Dewhurst (Johnston, Iowa), Dustin Jackson (Omaha, Neb.), John Lee (Moorhead, Minn.), John Ryder (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Luke Salazar (Thornton, Colo.) and student assistant coach David Carle (Anchorage, Alaska), as well as Drew Shore and sophomores Jason Zucker (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Beau Bennett (Gardena, Calif.), who signed pro contracts with Florida, Minnesota and Pittsburgh, respectively.

The DU senior class of 2012 became the second in school history to play in four NCAA tournaments. The seniors finished their careers with 100 wins, two Denver Cup Classic titles and one WCHA regular-season title.

Shore earned the Bill Masterton Memorial Award (MVP) for his leadership on and off the ice. Shore tied a career high with 53 points (22g, 31a) and tied for first in the nation with 11 power-play goals and finished second with seven game-winning goals. He became the 94th member of the Pioneer Century Club for 100-point scorers with a five-point effort on Jan. 13 against Bemidji State.

Sam Brittain (Calgary, Alberta) earned the Dr. Ralph Verploeg Award for most inspirational player for his strong return in net after missing the first 25 games of the season with a knee injury. While sidelined, Brittain's attitude and determination permeated the locker room. Brittain went 8-4 with a 2.36 goals against average and .932 save percentage in 12 games. He also recorded a school record 67 saves in the Pioneers' double-overtime victory over Minnesota Duluth in the WCHA Final Five semifinals.

HCA National Rookie of the Year and WCHA Rookie of the Year Joey LaLeggia (Burnaby, British Columbia) earned the Barry Sharp Memorial Award as top freshman, while junior Chris Knowlton (Colorado Springs, Colo.) won the Murray Armstrong Award as most improved player.

Salazar earned the Dr. Ken Bredesen Award for sportsmanship, while freshman Larkin Jacobson (Sioux City, Iowa) earned the Dr. Art Mason Memorial Award as top scholar-athlete.

All-WCHA Rookie Team and All-INCH Rookie Team goaltender Juho Olkinuora (Helsinki, Finland) netted the Keith Magnuson Memorial Award as best defensive player and fellow netminder Adam Murray (Anchorage, Alaska) earned the Bob Martin Memorial Award for community service.

DU Faculty Athletic Representative Dr. Nancy Sampson recognized DU's 18 All-WCHA Academic honorees and four WCHA Scholar-Athlete winners. Beau Bennett, Brittain, Carle, Dewhurst, Jackson, Knowlton, Lee, David Makowski (Wildwood, Mo.), Jarrod Mermis (Alton, Ill.), Murray, Dan Olszewski (Janesville, Wis.), Shawn Ostrow (Calgary, Alberta), Paul Phillips (Darien, Ill.), Ryder, Salazar, Nick Shore (Denver, Colo.), Drew Shore and Zucker were all honored for earning a 3.0 GPA or better this season. In addition, Bennett, Olszewski, Ostrow and Phillips were recognized for GPA's of 3.5 or better.

Head coach George Gwozdecky concluded the evening by naming Phillips as team captain for the 2012-13 Pioneers. Nick Shore, Knowlton and Ostrow will serve as the alternate captains.