UTICA, NY – Two members of the Utica College men’s ice hockey team can now officially add the title of All-American to their long list of accolades. Junior forward Conor Landrigan (New Tripoli, PA/Binghamton Jr. Sens (NAHL)) and senior defenseman Daniel Fritz (Harwood, MD/Canisius College (Atlantic Hockey)) have been chosen to the 2019-20 American Hockey Coaches’ Association/CCM Division III All-America Teams. The prestigious awards were announced by the national association representing hockey coaches at all levels.
Fritz was chosen to the East region first team, and becomes the second Utica defenseman to ever earn All-America honors. Landrigan is the first player in program history to be named an All-American as a junior, as he reached the East region second team. The pair are the seventh and eighth All-Americans in program history, joining Jimmy Sokol, Tim Coffman, Trever Hertz, Louis Educate, Dalton Carter (Toledo, OH/Northern Cyclones (EHL)), and Roman Ammirato (Williamstown, NJ/Union College (ECAC)).
The team compiled a historic season with Fritz and Landrigan leading the way. Utica climbed up to a third place ranking in the USCHO Poll, and the top spot in the NCAA Pairwise rankings by the end of the season. The team won a school-record 25 games, and capped the year on a program-best 20 game winning streak on their way to the UCHC regular season and tournament titles. The 20 game streak was the longest in NCAA men’s hockey this season. They were scheduled to play their first NCAA tournament game since 2013 after earning the top overall seed.
Fritz finishes off his college career with first team honors after previously earning UCHC Defensive Player of the Year and All-USCHO first team honors. The highest scoring defenseman in the nation set the pace with an average of 1.34 points per game. His points per game average ranked 26th nationally among all skaters. He was third on the squad with 29 points this season, and racked up 11 goals and 28 assists. He was thirteenth in the country with an average of 0.97 assists per game, and ranked ninth in the nation with eight power play goals. He led Utica to the sixth best scoring defense mark nationally at just 1.97 goals allowed per game. He finishes his career tied for the most points ever by a Utica defenseman. In just three seasons, he had 82 points on 20 goals and 62 assists to stand alongside former teammate and 2018 All-American Dalton Carter (Toledo, OH/Northern Cyclones (EHL)) at the top of the college’s career list for points by a blue liner. He has the most career assists and the highest points per game average of any defenseman to ever play for UC.
Landrigan earns second team honors after an excellent year where he was named the UCHC Co-Player of the Year and an All-USCHO first team selection. The junior was third in the nation at 1.86 points per game, which stands as a new school record. The junior had 41 points on 13 goals and 28 assists in just 22 appearances. He was 24th in the nation in goals per game(0.59), and finished the year third in assists per game (1.27). Landrigan had the sixth best season in school history in terms of total points, and was three assists away from setting a new single season record at Utica. The Pioneers were 21-0-1 with Landrigan in the lineup this season, and the junior forward went on to record a point in 21 of the 22 games he played. He was also on the short list of finalists for the Sid Watson National Player of the Year award.
Fritz is one of four seniors on this year’s squad. That group combined their efforts to never finish lower than first in the UCHC or ECAC West standings during their four year career, and the quartet were also responsible for helping Utica to four straight conference final appearances and two tournament crowns. Landrigan returns along with the majority of this year’s roster for a promising 2020-21 season.
