TROY, N.Y. – ECAC Hockey has announced its monthly award winners from men’s hockey and two Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) student-athletes have been recognized. Todd Burgess has been named Player of the Month, while Owen Savory earned his second consecutive MAC Goaltending Goalie of the Month.
A senior forward from Phoenix, Ariz., Burgess led the Engineers to a 6-3-0 February, including a 5-1 mark in ECAC Hockey play. Netting a league-best nine goals to go along with three assists for a league-high 12 points, he had the second-highest plus/minus among conference skaters at +10, with three power play tallies, 28 shots and six blocks at the defensive end. His month was highlighted by a four-goal outing against Princeton on February 22 – registering his first collegiate hat trick in a 7-1 win.
Burgess posted a six-game point stream during the February in which he scored eight goals and added three assists for 11 points. He produced three power play tallies and one game-winning assist during the stretch, with a +8 rating. In six conference games in February, he netted a team-high seven goals with two assists for nine points and a +10 rating.
Playing in 32 games for the Engineers this season, Burgess has a team-high 14 goals and six assists for 20 points. The team-leader in goals per game (0.44), power play goals (5), hat tricks (1) and shooting percentage (17.7%), he is a former standout with the Fairbanks Ice Dogs. Defensively, he has 12 blocked shots, while being assessed 10 minor penalties for 20 minutes.
In 102 career games, Burgess has 22 goals and 26 assists for 48 points.
A sophomore from Cambridge, Ont., Savory went 6-2-0 in February with a 1.51 goals against average and a league-best .954 save percentage in eight starts. Recording league-highs in total saves (247) and shutouts (3), he had save totals of 38, 37 and 29 in his three shutouts, including RPI’s first road whitewashing of Harvard since 2000.
Savory has started 24 games for the Engineers this season, posting a 13-9-2 record, with a 2.06 goals against average and a .932 save percentage and five shutouts – the most by an RPI netminder since Nathan Marsters ’04 had five in 2003-04. In 18 ECAC Hockey contests, the former St. Catharines Falcons standout went 11-6-1 with a 1.74 goals against average and a .941 save percentage and four shutouts. He led all conference goalies in both save percentage and shutouts, while ranking third in goals against average, fourth in winning percentage (.639) and seventh in total saves (479).
Nationally, Savory currently ranks second in shutouts, seventh in save percentage and 12th in goals against average. His five shutouts are one shy of the school record of six, which is held by Laing from the 1999-00 season.
In 49 career games at RPI, Savory is 18-24-5, with a 2.26 goals against average and a .929 save percentage, which both rank first in program history. His six career shutouts are fourth all-time.
The Engineers, who are 17-15-2 overall, went 13-8-1 in ECAC Hockey, earning a First Round bye in the conference tournament. They host a best-of-3 quartefinal series March 13-15 at the Houston Field House.
