This past week the MIAC released their end-of-season hockey awards which recognized outstanding athletes within the conference and SJU was well represented. Three Johnnie hockey players were recognized on the First Team All-Conference Team as well as one honorable mention. The future of Johnnie hockey was also well represented with two freshmen players making the All-Rookie Team that consists of just six players throughout the MIAC.
Our All-Conference recipients this year were seniors #7 Andrew Commers and #29 Saxton Soley, and sophomore #10 Huba Sekesi. All three were well-deserving recipients and not only show great ability and impact on the ice, but all have exceptional character off the ice as well.
Commers a senior, and was one of the best captains that I have ever worked with. Andrew came to SJU from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) a Division I hockey program. He has deep-rooted family ties to SJU and decided to follow that same path after one year playing at RPI. Before attending RPI, Andrew went to St. Thomas Academy where he won two state championships. Andrew finished the regular season with 7 goals and 9 assists for 16 points. All 7 of his goals and 13 of his 16 points came against MIAC opponents. Andrew also had 4 goals in two MIAC playoff games and finished the season with 6 goals in his final three games. He seemed to get better as the stage got bigger. He will be impossible to replace and I am very happy that the MIAC coaches gave him this recognition.
Sekesi was only a sophomore and was recognized as a MIAC All-Rookie team member last season. Huba came to SJU through the North American Hockey League and the Bismarck Bobcats, but his path to SJU started a lot further away than that. Huba is from Germany and thanks to his decision to play junior hockey in the U.S., we were able to get him to Saint John’s. Huba is another one of those guys that is not only a great player, but also a great person off the ice. He led the team with 25 overall points and 19 MIAC points. He emerged as a vocal leader in the locker room throughout the year. The future of SJU Hockey is bright with guys like Huba on the team.
Soley has been the backbone of this team for four years in net. Saxton started his career at SJU with a bang being named MIAC Co-Player of the Year in his freshman season as well as an All-American. Saxton maintained a 90% save percentage or above all four of his years at SJU and has once again earned MIAC All-Conference this season. Saxton finished the year with .918 save percentage overall and a .924 save percentage in MIAC games. Saxton was at his best in the big games and would be considered a “Gamer” in that he was always focused and ready to go when the time came. Saxton will be very hard to replace as we have been spoiled with great goaltending for four straight years.
I mentioned that the future was also bright for SJU Hockey as we had two All-Rookie Team members with freshmen #2 Sean Lang and #17 Mitch Fritz receiving this honor. This is a very tough award to receive as there are only two defensemen, three forwards, and one goaltender that are named to the all-rookie team in the entire MIAC conference. Sean was our top defensemen throughout the year and quarterbacked our top power play. He finished fifth among all defensemen in the MIAC in points and second among freshmen blue-liners. Mitch finished second on our team in points per game with 1.18, second in point for a freshmen in the MIAC and first for a freshmen in the MIAC in points per game. Mitch missed the first half of the season with an injury, but came back with a vengeance and was a huge reason for our second-half success.
Finally, #15 Joe Freemark received All-Conference Honorable Mention for his efforts this year. I will say that Joe is probably the most underrated defensemen in the entire MIAC. Joe came to SJU right out of Lakeville South High School and was a steady defenseman for four years. Joe’s efforts don’t always show up on the scoresheet, but he is highly respected by his teammates and us coaches for how he plays and for what he brings to this team.
We had a good season and an incredible run during the second half of our season. All of our seniors will be sorely missed, but as we look forward to next season our future is very bright. Next season we will have seven of our top eight scorers returning and six of the top eight being freshmen and sophomores. So while we wait for next season, know that our work begins today in preparation for another great year.
Thanks again for following Johnnie Hockey and keep your eyes out for future postings.
