Demko Tabbed Co-Player; White Earns Rookie of the Year

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Boston College junior goaltender Thatcher Demko was tabbed Hockey East Co-Player of the Year while freshman forward Colin White was awarded the Hockey East Rookie of the Year as announced by the league at its annual postseason banquet at the Royal Sonesta on March 17, 2016.

Junior forward Ryan Fitzgerald joins Demko as Hockey East First-Team All Stars while third-year defenseman Ian McCoshen joins White as a Hockey East Second-Team All Star. Junior forward Austin Cangelosi's breakout third season yielded Hockey East honorable mention.

Demko
With Demko's Co-Player of the Year honor, Boston College has had 11 different Eagles win the award on 13 different occasions. Johnny Gaudreau (2013, 2014) and BC's associate head coach Greg Brown (1989, 1990) are the Eagles' two-time recipients.

UMass Lowell's Kevin Boyle was the other Co-Player of the Year.

It marks the eighth time a goaltender was selected as Hockey East Player of the Year and first time since Northeastern's Brad Thiessen won the award in 2009. Demko joins Thiessen (Northeastern – 2009), Kevin Regan (New Hampshire – 2008), John Curry (Boston University – 2007), Mike Ayers (New Hampshire – 2003, current Eagle assistant coach), Ty Conklin (New Hampshire – 2000), Dwayne Roloson (UMass Lowell – 1994) and Chris Terreri (Boston University - 1985).

On Wednesday, March 16, Demko was named amongst the top 10 finalists for the 2016 Hobey Baker Award and the Mike Richter Award (honors the most outstanding goaltender).

Demko's 10 shutouts are the second most in college hockey history for a season, tying David McKee (Cornell – 2005) and Ryan Miller (Michigan State – 2001). Demko is two shutouts away from matching Greg Gardner's (Niagara) record of 12 set in 2000 for the all-time mark in a college hockey season.

The second-round draft pick of Vancouver is currently tied for the nation's lead (with fellow Hobey candidate Alex Lyon of Yale) with a .938 save percentage. Demko is also third in all of college hockey with a 1.78 goals against average and fourth in winning percentage (.771) with a 25-6-4 mark.

In Hockey East conference play, Demko's five shutouts are tied for second most in a single-season with UNH's Casey DeSmith (2012-13) and BU's John Curry (2006-07). His .938 save percentage in league play is tied for seventh best in a single season with Merrimack's Rasmus Tirronen (2014-15), NU's Clay Witt (2013-14) and none other than his current goaltending coach at BC, Mike Ayers.

White
White not only became Boston College's seventh Rookie of the Year and first in 15 years, but he was also listed to the Hockey East Second-Team and All-Rookie Team.

The Hanover, Mass. native joins Chuck Kobasew (2001), Brian Gionta (1998), Marty Reasoner (1996), Ian Moran (1992), Brian Leetch (1987) and Ken Hodge (1985) as BC's seventh Hockey East Rookie of the Year.

The first-round pick from Ottawa has been a national presence all season and currently the third-leading scorer amongst all freshmen nationally in 2015-16. White is Boston College's first rookie to attain 40 points in his first season since Johnny Gaudreau did so in 2011-12. White as accounted for 18 goals and 22 assists, averaging 1.21 points per game. He is currently ranked 16th in all of college hockey in scoring.

R. Fitzgerald
Fitzgerald earns his first Hockey East postseason honor after a big junior season in which he improved 18 points from his sophomore year. The North Reading, Mass. native most recent scored the overtime winner against Vermont to send Boston College back to TD Garden for the Hockey East semifinals.

The 5-foot-10 forward leads BC in both goals (22) and points (43) and is one of 15 skaters in college hockey with three short-handed goals this season. Nationally speaking, Fitzgerald ranks 18th in points per game with 1.19 ppg.

In addition, Fitzgerald is rapidly approaching the 100-point mark for his career (52-45-97). His 52 career goals have him outside of Boston College's top 50 for a career by just a pair.

McCoshen
McCoshen also gathers his first conference postseason award, earning second-team honors after a career-best 19-point performance (6-13-19) and the nation's seventh-highest plus/minus rating of +30.

The Faribault, Minn. native also leads the Eagles with 57 blocked shots on the season and is the nation's second-most penalized player, averaging 2.33 PIMs per game.

McCoshen is two points away from reaching the 50-point plateau on The Heights for his career.

Cangelosi
Cangelosi is a Hockey East honorable mention after improving his season total by 15 points from his sophomore to junior campaign and is fourth on the team with 35 points. The 5-foot-7 forward is tied for second on the team with 18 goals, including three game-winners.

The Estero, Fla. native has found his scoring touch this season, but perhaps his biggest asset for BC is on the draw. Cangelosi is the NCAA's best faceoff man hands down, winning 63.6 percent of his draws, claiming 491-of-772 faceoffs.

First Team Second Team
G: Thatcher Demko, BC (Jr.)
D: Matt Grzelcyk, BU (Sr.)
D: Jake Walman, PC (So.)
F: Ryan Fitzgerald, BC (Jr.)
F: Mark Jankowski, PC (Sr.)
F: Danny O'Regan, BU (Sr.) F
F: Andrew Poturalski, UNH (Jr.)

Second Team
G: Kevin Boyle, UML (Sr.)
D: Jordan Gross, ND (So.)
D: Ian McCoshen, BC (Jr.)
F: Zach Aston-Reese, NU (Jr.)
F: Anders Bjork, ND (So.)
F: Max Letunov, UConn (Fr.)
F: Colin White, BC (Fr.)

Honorable Mention
G: Nick Ellis, PC (Jr.)
G: Cal Petersen, ND (So.)
D: Dylan Zink, UML (Jr.)
F: Austin Cangelosi, BC (Jr.)
F: Thomas DiPauli, ND (Sr.)
F: Tyler Kelleher, UNH (Jr.)
F: Ahti Oksanen, BU (Sr.)
F: Nolan Stevens, NU (So.)

Warrior Hockey East Co-Players of the Year
Thatcher Demko, Boston College (Jr., G; San Diego, Calif.)
Kevin Boyle, UMass Lowell (Sr., G; Manalapan, N.J.)
Runner-Up: Andrew Poturalski, New Hampshire (Jr., F; Williamsville, N.Y.)

Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Year
Colin White, Boston College (F; Hanover, Mass.)
Runner-Up: Max Letunov, UConn (F; Moscow, Russia)

Bauer Hockey East Coach of the Year (Bob Kullen Award)
Nate Leaman, Providence
Runner-Up: Jeff Jackson, Notre Dame

Demko Tabbed Co-Player; White Earns Rookie of the Year

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Players Mentioned

Austin Cangelosi

Thatcher Demko

Ryan Fitzgerald

Ian McCoshen

Colin White

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