Weisgarber earns three awards; Lamoureux named MVP
4/3/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
April 3, 2011
USAFA, Colo. - Junior Paul Weisgarber earned three of the seven major awards and senior Jacques Lamoureux was named the team's most valuable player at the 2011 Air Force hockey banquet, presented by the Falcon Blue Line Club, Sunday, April 3, at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Colorado Springs.
Junior Paul Weisgarber earned the team's Vic Heyliger award, the cornerstone of Air Force hockey. The award, voted on by the team, is given to the player whose dedication, character, leadership and work ethic exemplifies Falcon hockey and is named after the Academy's first hockey coach. The winger from Fargo, N.D., truly embodies the award. A tenacious penalty killer, this season he was second on the team with a career-high 13 goals and sixth with a career-best 25 points. Weisgarber's two game-winners were tied for second on the team and 15th in the AHA. He is one of just three players, and the only forward, in school history to win three major awards, joining Mike Keough in 2000 and Billy Devoney in 2007.
Weisgarber also earned the Jim Bowman Award as the team's top scholar athlete and the Larry Cronk Award as the team's most inspirational player. Not only was Weisgarber among the team's top scorers, but he made some of the biggest plays of the season by scoring timely goals, drawing penalties, winning faceoffs and blocking shots. In the class room, Weisgarber has a 3.57 cumulative grade point average. In his major of management, he has a 3.95 GPA. He has been on the Superintendent's List for excellence in academics, military studies and athletics every semester.
Lamoureux earned the Chuck Delich Award as the team's MVP. This award, voted on by the team, is named after the Falcons' all-time leading scorer and program's third head coach. Lamoureux led the team with 24 goals and 44 points this season. A second-team all-conference selection, Lamoureux was named the MVP at the AHA Tournament as he helped lead Air Force to its fourth AHA title in five years. He scored the game-winner in both games at the AHA Final Four. His 13 power-play goals lead the nation and his five game-winners are the 10th most in the country. He ranks sixth in AFA history with 79 goals scored, the most by any Falcon in the last 25 years. His 136 career points rank 15th in school history. This season, he broke the league record with 59 career goals in conference games.
Sophomore defenseman Mike Walsh won the team's most improved player award, as voted on by the team. After playing just over half the games as a freshman, the Vernon Hills, Ill., native had a career best seven points this season and played in all 38 games on the blue line. He had the only assist on Derrick Burnett's game-winner vs. Robert Morris, Feb. 26, as Air Force clinched a bye in the first round of the playoffs.
Goaltender Jason Torf earned the John Matchefts Award, voted on by the team, as the team's freshman of the year. The first goalie to ever win the award, Torf's 16 wins this season were the second most of any freshman goaltender in the nation. He started 30 consecutive games dating back to his first career win over third-ranked Yale, Nov. 14. An AHA all-rookie and all-tournament team selection, Torf finished the season with a 2.87 goals-against average and a .909 saves percentage. He tied his career high with 40 saves, and recorded his second career shutout in the 1-0 win over RIT in the AHA championship game.
Senior Brad Sellers was named the team's defensive player of the year. This award is presented to the defensive player who the coaching staff feels was the team's most diligent defensive performer. Sellers' +16 was the best on the team and the fourth best in the league this season. The Centennial, Colo., native posted a career +45 which is the best by any player in head coach Frank Serratore's 14-year tenure. A solid defensive defenseman, Sellers was named to the all-tournament team at the Denver Cup this season when he scored the game-winner against Clarkson.
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