ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Goaltender of the Year Chris Janzen ’21 and Coach of the Year Aaron Saul ’98 highlight Elmira College’s end-of-year award winners from the United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC), as announced by the conference office on Monday afternoon.
A total of six Soaring Eagles were elected to the 2021 All-UCHC Teams. Coaches from around the league voted Janzen and Amedeo Mastrangeli ’24 to the All-UCHC First Team. Representing EC on the Second Team are Shawn Kennedy ’24 and Daniel Dimon ’24.
The 2021 UCHC All-Rookie Team was flooded with first-year Soaring Eagles. Not only did the All-Rookie Team include the aforementioned Mastrangeli, Kennedy, and Dimon, but classmates Chance Gorman ’24 and Ryan Reifler ’24 were also recognized for their tremendous debut seasons.
The 2021 UCHC Championship MVP, Janzen’s performance between the posts guided Elmira to the 11th conference title in the program’s illustrious history and the first since 2014. The senior from Pelham, Ontario, ranked second among in the UCHC in saves (373) and save percentage (.932), and was third among qualified netminders in goals-against average (2.03). Backstopped by Janzen, the EC defense boasted the second-best penalty kill unit in the conference (84.8%). In one of the most exciting games in recent memory, and the fourth-longest contest in NCAA Division III history, Janzen made an incredible 62 saves in a triple-overtime upset over top-seeded Utica in the UCHC semifinals on April 2.
Spurred by a seven-game mid-season point streak, Mastrangeli established himself not only as one of the brightest freshmen in the UCHC, but also as a top-line defender with a nose for the puck. The Richmond Hill, Ontario, import finished his rookie season tied for second in defenseman scoring and tied for sixth in freshman scoring with 12 points (2g-10a). Additionally, he was one of only seven skaters in the conference to hand out double-digit assists in 2021.
As EC’s leading point-getter in 2021, Kennedy concluded the year with 17 points on eight goals and nine assists. He tied Stevenson’s Mac Lowry for first in the UCHC in points among freshmen. Nationally, he was fourth in points per game among first-year skaters with 1.13. The center from Bainsville, Ontario, posted four multi-point games and had a season-high three points on three different occasions.
A hometown hero, Dimon showed off an innate ability to facilitate on the offensive end while shutting down opposing offenses at the blue line. The Elmira native dished out a team-best 12 assists in 2021, fourth-most in the UCHC, while tying Mastrangeli for second place with the most points among conference defenders. Dimon recorded three games with multiple helpers, including a season-high three in a 5-1 win over Chatham on March 26.
Gorman, a member of the 2021 UCHC Championship All-Tournament Team, made his presence known in the third game of the regular season when he scored both goals – one on the power play and one shorthanded – in a 2-2 draw with Neumann. He also ended the year on a four-game point streak that spanned all three playoff rounds. In total, Gorman produced 12 points (5g-7a), tied for sixth-most on the freshman scoring leaderboard.
Elmira’s fourth All-Rookie Team selection was Reifler, a 6-foot-3 forward from nearby Binghamton, New York. With eight goals and eight assists, he was second on the team and tied for seventh in the conference with 16 points. During an eight-game point streak, he pieced together five consecutive multi-point outings. That included three points (2g-1a) in the regular-season finale against Manhattanville and in the UCHC quarterfinals against Chatham.
A three-time winner of the ECAC West Coach of the Year Award, Saul received his first nod from the UCHC after leading the Purple and Gold to their first-ever Pat Thompson ’75 Trophy. He mentored a new-look roster that lost three 100-point scorers from 2020 and featured 13 first-year skaters to upsets over the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds on the road during the UCHC tournament. In 12 season behind the bench, Saul has amassed 164 victories, second-most in program history.
