Boston College Athletics
Photo by: Rich Gagnon
Keller Repeats with First-Team All-America Honors
March 16, 2017 | Women's Hockey
Eagles’ junior earns second-straight first-team All-America honor
ST. CHARLES, Mo. – Boston College junior defenseman Megan Keller earned American Hockey Coaches Association All-America honors on Thursday night, copping first-team accolades for the second-straight season. The ACHA first- and second-team All-America squads were announced at the Frozen Four Celebration at the J. Scheidegger Center for the Arts.
Keller is the only Hockey East representative among the 12 players earning All-America honors. She is one of two repeat first-team honorees, joining Wisconsin senior goaltender Ann-Renee Desbiens. They are joined on the first team by Minnesota senior defenseman Lee Stecklein, Clarkson senior forward Cayley Mercer, Minnesota junior forward Kelly Pannek and Minnesota Duluth senior forward Lara Stalder.
The second team includes Ohio State sophomore goaltender Kassidy Sauve, Clarkson junior defenseman Savannah Harmon, Wisconsin senior defenseman Jenny Ryan, Wisconsin senior forward Sara Nurse, Wisconsin junior forward Annie Pankowski and St. Lawrence senior forward Brooke Webster.
Keller made Hockey East history becoming the first defenseman in the conference's 15-year history to the Cammi Granato Award as the Player of the Year. She also repeated as the league's Best Defenseman – a unanimous selection by the league's head coaches – while garnering first-team All-Star honors for the third time in her career. Nationally, she was one of two defenseman to be voted a Top-10 Finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award, presented annually to the national player of the year.
Keller is college hockey's most dominant defenseman. She has anchored the nation's fourth-best defense, which has allowed 1.55 goals per game. She is also a key member on the Eagles' nation-leading power play (26.0 percent) and their penalty-kill unit that's ranked second nationally (91.3 percent).
Nationally, she is the leading scorer among all defensemen in points (39), points per game (1.15) and assists per game (0.85). She ranks 22nd overall in points among all skaters, and 20th nationally in points per game. She is the only defenseman in the top 30 in points per game and points. Keller is also tied for 10th nationally in assists (29) and tied for ninth in assists per game.
In Hockey East play, Keller finished second in points per game among all league players (1.35), while finishing sixth in scoring with 27 points despite missing four games while winning a gold medal with the U.S. National Team at the Four Nations Cup in late October and early November. She was the only defenseman in the league's top 20 point scorers.
She also led the league in assists (21) and her plus/minute total of +25 was six points better than the next closest non-BC player. Among defenseman, she topped all conference blue liners by nine points in four fewer games.
In league play, BC's defense allowed just 1.58 goals per game, almost a full goal better than the next closest team. Additionally, the team's power play mark of 23.4 percent paced the league, and its 95.7 percent penalty kill rate was second-best in league history.
This season, Keller is a three-time weekly award winner from Hockey East, picking up Defensive Player of the Week honors on Jan. 23 and March 6, and co-Player of the Week honors on Feb. 13. She was also named February's Player of the Month, an award almost exclusively reserved for offensive players. At the Hockey East Tournament, she was voted to the All-Tournament Team.
No. 4-seeded Boston College (28-5-5) will face No. 1 seed Wisconsin (32-2-4) in the first of two national semifinals on Friday, March 17. Faceoff is set for 6 p.m. ET (5 p.m. CT) at the Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo. The game will be streamed live on ncaa.com.
Keller is the only Hockey East representative among the 12 players earning All-America honors. She is one of two repeat first-team honorees, joining Wisconsin senior goaltender Ann-Renee Desbiens. They are joined on the first team by Minnesota senior defenseman Lee Stecklein, Clarkson senior forward Cayley Mercer, Minnesota junior forward Kelly Pannek and Minnesota Duluth senior forward Lara Stalder.
The second team includes Ohio State sophomore goaltender Kassidy Sauve, Clarkson junior defenseman Savannah Harmon, Wisconsin senior defenseman Jenny Ryan, Wisconsin senior forward Sara Nurse, Wisconsin junior forward Annie Pankowski and St. Lawrence senior forward Brooke Webster.
Keller made Hockey East history becoming the first defenseman in the conference's 15-year history to the Cammi Granato Award as the Player of the Year. She also repeated as the league's Best Defenseman – a unanimous selection by the league's head coaches – while garnering first-team All-Star honors for the third time in her career. Nationally, she was one of two defenseman to be voted a Top-10 Finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award, presented annually to the national player of the year.
Keller is college hockey's most dominant defenseman. She has anchored the nation's fourth-best defense, which has allowed 1.55 goals per game. She is also a key member on the Eagles' nation-leading power play (26.0 percent) and their penalty-kill unit that's ranked second nationally (91.3 percent).
Nationally, she is the leading scorer among all defensemen in points (39), points per game (1.15) and assists per game (0.85). She ranks 22nd overall in points among all skaters, and 20th nationally in points per game. She is the only defenseman in the top 30 in points per game and points. Keller is also tied for 10th nationally in assists (29) and tied for ninth in assists per game.
In Hockey East play, Keller finished second in points per game among all league players (1.35), while finishing sixth in scoring with 27 points despite missing four games while winning a gold medal with the U.S. National Team at the Four Nations Cup in late October and early November. She was the only defenseman in the league's top 20 point scorers.
She also led the league in assists (21) and her plus/minute total of +25 was six points better than the next closest non-BC player. Among defenseman, she topped all conference blue liners by nine points in four fewer games.
In league play, BC's defense allowed just 1.58 goals per game, almost a full goal better than the next closest team. Additionally, the team's power play mark of 23.4 percent paced the league, and its 95.7 percent penalty kill rate was second-best in league history.
This season, Keller is a three-time weekly award winner from Hockey East, picking up Defensive Player of the Week honors on Jan. 23 and March 6, and co-Player of the Week honors on Feb. 13. She was also named February's Player of the Month, an award almost exclusively reserved for offensive players. At the Hockey East Tournament, she was voted to the All-Tournament Team.
No. 4-seeded Boston College (28-5-5) will face No. 1 seed Wisconsin (32-2-4) in the first of two national semifinals on Friday, March 17. Faceoff is set for 6 p.m. ET (5 p.m. CT) at the Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo. The game will be streamed live on ncaa.com.
Players Mentioned
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