HAVERHILL, Mass. – Four Purple Eagles from the No. 14 Niagara hockey team were named to the Atlantic Hockey All-Conference Teams for the 2012-13 regular season as announced on Tuesday.
Giancarlo Iuorio and Carsen Chubak earned a spot on the First Team All-Conference for the first time in their careers, while Dan Weiss was placed on the Second Team All-Conference and Kevin Ryan was selected as a Third Team All-Conference honoree.
Iuorio had 25 points on 15 goals and 10 assists in league play, while playing in 16 conference games this season due to an injury. The assistant captain was a threat both on the power play and while on the man-disadvantage, netting a trio of power play goals, and adding two short-handed scores. Iuorio posted a pair of game-winners, finishing the regular season a plus-13. The three-time AHA Player of the Week and November’s Player of the Month, also led the league with two hat tricks, coming against UConn (Nov. 2) and Robert Morris (Feb. 15).
Chubak appeared in 25 league games for Niagara, posting a 20-3-2 mark with a 1.82 goals against average and a .939 saves percentage. The seven-time AHA Goalie of the Week and two-time AHA Goalie of the Month pocketed a league leading five shutouts. After his 27-save effort against Army on Nov. 9, following a pair of shutouts against UConn the previous weekend, Chubak became the first NU goalie to register three consecutive shutouts, tying him for third in NCAA history with three successive shutouts, in the company of goalies such as Jimmy Howard and Ryan Miller. The following day, at the sixth minute mark of the second stanza against Army, Chubak found himself again making history, earning the record for most consecutive shutout minutes (258.32).
Senior co-captain Dan Weiss headlined the defensive core for the Purple Eagles, turning in a strong season during conference play. The defenseman played in all 27 league games, starting in 26 consecutive contests since Nov. 2, all while logging extensive ice-time. Defensively, Weiss utilized his 6-foot-2, 195-pound frame to clear out forwards from the front of the team’s net and to take command of the game, while offensively he chipped in 10 points from the Purple Eagle blue line (3 goals; 7 assists). His seven assists are a career-high for the St. Louis, Mo. native.
Ryan accumulated 15 points as a defenseman for the Purps, scoring a goal and adding a career-high 14 assists in league play. The Eden, N.Y. native played in all 27 AHA contests this season, wrapping up the regular season a plus-13. One of his best attributes was his ability to play as ‘power play quarterback’, providing more of a threat on the man-advantage, where seven of his assists were pocketed this season.
Top-seeded Niagara (23-8-5) faces seventh-seeded Canisius (17-18-5) on Friday, at 4:05 p.m. in the AHA semifinals at the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, N.Y.
