ROCHESTER, NY – Senior forward Erik Brown (Keene, Ontario/Kemptville 73’s) of the RIT men’s hockey team was as a 2018-19 Senior CLASS Award Second Team All-American on Friday, April 12. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: classroom, community, character and competition.
Brown became RIT’s second Senior CLASS Award All-American, joining Alexander Kuqali (Pittsburgh, PA/Sioux City Musketeers), who was named in 2016.
The award, chosen by a nationwide vote of Division I men’s hockey coaches, national hockey media and fans, is given annually to the most outstanding senior student-athletes in Division I men’s hockey. Kyle Haak of Air Force Academy was named the 2018-19 Senior CLASS Award winner.
One of RIT’s co-captains, Brown, a 2018 All-Atlantic Hockey first team selection and 2019 third team pick, led RIT with 18 goals this season and added 11 assists for 29 points. On. Jan. 11, Brown became the 11th player in RIT’s Division I history to reach 100 points in his career in a win over American International. Three days later, Brown earned his second AHA Offensive Player of the Week honor and was named NCAA Ice Hockey’s First Star of the Week.
Brown, who set a Division I team single-season mark with 29 goals last year, finished his four-year career with 70 goals, which is RIT’s Division I school record. He is seventh in RIT’s Division I era with 115 career points on 70 goals and 45 assists in 148 games. Brown finished second all-time in the Division I era with 26 power-play goals and 11 game-winning markers. In 2018, Brown, won RIT’s Lou Spiotti Coaches Award and was recipient of the Greg Moss Hard Hat Award.
In the classroom, Brown, a biomedical sciences major, is also a three-time Atlantic Hockey All-Academic Team selection (2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18). Brown has delivered Teddy Bears to children at the Rochester Regional Health Pediatric Department after the annual Teddy Bear Toss game in both 2016 and 2017. In addition, he has volunteered with Muddy’s Buddies in Rochester, which is a nonprofit, charitable organization that seeks to improve the quality of life of children and their families whose lives have been touched by cancer and other chronic illnesses.
RIT finished with 17 wins and advanced to the Atlantic Hockey Semifinals in 2018-19.
2018-19 Senior CLASS Award Recipients
First Team
Kyle Haak, Air Force (Senior CLASS Award Winner)
Chase Berger, Penn State
Tanner Jago, Bentley
Sasha Larocque, Ohio State
Max Veronneau, Princeton
Second Team
Erik Brown (Keene, Ontario/Kemptville 73’s), RIT
Mason Bergh, Colorado College
Chase Priskie, Quinnipiac
Jimmy Schuldt, St. Cloud State
Josh Teves, Princeton
