COLGATE'S MCDONALD AND RENSSELAER'S LAING
HEADLINE ECAC 1999-2000 AWARD WINNERS
McDonald Named Player of the Year, Laing Named Ken Dryden Award Winner

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. – The Eastern College Athletic Conference has announced its 1999-00 Division I Men's Ice Hockey All-Conference teams. In addition, the ECAC has selected its annual player of the year, rookie of the year, best defensive forward, best defensive defenseman, Ken Dryden, and coach-of-the-year award winners.

Colgate's Andy McDonald (Strathroy, ONT) has been selected as the ECAC/CCM Player of the Year. The Red Raiders' captain took home the ECAC scoring title (16-20-36), while leading his team to a second-place conference finish (14-4-2). McDonald, who is currently among the nation's top scorers, helped Colgate receive conference honors in scoring offense (4.25 g/gm), power play percentage (.280), and special teams net (+18).

Rensselaer's Joel Laing was selected as the ECAC/Heaton Goaltender of the Year. The nation's current save percentage leader (.947) led the ECAC in goals against average (1.85) and save percentage (.946). Laing's stingy goaltending frustrated the opposition all season and enabled the Engineers to gain the No. 3 seed.

St. Lawrence goaltender Derek Gustafson (Gresham, OR) was named ECAC/CCM Rookie of the Year. The young goaltender's smooth transition to college hockey resulted in an 11-1-1 league record and the conference's best winning percentage (.855). Gustafson's consistency between the pipes helped the Saints capture their first regular-season title.

Cornell's Doug Stienstra (Kelowna, BC) has been chosen as the ECAC/Ice Pro Best Defensive Forward. The senior captain accumulated nine goals and 10 assists in 18 conference outings. The prototypical power forward has proven himself as both an offensive threat and excellent penalty killer. Stienstra led the Big Red to a fourth-place conference finish (10-9-1).

St. Lawrence's Justin Harney (Hopkinton, MA) has been selected as the ECAC/ITECH Best Defensive Defenseman. The senior blueliner was a member of the Saints conference-best penalty kill unit. Harney, the squad's captain and special teams standout, also contributed three power-play goals. During his final ECAC campaign, the Saints completed the regular season with a 16-3-1 mark and secured an NCAA tournament berth.

Colgate University's Don Vaughan has been named ECAC/Koho Coach of the Year. In his eighth season behind the Red Raiders bench, Vaughan guided Colgate to a 14-4-2 second-place conference finish and 21-7-2 overall mark. During his tenure, the Colgate hockey program has experienced a great deal of success, while continually gaining respect from the nations top programs. Colgate heads into the playoffs ranked #10 in both major polls.

ALL-CONFERENCE FIRST TEAM
Forward-Andy McDonald, Colgate, SR (Strathroy, ONT)
Forward-Brad Tapper, Rensselaer, JR (Scarborough, ONT)
Forward-Brandon Dietrich, St. Lawrence, SO (Waterloo, ONT)
Defense-Cory Murphy, Colgate, JR (Kanata, ONT)
Defense-Kent Huskins, Clarkson, JR (Almonte, ONT)
Goaltender-Joel Laing, Rensselaer, SR (Maryfield, SASK)

ALL-CONFERENCE SECOND TEAM
Forward-Kirk Lamb, Princeton, JR (Lake Cold, ALB)
Forward-Erik Cole, Clarkson, JR (Oswego, NY)
Forward-Erik Anderson, St. Lawrence, JR (Plymouth, MI)
Defense-Brian Pothier, Rensselaer, SR (New Bedford, MA)
Defense-Justin Harney, St. Lawrence, SR (Hopkinton, MA)
Goaltender-Derek Gustafson, St. Lawrence, FR (Gresham, OR)

ALL-CONFERENCE HONORABLE MENTION
Forward-Darryl Campbell, Colgate, SR (Strathroy, ONT)
Forward-Ben Stafford, Yale, JR (Edina, MN)
Forward-Alan Fyfe, St. Lawrence, JR (Niagara Falls, ONT)
Defense- Dale Clarke, St. Lawrence, SR (Belleville, ONT)
Defense-Jeff Sproat, Union, SR (Oshawa, ONT)
Goaltender-Shep Harder, Colgate, SR (Wayzata, MN)

ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
Forward-Dominic Moore, Harvard (Thornhill, ONT)
Forward-Marc Cavosie, Rensselaer (Cohoes, NY)
Forward-Matt McRae, Cornell (Toronto, ONT)
Defense-Trevor Byrne, Dartmouth (Hingham, MA)
Defense-Mark McRae, Cornell (Toronto, ONT)
Goaltender-Derek Gustafson, St. Lawrence (Gresham, OR)

ECAC/CCM PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Andy McDonald, Colgate

ECAC/CCM ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Derek Gustafson, St. Lawrence

ECAC/ICE PRO BEST DEFENSIVE FORWARD
Doug Stienstra, Cornell, SR (Kelowna, BC)

ECAC/ITECH BEST DEFENSIVE DEFENSEMAN
Justin Harney, St. Lawrence

ECAC/HEATON KEN DRYDEN AWARD
Joel Laing, Rensselaer

ECAC/KOHO COACH OF THE YEAR
Don Vaughan, Colgate

PLAYER NOTES

All-Conference First Team
Andy McDonald, Colgate: The senior captain captured the ECAC point, goal, and assist scoring titles while registering 16 goals and 20 assists in 19 conference games (1.89 ppg). Through March 5 he was third in the nation in points per game (1.62), eighth in goals per game (.69), and sixth in assists per game (.93). McDonald's offensive firepower enabled Colgate to finish second in the ECAC standings with a 14-4-2 record. McDonald, who was named ECAC/CCM Player of the Week twice this season, has also been selected as Player of the Year.

Brad Tapper, Rensselaer: Led the Engineers in ECAC scoring with 25 points (14-11-25). The junior forward currently leads the nation in goals per game with a .91 average (30 goals in 33 games) and is eleventh in points per game (1.39). Tapper finished ninth in conference point scoring (1.19), second in goal scoring (.67), and second in power play goals with eight. Tapper was chosen as the ECAC/CCM Player of the Week twice this season.

Brandon Dietrich, St. Lawrence: Last year's rookie of the year helped the Saints capture their first regular season title (16-3-1) and secure a second straight NCAA tournament appearance. Dietrich's 25 league points (8-17-25) earned a seventh place in the conference scoring race (1.25). His 17 assists were good enough for sixth in that category. For the week ending January 24, Dietrich was named ECAC/CCM Player of the Week.

Cory Murphy, Colgate: Led the ECAC in defenseman scoring with 19 points (6-13-19). Murphy scored four of his six goals on the Red Raider's power play. The junior defenseman certainly made a strong contribution to Colgate's second-place conference finish (14-4-2).

Kent Huskins, Clarkson: The Clarkson blueliner finished fourth in defenseman scoring with 13 points (2-11-13). Huskins was constantly matched up against the league's top forwards as the Golden Knights recovered from a tough start to finish fifth (9-8-3).

Joel Laing, Rensselaer: Led all ECAC goaltenders in goals against average (1.85) and save percentage (.946). The five time ECAC/Heaton Goaltender of the Week is currently the national leader in save percentage (.947) and third in goals against average (1.85). His consistency between the pipes helped the Engineers to a third place conference finish (11-9-1). Laing has been named the Ken Dryden Award winner, which is given to the conference's goaltender of the year.

All-Conference Second Team
Kirk Lamb, Princeton: The junior center led the Tigers in ECAC scoring with 26 points (8-18-26). Lamb finished eighth in point scoring (1.24) and tied for fourth in assist scoring (.86). Six of his eight goals were scored on the Princeton power play. In his first full season, Lamb has emerged as a scoring threat that helped the Tigers go 4-2-1 in their final seven games.

Erik Cole, Clarkson: Led the Golden Knights with 12 goals in ECAC play. Despite drawing the opposition's best defenseman all season long, the junior forward finished tied for sixth in goal scoring (.60) and managed 18 league points (12-6-18). Cole helped Clarkson close out their ECAC schedule with a five-game win streak.

Erik Anderson, St. Lawrence: Finished third in the conference scoring race with 27 points (13-14-27). Anderson's 13 goals ranked fourth among ECAC scorers. His offensive contributions are a big part of St. Lawrence's team success. The junior forward was also selected as the ECAC/CCM Player of the Week once this season.

Brian Pothier, Rensselaer: The Rensselaer captain recorded 18 points (5-13-18) to finish second in defenseman scoring. Pothier's defensive presence helped the Engineers receive top honors in scoring defense, giving up just 2.33 goals per game. The senior defenseman led his team in defenseman scoring for the second consecutive year.

Justin Harney, St. Lawrence: Harney helped St. Lawrence establish the best penalty kill in the league (89.4%) and third best in the nation (.891). The senior captain registered 12 points (4-8-12) in 20 ECAC contests. Harney has also been selected as the league's Best Defensive Defenseman.

Derek Gustafson, St. Lawrence: Led the ECAC with a .885 winning percentage (11-1-1) and finished second among ECAC netminders with a .937 save percentage. The freshman goaltender is currently ranked third in the nation with .935 save percentage and fourth in winning percentage with a .765 mark (12-3-2). Gustafson has also been selected as Rookie of the Year.