TROY, N.Y. – The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men’s hockey team has announced its year-end awards for the 2018-19 season and six student-athletes have been recognized, including the team’s Most Valuable Player, Owen Savory.
Savory, a freshman goaltender from Cambridge, Ont., also garnered Most Improved Player and Freshman of the Year honors. Juniors Jacob Hayhurst and Will Reilly were tabbed Top Forward and Top Defensemen, respectively, while Hayhurst and senior captain Tommy Grant earned Best Offensive Player and Best Defensive Player. Grant was this year’s Eric James ’99 Scholar-Athlete of the Year, while junior Chase Zieky was presented with the Ben Mayo Most Inspirational Player Award and senior Brady Wiffen collected the Community Service Award.
Earning ECAC Hockey Rookie Team honors, Savory played in 25 games this season, including 23 as a starter. He posted a 5-15-3 overall record, with a 2.46 goals against average and a .926 save percentage. Stopping 739 shots in 1438:00 minutes, he had one shutout – a 43-save performance against then-No. 18 Union College in the Mayor’s Cup on January 29.
In 16 ECAC Hockey appearances, including 15 starts, Savory went 3-10-2 with a 2.56 goals against average and a .920 save percentage, stopping 459 shots in 937:50 minutes. For the year, the former St. Catharines Falcons standout made 30 or more saves 13 times and 40-plus four times.
A junior forward from Mississauga, Ont., Hayhurst played in 29 games for the Engineers this season, scoring three goals with a team-high 20 assists for 23 points. The team leader in assists per game (0.69) and points per game (0.79), he had one tally on the power play and one game-winner. In the faceoff circle, he won 51.9% of his draws, while blocking 18 shots at the defensive end.
Reilly, a junior defenseman out of Toronto, Ont., played in 33 games for RPI in 2018-19, finishing third on the team with 18 points on five goals and 13 assists. Scoring one power play goal, he notched team-highs in power play assists (5) and points (6). Also the team-leader in shots (77) and shots per game (2.33), he was second in plus/minus at -1. He recorded 31 blocked shots and took eight minor penalties for 16 minutes.
A senior defenseman from Sparta, N.J., Grant played in all 36 games and often matched up against the top forward grouping from the opposing team. He registered a team-best 42 blocked shots and took 10 penalties for 20 minutes. Offensively, he had five assists for five points. He compiled a 3.90 GPA in the fall and will be graduating with a degree in Business and Management.
The Ben Mayo Most Inspirational Player Award was presented to junior Chase Zieky, who finished fifth on the team in scoring, despite missing the first half of the season due to transfer eligibility rules. He played in 21 games, scoring eight goals, with six assists for 14 points. A native of Avon, Conn., he scored a team-high three power play goals, with one game-winner. Compiling a team-high shooting percentage at 19.5%, he blocked 11 shots at the defensive end.
Wiffen, a senior forward from St. Mary’s, Ont., was nominated for the 2018-19 ECAC Hockey Student-Athlete of the Year Award after posting a perfect 4.0 GPA in the fall semester, after a 3.66 last spring. Cumulative, the Business & Management major has a 3.22 GPA, having earned multiple Dean’s List honors. On the ice, he played in 35 of the team’s 36 games, scoring a team-high eight goals to go along with five assists for 13 points. The team-leader in goals per game (0.23), he was second in shooting percentage (15.1) and fourth in shots (53).
The Engineers went 10-23-3 overall last season, with a 7-13-2 mark in ECAC Hockey play. They swept the season series with area-rival Union College.
