Brian Elliott of Wisconsin Named National College Hockey Player of the Month
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April 21, 2006
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Madison, Wis.-- University of Wisconsin goalie Brian Elliott, who compiled a 9-1-0 record and backstopped the Badgers to the NCAA national championship in Milwaukee is the CSTV: College Sports Television/Hockey Commissioners' Association National Division I Player of the Month for March/April.
The 21-year old from Newmarket, Ont., a draft pick of the Ottawa Senators in 2003, allowed just nine goals during a 10-game stretch for a 0.83 goals-against average and stopped 266-of-275 shots for a .967 save percentage. He was named to the Frozen Four All-Tournament team and was also selected as the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Midwest Regional. His five shutouts in the month of March alone would have established the school single-season record. Instead he doubled the UW mark for a season with eight whitewashes.
Elliott's three straight shutouts, beginning with the third-place game at the WCHA Final Five against high-powered Minnesota, and continuing into both games at the Midwest Regional, marked the first time that a Badger goaltender blanked three consecutive opponents. His shutout streak of 269:52 eclipsed the WCHA record of 249:41 set by Gerald `Spike' Schultz of North Dakota during the 1953-54 season. The streak included a triple overtime, 1-0 shutout victory over Cornell in the regional final.
One of three finalists for the Hobey Baker Award, the 6-foot-3 Elliott (who was also the National Player of the Month for November) finished the season as the national leader with an .814 winning percentage (27-5-3), a 1.55 GAA and 938 Spct. while tying for the national lead with eight shutouts. His season GAA, save percentage and shutout total are all UW records.
Michigan State goaltender Jeff Lerg has been named the CSTV/HCA National Division I Rookie of the Month. In seven games played, Lerg (who was also honored in January) posted a 1.87 goals-against average and a .937 save percentage with a 5-2-0 record. He allowed just eight even-strength goals in seven games played.
The 5-foot-6 netminder from Livonia, Mich., was named the CCHA Rookie of the Year on March 16th and, over the next two nights, proceeded to capture the Bill Beagan Trophy as the most valuable player of the CCHA Championship. He made 25 saves in a 4-1 semifinal victory over Michigan and followed up with 22 stops in a 2-1 victory over top-seeded Miami in the final as the Spartans won their first CCHA playoff title since 2001.
He posted his third shutout of the season, with 36 saves, in a 1-0 win over New Hampshire in the opening game of the NCAA East Regional in Albany, N.Y.
Lerg, who captured USA Hockey's Goalie of the Year and Player of the Year awards in 2005 as a member of the Omaha Lancers of the USHL, compiled a 17-6-6 record in his freshman campaign with a 1.96 GAA and .928 save percentage. He started 23 of the Spartans' last 24 games.
National Player of the Month
Brian Elliott, G, Wisconsin, WCHA
National Rookie of the Month
Jeff Lerg, G, Michigan State, CCHA
Honorable Mention Player of the Month
Jean-Guy Gervais, F, Bemidji State, CHA
Jeff Lerg, G, Michigan State, CCHA
Dan Murphy, F, Harvard, ECACHL
Tony Quesada, G, Holy Cross, AHA
Cory Schneider, G, Boston College, HEA
Honorable Mention Rookie of the Month
Ted Cook, F, Niagara, CHA
Matt Duffy, D, Maine, HEA
Brian McCafferty, D, Harvard, ECACHL
Tyler Small, G, Mercyhurst, AHA
Jonathan Toews, F, North Dakota, WCHA
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