Northeast-10 Conference men's ice hockey awards (PDF)

MANSFIELD, Mass. (February 25, 2020) – For the second straight season, senior forward Alex Lester (Methuen, Mass.) of the Franklin Pierce University men’s ice hockey team has been anointed as the Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Year by the league’s coaches, as announced on Tuesday by the NE10. Lester was joined on the major-award front by head coach Shaun Millerick, who was selected as the Lance Brady NE10 Coach of the Year. Lester landed on the All-NE10 First Team, while freshman forward Conor Foley (Nahant, Mass.) was selected to the NE10 All-Rookie Team.

Lester (2020, 2019) becomes just the fourth player in the history of NE10 men’s ice hockey to earn multiple Player of the Year honors in his career, joining Joe Collins of Southern New Hampshire (2017, 2014); Taylor Larsen of Assumption (2012, 2011); and Rob Pascale of Stonehill (2004, 2003). Lester joins Larsen and Pascale as the only back-to-back winners of the award. Meanwhile, Millerick’s award marks the second selection of a Franklin Pierce bench boss as Coach of the Year. Jaymie Harrington earned the award for the 2012-13 season.

Lester also earns his second straight All-NE10 First Team selection, on the strength of a season where he has led the league in scoring both on an overall (17-21-38) and per-game (1.27 points per game) basis. While playing in all 30 games for the Ravens, he has added seven power-play goals and a game-winning goal along the way. Lester has re-written the record books this season, as he has become the program’s all-time leader in goals (44), assists (56) and points (100). On Feb. 14, he became the program’s first member of the 100-point club.

In his third season behind the bench, Millerick has steered the Ravens (15-11-4) back to the postseason for the first time since Harrington’s 2012-13 squad advanced to the NE10 title game. This winter marked the second straight year the Ravens established a new program record for wins in a season. The past two seasons are the only two seasons of double-digit wins in program annals.

Foley is tied for fifth on the team in scoring in his freshman season, and one of six Ravens to reach the 20-point plateau this winter. While playing in 29 games, he has scored nine goals and added 11 assists for 20 points. Foley has scored once on the power play and has a pair of game-winning goals as well. He sits in a three-way tie for second among the league’s freshmen in scoring, trailing only Brendan Nehmer of Stonehill (6-15-21). Included in the tie for second is SNHU’s George Thurston (12-8-20), who took home NE10 Rookie of the Year honors.

Inexplicably absent from the league’s year-end awards is sophomore forward Chris Stevenson (Arvada, Colo.). Stevenson finished second in the NE10 in both total points (16-19-35) and points in Conference games (10-13-23), but was still deemed unworthy of All-NE10 accolades by the league’s coaches, who vote on the awards.

The fourth-seeded Ravens return to the postseason for the first time in seven years on Saturday night, when they travel to top seed Assumption for the semifinal round of the NE10 Championship. Game time is set for 8:30 p.m. at Buffone Arena in Worcester, Mass.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (https://www.fpuravens.com). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics’ official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce ice hockey apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics’ brand new online store (https://www.shopfpuravens.com).