Boston College Athletics
Two Hockey Players Selected to US National Team
June 21, 1999 | Men's Hockey
April 27, 1999
CHESTNUT HILL - Boston College junior defenseman Mike Mottau (Avon, Mass./Thayer Academy) and sophomore forward Brian Gionta (Rochester, N.Y./Aquinas Institute) have been selected as members of the U.S. National Team that will compete in the 1999 IIHF World Championships in Norway. Mottau and Gionta are two of only three collegiate players named to the team.
The team, comprised largely of NHL players and coached by the NHLs Florida Panthers head coach Terry Murray, will leave for Norway on Tuesday, April 27. After three days of practice, the team will play Japan in its first game on Saturday, May 1. The tournament runs through Sunday, May 16, and the team will return to the United States on May 17.
Among the NHL players on the roster are: Floridas Bret Hedican, Vancouvers Darby Hendrickson, Los Angeles Craig Johnson, Washingtons Kelly Miller; New York Islanders Barry Richter; New York Islanders Bryan Smolinski and Montreals Eric Weinrich.
Mottau, a two-time All-America selection who served as assistant captain of the 1998-99 team, will enter his final season as Boston Colleges most experienced player (121 career games played). He has missed just two games - while playing with Team USA in the 1998 IIHF World Junior Championship in Finland -- since arriving at Boston College in the fall of 1996. Last winter, he tallied 42 points, while anchoring the Eagles defensive corps. He registered 39 assists, ranking him among the nations leaders.
Gionta, who captured 1998-99 Titan All-America first team honors, led Boston College in scoring this past winter. He tallied 60 points - 27 goals and 33 assists - in 39 games. He missed four games while playing with Team USA in the 1999 IIHF World Junior Championship in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He will enter his junior season with 122 collegiate points, putting him on pace to become Boston Colleges career scoring leader. Gionta also played with Team USA in the 1998 IIHF World Junior Championship (in Finland).
Boston College finished the 1998-99 season with a 27-12-4 record, winning the HOCKEY EAST Tournament title and advancing to the NCAA Tournaments "Frozen Four" for the second consecutive year.
#######
