Hockey announces 2020-21 team awards

Courtesy of MTU Huskies

HOUGHTON, Mich. – Michigan Tech hockey coach Joe Shawhan honored eight different Huskies with the program’s annual team awards. Junior forward Trenton Bliss received the Merv Youngs Award as the most valuable player. Descriptions of the awards are listed below.

Bliss is a junior forward from Appleton, Wisconsin, and also received the Gary Crosby Memorial Award as the team’s leading scorer for the second straight season. He was named to the All-WCHA Third Team, the WCHA All-Academic Team, and was a candidate for the Hobey Baker Award for the second year in a row. The alternate captain led the Huskies with 25 points after 12 goals and 13 assists. Bliss scored the game-winning goal at Ferris State on February 2 and assisted on the game-winning goal four times. He had six multi-point games, including a goal and two assist performance in a 4-3 overtime win over Northern Michigan on December 18. Bliss went on a seven-game point, and the Huskies were 7-4 when he scored and 10-1 when he notched an assist.

Defenseman Colin Swoyer was awarded the Gitzen-Loutit Memorial Award as the team’s most outstanding defensive player for the second straight season. The junior from Hinsdale, Illinois was named to the All-WCHA Second Team, the WCHA All-Academic Team, the WCHA Defenseman of the Month for February, and was a four-time WCHA Defenseman of the Week. The alternate captain was second in the WCHA amongst defensemen with 17 points, scoring three goals and tallying 13 assists. He led Tech skaters with a plus-9 rating and led WCHA blueliners with 71 shots on goal. Tech was 11-3 when he registered a point and 3-0 when he scored.

The Norbert Matovich Memorial Outstanding Freshman Award went to forward Arvid Caderoth after he led WCHA freshmen with 18 points. The Gothenburg Sweden native was named to the All-WCHA Rookie Team, was twice the WCHA Rookie of the Month, and twice the WCHA Rookie of the Week. Caderoth led the Huskies with 16 assists to rank third among all college hockey freshmen. He led all rookies with 10 power-play assists to rank eighth in the nation overall. Caderoth scored the game-winning goal at Alabama Huntsville on February 5 and has assisted on the game-winner five times this season. He had an eight-game point streak, four multi-point games, and the Huskies were 2-0 when he scored and 10-4 when he recorded a point.

Goaltender Blake Pietila was honored with the Elov Seger Memorial Most Improved Player Award. The sophomore from Howell, Michigan was a finalist for the 2021 Mike Richter Award, a candidate for the Hobey Baker Award, was named the HCA National Goaltender of the Month for December, and was on the WCHA All-Academic Team. He was a two-time WCHA Goaltender of the Month and earned three WCHA Goaltender of the Week honors. Pietila started 22 games in his second season and broke the school records for the best save percentage and goals-against average for a season. He was second in the nation with a .934 save percentage to lead the WCHA and was fifth nationally with a 1.81 goals-against average, and eighth with three shutouts. He had eight 30-save games with a career-high 43 stops in a 3-1 win over Minnesota State.

Forward Alec Broetzman was honored with the George McCarthy Performance Award for Scholastic and Athletic Achievement. The captain of the Huskies led the team with 13 goals and was second with 21 points. He was named to the WCHA All-Academic Team. His six power-play goals ranked eighth in the nation. The Hudson, Wisconsin native led Tech, and was sixth in the WCHA, with 3.13 shots on goal per game. He scored the game-winning goal at NMU on February 26 as part of a two-goal game and assisted on the game-winner against Ferris State (Feb. 12). He had five multi-point games, including a goal and two assists at NMU on January 25.

Tyler Rockwell was the choice for the Harold Meese Sportsmanship Award. The senior defenseman was named a WCHA Scholar-Athlete and to the WCHA All-Academic Team. The San Jose, California native skated in all 30 games and tallied 11 points with four goals and seven assists. He scored the game-winning goal at NMU on January 25 and had an assist on the game-winner three times. Rockwell had a goal and an assist versus Alabama Huntsville (Jan. 2) and NMU (Feb. 26) on his Senior Night. Tech was 8-1 when he tallied a point and 4-0 when he scored.

Chris Lipe was recognized with the Rick Yeo Unsung Hero Award. The sophomore defenseman appeared in 29-of-30 games and tallied nine points with a goal and eight assists. Lipe, a native of Rockford, Michigan, scored the game-winning goal against UAH on January 3 and assisted on the game-winner on February 23 versus Lake Superior State. Tech was 6-1 when he tallied a point. He helped the Tech defense rank fourth in the nation in penalty kill (90 percent) and seventh in goals allowed per game (2.1).

David Raisanen is this year’s recipient of the John MacInnes Slide Rule Award. The senior forward leads the Huskies with a 3.93 grade-point average in mechanical engineering. The native of Cokato, Minnesota, appeared in a pair of games in the series split with Minnesota State on December 6-7. He was named a WCHA Scholar-Athlete and to the WCHA All-Academic Team.

Merv Youngs Award (Team MVP)
The award is named after Merv Youngs, a journalist and editor for the Daily Mining Gazette. Youngs is credited with convincing Doc Gibson to join and organize the Portage Lake hockey organization.

Gary Crosby Memorial Award (Leading Scorer)
The award is named after Gary Crosby who led Tech in scoring his sophomore season and was drafted and signed by the LA Kings after the season. Unfortunately, he was killed in a car accident soon after. He played 67 games for the Huskies from 1970-72.

Harold Meese Sportsmanship Award
The award is named after Harold Meese, a professor and dean of students at Michigan Tech from 1947-83. He was an active supporter of the Huskies and has a sportsmanship award named in his honor across all sports teams. Meese was inducted into the Michigan Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 1986.

George McCarthy Performance Award for Scholastic and Athletic Achievement
The award is named after the late George McCarthy, a former hockey player and member of Michigan Tech’s Sports Hall of Fame. McCarthy played for the Huskies from 1935-38 and was named the team MVP all three seasons.

John MacInnes Slide Rule Award
The award is named after legendary hockey coach John MacInnes who had a record of 555-295-39 from 1956-82. MacInnes was most proud of the fact that 94 percent of his hockey letter winners graduated with degrees. He won three NCAA Championships as head coach of the Huskies and is in the US Hockey Hall of Fame, UP Sports Hall of Fame, and Michigan Tech Sports Hall of Fame.

Gitzen-Loutit Memorial Award (Outstanding Defensive Player)
An annual award since the 1957-58 season, the Gitzen-Loutit Memorial Hockey Award, is presented each year to Tech’s most outstanding hockey defenseman in their honor. Robert Gitzen played hockey for Tech from 1949-50. He and team manager Dick Loutit, were killed in a bus accident while the team was traveling home from a series at Michigan State on January 14, 1950.

Rick Yeo Unsung Hero Award
The award is named after Rick Yeo who played hockey for Tech from 1963-66, winning the NCAA Championship in 1965. He was also an assistant coach for Tech from 1973-76 and then the Athletic Director from 1990-2005. He was inducted into the Michigan Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 1988.

Norbert Matovich Memorial Outstanding Freshman Award
The award is named after Norbert Matovich who was a freshman hockey player from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. In 1966 he was killed in a car accident over Christmas break.

Elov Seger Memorial Most Improved Player Award
The award is named after Elov Seger, who passed away in the mid-sixties as a result of a brain tumor. Throughout his career, he battled against great odds and was always successful. He played for Tech from 1959-62 and was an All-American in 1962 when the Huskies won the NCAA Championship. He was inducted into the Michigan Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 1998.