Twenty-Nine Wildcats Named to Hockey East All-Academic Team

7/1/2015 1:03:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey, Women's Ice Hockey, Academics

WAKEFIELD, Mass. – A total of 29 University of New Hampshire student-athletes were named to the 2014-15 Hockey East All-Academic Team on Wednesday. Danny Tirone (Trumbull, Conn.) of the men's ice hockey team and Brooke Avery (Loudon, N.H.) of the women's squad also earned a spot on the Hockey East All-Academic All-Star Team.

Avery, a freshman forward, received a third accolade as a Hockey East Top Scholar-Athlete, which recognizes the player(s) who recorded the highest cumulative GPA in the 2014-15 year. Avery was one of five Women's Hockey East players who tallied a perfect 4.0 in the academic year. Tirone, a freshman goaltender, recorded a 3.91 GPA during his one semester of competition for the Wildcats to earn a spot on the All-Star Team.

Furthermore, a total of five Wildcats received Distinguished Scholar status in 2014-15; this feat is accomplished by qualifying for the All-Academic Team all four years of varsity play. Hannah Armstrong (Keswick, Ontario), Kayla Mork (Victoria, Minn.) and Jess Ryan (Marblehead, Mass.) earned the accolade on the women's team while Jay Camper (Rocky River, Ohio) and Ryan Randall (Durham, N.H.) were the feted men.

New Hampshire boasts the second-highest combined total (men and women) of 29 players honored on this year's All-Academic Team. The UNH men's ice hockey team ranked third in the league with 16 representatives.

A league record 133 players were named to the Hockey East All-Academic Team and another league record 106 made the Women's Hockey East All-Academic Team. Each student-athlete achieved a grade point average of 3.0 or higher every semester of competition during the 2014-15 season. The All-Star Team recognizes the highest GPA by position with three forwards, two defensemen and one goaltender honored.

Four juniors on the men's team – Maxim Gaudreault (Annapolis, Md.), Collin MacDonald (West Milford, N.J.), Harry Quast (Mullica Hill, N.J.) and Jamie Regan (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) – were named to the All-Academic Team for the third time in as many years, and sophomore Matias Cleland (Longmont, Colo.) is a two-time honoree.

In addition to Tirone, the men's first time selections are senior Matt Willows (Congers, N.Y.), junior Kyle Smith (Lumberton, N.J.), sophomores Tyler Kelleher (Longmeadow, Mass.) and Dylan Maller (Parkland, Fla.), and freshmen Adam Clark (Sherwood Park, Alberta), John Furgele (Glen Mills, Pa.), Cameron Marks (North Vancouver, British Columbia) and Andrew Poturalski (Williamsville, N.Y.).

A quartet of juniors on the women's team have been named to the All-Academic Team all three years; they are Sara Carlson (Hutchinson, Minn.), Marie-Eve Jean (Gatineau, Quebec), Heather Kashman (Edmonton, Alberta) and Vilma Vaattovaara (Veikkola, Finland). Redshirt freshman Kate Haslett (Rothesay, New Brunswick) was honored for the second consecutive year.

In addition to Avery, the women's first time honorees are junior Brittney Redlick (Biggar, Saskatchewan), sophomore Ashley Wilkes (North Pole, Alaska), and freshmen Amy Boucher (Edmonton, Alberta) and Carlee Toews (Grand Prairie, Alberta).