Tigers Get Season WCHA Honors-Bachman's a Stud

WCHA

SAINT PAUL, Minn. - The Colorado College Tigers, Western Collegiate Hockey Association regular season and MacNaughton Cup team champions for 2007-08, also head up the list of post-season individual conference award winners, announced on Thursday, March 20 at the annual WCHA Awards Banquet and held at RiverCentre in Saint Paul. The awards ceremony marks the start of the 2008 Red Baron^TM WCHA Final Five championship, being held today through Saturday at Xcel Energy Center.

Colorado College freshman goaltender Richard Bachman was named both WCHA Player of the Year and WCHA Rookie of the Year, becoming only the second player in the 56-year history of the conference to earn both of those honors in the same season. He joins former University of Wisconsin and current NHL goaltender Curtis Joseph in that category, who captured both honors in 1988-89.

Joining Bachman as a major award winner for Colorado College was teammate and senior defenseman Jack Hillen, who was the choice of the league's head coaches as WCHA Defensive Player of the Year.

Named as WCHA Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year was Minnesota State University senior forward Joel Hanson while Mavericks' head coach Troy Jutting was chosen by the voters as WCHA Coach of the Year. Also honored at the banquet were St. Cloud State University sophomore forward Ryan Lasch as WCHA Scoring Champion, University of North Dakota senior goaltender Jean-Philippe Lamoureux as WCHA Goaltending Champion, and the All-WCHA First Team, All-WCHA Second Team, All-WCHA Third Team, and All-WCHA Rookie Team.

The WCHA Player of the Year, WCHA Rookie of the Year, and WCHA Coach of the Year awards are voted on by conference-member coaches, student-athletes, sports information directors and media. There are 80 voters total, with each member institution receiving eight ballots. The WCHA Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year award is selected by league-member Faculty Athletic Representatives, while the WCHA Defensive Player of the Year is selected by the league's ten head coaches.

Bachman, the player of the year and rookie of the year, was third nationally (thru games of March 13) among Div. 1 goaltenders in goals-against average at 1.77, second nationally in saves percentage at .934, and tied for second nationally in winning percentage at .783 (23-6-1). He was also named to the All-WCHA First Team, is a two-time HCA (Hockey Commissioners' Association) National Rookie of the Month (Nov. and Feb.), and garnered five WCHA player of the week awards during the course of the season - two as Red Baron® WCHA Defensive Player of the Week and three as Red Baron® WCHA Rookie of the Week. His hometown is Highlands Ranch, Colo., and he is a National Hockey League draftee of the Dallas Stars.

Hanson, the WCHA Outstanding Student Athlete of the Year Award recipient, is a senior and team captain at Minnesota State University who carries a cumulative 3.81 grade-point average as a Finance major. From Elk River, Minn., Hanson provided valuable leadership and his work ethic on and off the ice have been a key in the young Mavericks' team exceeding pre-season expectations. He is a three-time WCHA Scholar-Athlete honoree and All-WCHA Academic Team member and has been a solid perfomer in each of his four years at MSU. Through games of March 13, he was the Mavericks' third leading scorer with 22 points (9g, 13a) in 36 games while over his 145-game collegiate career, he has produced 32 goals, 47 assists and 79 points. He has been named to the MSU Dean's List in each of his seven semesters and is a member of Beta Sigma Gamma, which is an international honor society based on academic achievement in the study of business. In addition to his role as captain, Hanson has been actively involved in school reading programs and is planning to pursue a career in financial planning. The WCHA Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year Award is determined from nominations made by the member institutions and each institution then has one final vote. The criteria is as follows: 1) must be a senior student-athlete, i.e. one who is finishing his competition as an eligible player in the WCHA; 2) consistently displays outstanding sportsmanship on and off the ice; 3) is a good student making satisfactory progress toward a degree; and 4) is a good hockey player who has performed consistently as a regular member of the team.

Hillen, a senior at Colorado College from Minnetonka, Minn., has been a catalyst at both ends of the ice for the league champion Tigers this season. As the choice of the league's head coaches as WCHA Defensive Player of the Year, he becomes the sixth different CC player - and seventh overall - so recognized since the award's inception for 1991-92. According to his coach Scott Owens, Hillen's on-ice efficiency and production has been one of the main reasons for the team's success. With a defensive corps that puts three sophomores and a freshman on the ice every night, the All-WCHA First Team performer plays close to 28 minutes per game and is one the ice in all situations. His plus-minus has been the best on the team, his penalty-killing efficiency is 97%, and he was tied at the top in scoring among Div. 1 defenseman as of March 13 with 33 points (6g, 27a) in 36 games. Hillen has been honored as a league player of the week three times this season - twice on defense and once on offense. Over 146 collegiate games thru March 13, Hillen had produced 72 scoring points (19g, 53a) and carries a 3.44 GPA as an Economics major at CC.

For the second time in his eight seasons behind the bench at Minnesota State University, Troy Jutting is the choice of voters as the WCHA Coach of the Year. He was previously honored with the award for the 2002-03 season. Jutting, a former Maverick player and 1986 graduate of MSU, led his club to a share of fourth place in the final regular season WCHA standings with a 12-12-4 league mark and to a first round home playoff berth, after starting the 2007-08 season 3-6-1. Since Nov. 17, he has led his young club to a 15-8-3 overall record and to a No. 10 ranking in the March 10 national rankings. Along the way, the Mavericks have recorded victories over nationally-ranked Wisconsin, St. Cloud State, Denver, and Colorado College.

The races for the 2007-08 individual WCHA scoring and goaltending titles were decided on the final weekend of the regular season, and the winners were forward Ryan Lasch of St. Cloud State University and goaltender Jean-Philippe Lamoureux of University of North Dakota. The annual league scoring champion is based on total points produced in league games while the goaltending champion is based on goals-against average in league games.

A sophomore from Lake Forest, California, Lasch finished the 28-game conference season with 34 scoring points on 17 goals and 17 assists. An All-WCHA First Team selection, he finished one point ahead of Colorado College junior forward Chad Rau, who had 23-10-33 in 28 games. Overall this season and through games of March 13, Lasch ranked seventh nationally in points per game at 1.33, with 23 goals, 25 assists and 48 points in 36 games. The Huskies' second league scoring champion - Mark Hartigan earned the award in 2001-02 - Lasch was also a two-time WCHA Offensive Player of the Week honoree.

Lamoureux, a senior from Grand Forks, N.D., posted a league-best 1.74 goals-against average over 1686:40 of playing time and had a 18-7-3 record and .929 saves percentage. An All-WCHA Second Team choice, the HCA National Player of the Month in October and a three-time WCHA Defensive Player of the Week, Lamoureux also ranked No. 1 among Div. 1 goaltenders through March 13 in both goals-against average at 1.66 and saves percentage at .934 and was fifth in winning percentage at .706 with a 22-8-4 record. Finishing just behind Lamoureux in the league goaltending race was CC freshman Richard Bachman, who had a 1.75 goals-against average over 1505:27 of WCHA action, with a 19-5-1 record and .937 saves percentage. The WCHA season record for lowest goals-against average in conference games is 1.70, held by Denver's Buddy Blom and set in 1963-64. The second best season mark is 1.72 by DU's George Kirkwood in 1960-61.

Colorado College and North Dakota dominated the 2007-08 All-WCHA First Team, with the Tigers landing three players and the Fighting Sioux two, while St. Cloud State had one player selected. Named to the First Team were (statistics are final league games only): F - Chad Rau, Jr., Colorado College (28 gp, 23-10-33); F - T.J. Oshie, Jr., North Dakota (27 gp, 12-17-29); F - Ryan Lasch, So., St. Cloud State (28 gp, 17-17-34); D - Jack Hillen, Sr., Colorado College (28 gp, 4-19-23); D - Taylor Chorney, Jr., North Dakota (28 gp, 2-14-16); G - Richard Bachman, Fr., Colorado College (19-5-1, 1.75 gaa, .937 sv%).

Members of the 2007-08 All-WCHA Second Team are: F - Andreas Nodl, So., St. Cloud State (28 gp, 15-16-31); F - Ryan Duncan, Jr., North Dakota (28 gp, 9-19-28); F - Garrett Roe, Fr., St. Cloud State (27 gp, 11-17-28); D - Chris Butler, Jr., Denver (28 gp, 2-10-12); D - Chay Genoway, So., North Dakota (23 gp, 5-13-18); G - Jean-Philippe Lamoureux, Sr., North Dakota (18-7-3, 1.74 gaa, .929 sv%).

Named to the 2007-08 All-WCHA Third Team were: F - Tyler Bozak, Fr., Denver (28 gp, 12-12-24); F - Blake Wheeler, Jr., Minnesota (28 gp, 10-13-23); F - Kyle Turris, Fr., Wisconsin (26 gp, 6-13-19); D - Robbie Bina, Sr., North Dakota (28 gp, 1-16-17); D - Jamie McBain, So., Wisconsin (25 gp, 2-14-16); G - Peter Mannino, Sr., Denver (16-11-1, 2.38 gaa, .913 sv%).

Members of the 2007-08 All-WCHA Rookie Team are: F - Kyle Turris, Fr., Wisconsin (26 gp, 6-13-19); F - Tyler Bozak, Fr., Denver (28 gp, 12-12-24); F - Garrett Roe, Fr., St. Cloud State (27 gp, 11-17-28); D - Ryan McDonagh, Fr., Wisconsin (28 gp, 3-4-7); D - Cade Fairchild, Fr., Minnesota (28 gp, 2-8-10); G - Richard Bachman, Fr., Colorado College (19-5-1, 1.75 gaa, .937 sv%).

Seven players who were named to this season's All-WCHA First, Second or Third teams were also honored with selection to the 2007-08 All-WCHA Academic Team. They were: Chad Rau, F, CC; Ryan Lasch, F, SCSU; Jack Hillen, D, CC; Ryan Duncan, F, UND; Chay Genoway, D, UND; Robbie Bina, D, UND; and Peter Mannino, G, DU.

Voting for annual post-season awards in the WCHA is done by conference-member coaches, players, sports information directors and media. Points for the all-league teams are awarded on a five (1st team vote), three (2nd team), and one (3rd team vote) basis. The WCHA Defensive Player of the Year is selected by the head coaches while the WCHA Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year is chosen by institutional representatives.