MADISON, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – The Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) office announced the 2018 All-WIAC men's hockey awards on Friday, with the Blugolds landing four players on the First Team and one on the Honorable Mention Team while Head Coach Matt Loen earned Co-Coach of the Year honors for the second-straight season.
Loen and UW-Stout's Terry Watkins share Coach of the Year honors this season. The Blugold and Blue Devil squads squared off in the WIAC Semifinals last weekend where Eau Claire won the series after going to the decisive mini-game on Saturday night. This is the sixth time Loen has earned Coach of the Year honors in the past nine years after previously receiving the honor in 2009-10, 2010-11, 2012-13, 2014-15 and 2016-17.
Named to the All-WIAC First Team were Jake Hopfner (Sr. – Eastpointe, MI), Lucas Kohls (Jr. – Forest Lake, MN), Adam Parsells (Fr. – Wausau, WI) and Colton Wolter (Sr. – Fairbanks, AK).
Wolter tied for seventh in the WIAC for points (23), tied for fourth in assists (15) and tied for fifth for power play goals (4). The senior currently has a plus/minus rating of +10.
Hofpner and Kohls tied for second on the team with 17 points while Hopfner also tied for fourth in the WIAC with four game-winning goals. Kohls currently owns the best plus/minus rating for Eau Claire as he has a rating of +12.
Parsells was fifth in the WIAC for points tallied by a defenseman (12) in his first season as a Blugold. The newcomer has dished out 10 assists on the season and has a plus/minus rating of +9.
Jake Bresser (So. – Eau Claire, WI) earned Honorable Mention honors for Eau Claire as the sophomore was fourth in the WIAC with 82 shots (3.42 average per game). The Eau Claire native has tallied nine goals and six assists on the season to date.
In addition, Zach Kennedy (Fr. – Eagle River, WI) represented the Blugolds on the All-Sportsmanship Team.
The Blugolds (16-10-1, 4-3-1 WIAC) will play at UW-Stevens Point in the WIAC Championship (presented by Culver's) Saturday at 7 p.m. Follow the action on Blugold Game Day.
