For the second-straight season, junior defender Geoff Fortman (Crystal Lake, Ill.) of the Canisius College hockey team earned Atlantic Hockey Student-Athlete of the Year accolades, announced by the conference on Wednesday. In addition, 16 Griffs were named to the league’s All-Academic Team.
Fortman posted a perfect 4.0 grade point average for the second-straight year to collect the league’s top academic honor. He is the third Griff to earn the honor twice in his career – joining Ryan Bohrer (2011-12 and 2013-14) and Stephen Miller (2012-13 and 2013-14) – and it marks the eighth time in the last 11 years that a Griff received the accolade.
The team’s assistant captain during the 2015-16 campaign, Fortman was one of just four Griffs to appear in all 39 games last season, registering six assists.
Joining Fortman on the league’s All-Academic Team for the third time in their collegiate career is senior Ralph Cuddemi and juniors Shane Conacher and Josh Kielich.
Senior Mathew Backhouse and sophomores David Bennett, Jeff Murray, David Parrottino, Ryan Schmelzer, Jack Stander and Reilly Turner each earned the distinction for the second time in their career.
Freshmen Cody Boyd, Ian Edmondson, Cameron Heath, Alex Jaeckle and Matt McLeod were named to the all-academic team for the first time.
To qualify for the Atlantic Hockey All-Academic Team, an individual must post a 3.0 grade point average or higher in each academic semester during the 2014-15 year.
The Griffs finished the 2015-16 campaign with a 12-22-5 record, including a 10-13-5 mark in Atlantic Hockey play.
