Wednesday, February 19, 2014

10 Seniors Up for CLASS Award

Honor salutes four-year players for on- and off-ice contributions.


10 Seniors Up for CLASS Award
Clarkson’s Matt Zarbo won the ECAC Hockey Scholar-Athlete Award last season.

Ten student-athletes who excel both on and off the ice were selected as finalists today for the 2013-14 Senior CLASS Award in men’s hockey. 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 – community, classroom, character and competition.

The group of finalists includes three players who were all-conference honorees last year (St. Lawrence’s Greg Carey, Canisius’s Kyle Gibbons and Nebraska Omaha’s Ryan Walters) and two others who are NHL draft picks (Denver’s Sam Brittain and Brown’s Dennis Robertson).

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.

The finalists were chosen by national media from the list of 20 candidates announced in November. Nationwide fan voting begins immediately and runs through March 31 to help select the winner. Fan votes will be combined with media and Division I head coaches’ votes to determine the winner. The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2014 Frozen Four in April.

2014 Senior CLASS Award Finalists

Sam Brittain Denver
Greg Carey St. Lawrence
Scott Czarnowczan Ferris State
Kyle Gibbons Canisius
Brock Higgs Rensselaer
Cole Ikkala Union
Andy Iles Cornell
Dennis Robertson Brown
Ryan Walters Nebraska Omaha
Matt Zarbo Clarkson