Sunday, March 31, 2013

MJHL Announces 2012-2013 Season Awards

Press Release

 HAWTHORNE, NJ – The Metropolitan Junior Hockey League is pleased to announce its year-end awards for the 2012-2013 season.  Nine awards were handed out and the New Jersey Rockets Troy Conzo (’97 birth year/Nesconset, NY) was given the league’s top award by being voted the league’s Most Valuable Player.  Conzo was also voted Rookie of the Year.  Boston’s Jared Dauhphinais (’92 birth year/Cranston RI) was voted Goalie of the Year.  Connecticut’s Tyler Hines (’94 birth year/North Haven, CT) was chosen as the Defensive Forward of the Year.  Long Island’s Michael Cartwright (’93 birth year/Coram, NY) was voted Defensive Defenseman of the Year and Conzo’s Rocket teammate Charlie McAvoy (’97 birth year/Long Beach, NY) was chosen offensive defenseman of the year and Boston’s Rich DeCaprio was voted as the Coach of the Year.

Rocket goaltender Joshua Creelman (’96 birth year/High Bridge, NJ) was named Postseason MVP and Richmond forward Steven Valva (’92 birth year/Henrico, VA) was the league scoring champion and New Jersey Renegades forward Cody Williams (’92 birth year/Las Vegas, NV) won the goal scoring title in awards handed out without a vote.

Conzo, who finished third in the MJHL in scoring with 69 points (33G 36A) in 36 league games, won the Most Valuable Player voting and was a near unanimous selection as the league’s Rookie of the Year.  Spending the majority of the season on the Rockets top line, Conzo saw ice time in all situations for the Keegan Cup Champions and was also the team’s second leading scorer in the championship run.  Conzo gives the Rockets back-to-back Most Valuable Players and Rookie of the Years as Ryan Hitchcock (’96 birth year/Manhasset, NY & committed to Yale University) won the MVP award and Alec Marsh (’95 birth year/Bridgewater, NJ & committed to Penn State University) was the Rookie of the Year for the 2011-2012 season.

Dauphinais put together a solid season in net for the Boston Junior Rangers, taking to the ice in 19 games, amassing an 11-5 record with a GAA of 2.14 and a save percentage of 93%.  It was in the Junior Rangers run to the Keegan Cup finals where the Cranston native shined, with a record of 6-2, starting all eight of the Junior Ranger playoff games and had a GAA of 2.38 and a save percentage of 93%.

Connecticut’s Hines and the Long Island’s Cartwright were recognized for their outstanding defensive play this season in being recognized as the top defensive forward and defenseman respectively.  Hines helped anchor the lowest goals against in the Francis Division, the fourth lowest in the MJHL, and also added 13 goals on the year, showing that the North Haven native has the ability to contribute on both ends of the ice.

Cartwright, the top defenseman for Head Coach Ken Hoey and the Long Island Royals, anchored the top defensive unit in the Mullen Division.  The Royals captain is on the ice in all situations, often matching up with the opposing team’s top offensive line and guided the Royals to their second consecutive Mullen Division regular season crown.  Cartwright also is a offensive contributor for the Royals, finishing eighth in scoring among defensemen and was the second leading scorer for the Royals in the Keegan Cup playoffs.

McAvoy, the leading scorer among defensemen with 43 points (12G 31A), was a near unanimous selection for the Offensive Defenseman of the Year Award.  The Long Beach native was a participant in the USANTDP Evaluation Camp and was a key offensive contributor for the Rockets high-powered offense, the second most productive offense in the MJHL.  McAvoy was the team’s third leading scorer in the regular season and then was the team’s third leading scorer in the playoffs, despite not seeing the ice in the Keegan Cup finals because of the NTDP Evaluation Camp.

The final voted award was handed out to DeCaprio, the Head Coach of the Boston Junior Rangers, who were the regular season, and postseason, champions of the Francis Division, reached the Keegan Cup final game in their first year in existence.  DeCaprio, who brought nine years of coaching experience, and four years of Division One playing experience from Niagara University, into his first year behind the bench for the Junior Rangers, guided the Junior Rangers to a 26-8 record, the fourth best record in the MJHL.

Creelman was named the Keegan Cup’s Most Valuable Player after guiding the Rockets to their second consecutive Keegan Cup Championship.  The High Bridge native had a 7-3 record during the playoffs, including two shutouts – a forty-three save victory over Central Penn and a thirty save win over Boston in the finals.  Creelman had a sparkling 1.80 goals against and a save percentage of 95%.

Valva, the second year forward for R.C. Lyke and the Richmond Generals, won the scoring title by a comfortable five points over Williams.  The Henrico native had thirty-seven goals and forty-six assists, leading the MJHL in assists.  Valva added fourteen more points in the Generals run to the Keegan Cup semifinals, leading the team in points.

Williams, the first year forward for the Renegades franchise, set the Renegades single season mark for points in a season with seventy-eight total points.  Williams erupted for ten goals over a three game span in mid-January, taking over the goal scoring lead from Valva and despite only having one goal in his final three regular season games, Williams held off a late charge from Valva to take home the goal scoring title, giving the Renegades the league’s top goal scorer two years in a row.

The league will be naming it’s All-League teams next week, the first time the MJHL will bestow those awards.

 (Nathan can be reached at nathanfournier@mainehockeyjournal.com)

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