Canisius forward Dylan McLaughlin was named the Atlantic Hockey Conference Player of the Year as the league announced its individual award winners for the regular season on Thursday.
A native of Lancaster, N.Y., McLaughlin becomes the second Golden Griffin player in as many seasons and third overall to receive the league’s top honor, joining former teammate Charles Williams (2016-17) and Cory Conacher (2009-10) on the exclusive list.
A member of the 2017-18 All-Atlantic Hockey First Team, McLaughlin captured the league’s scoring title as he paced Atlantic Hockey in points (38) and assists (25) during the regular season.
McLaughlin was consistent throughout the 2017-18 campaign as he found his way onto the scoresheet in 21 of 28 league games played; finishing with multiple points on 12 occasions. McLaughlin also wrapped up the campaign tied for third in the league with a plus/minus rating of +12.
Named a Hobey Baker Memorial Award Top Ten Finalist on Wednesday, McLaughlin enters championship weekend having put together one of the finest seasons in school history. He sits second on the program’s Division I era charts for points (48) and assists (31) in a season and is ninth on the school’s Division I list for goals in a campaign (17).
Nationally, he ranks among the top-10 players in total assists (31/T-6th) and points (48/T-6th) as well as assists (0.86/T-6th) and points (1.33/7th) per game.
Second-seeded Canisius squares off against fifth-seeded Air Force in the second semifinal of the 2018 Atlantic Hockey Conference Tournament Friday. Opening faceoff is set for 8 p.m. at the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, N.Y.
The winner will advance to Saturday’s championship game, where it will face the winner of Friday’s first semifinal matchup between top-seed Mercyhurst and seventh-seeded Robert Morris in a 7:35 p.m. contest.
