NECHL announces 2022-23 All-Stars

Now that the 2022-23 regular season and playoffs for the Northeast Collegiate Hockey League have concluded, the league has determined its season's all-stars, as voted on by the coaches of the NECHL.

Individual awards — which include Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year and Coach of the Year — were also released. Those three awards were all swept by the Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

The 2022-23 Northeast Collegiate Hockey League's Player of the Year is RIT defenseman Alec Vent. Vent finished at the top of the league in assists with 12 in conference play. He was third in the NECHL with 15 league points, adding three goals during the season as well.

Overall on the season, Vent led the Tiger defensemen in scoring, posting 27 points in 23 games this year. For RIT, Vent became the all-time assist leader in program history. 

"(Alec is) consistently the best player on the ice. (A) power play specialist, penalty kill shot blocker, breakout passes, big hits, timely goals and assists, Alec does everything asked of him and does it at an elite level," RIT coach Brendon Bielby said. "The best part of his game is his ability to make everyone around him better. The best player on our team is whoever is on the ice with him."

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

The 2022-23 Northeast Collegiate Hockey League's Rookie of the Year is RIT forward Dryden Hawn. Hawn was fifth on RIT with 14 league points (10 goals, 4 assists).

Hawn finished the season with two game-winning goals, a tie for second in the NECHL. 

"After an adjustment to (the) speed of the game, Dryden really came into his own, dominating down the stretch. He's a big, strong power forward with a lethal shot who scored big goal after big goal for us this season," Bielby said. "Looking forward to seeing more of his growth as a player."

COACH OF THE YEAR

After leading his team to a second-place finish in the NECHL playoffs, and a regular-season title, the 2022-23 Northeast Collegiate Hockey League Coach of the Year is RIT's Brendon Bielby.

The Tigers concluded the 2022-23 regular season with a 10-1-0 (28 points) league record.

"Coach Bielby is a great guy both inside and outside the rink. He is always open to different opinions, and routinely asks players what he can do better to help them succeed," a cohort of players said. "Since his coaching debut a couple years ago, he has already grown leaps and bounds. He sees the game extraordinarily well and we're sure that he will continue to guide this team in the right direction."

ALL-LEAGUE TEAMS

First Team

Forward — Brendan Reid (Canisius College)
Forward — Nick Gravel (Rochester Institute of Technology)
Forward — Logan May (The College of New Jersey)
Defense — Scott Schnell (Rutgers University)
Defense — Tibor Setteducatti (Canisius College)
Goaltender — Thomas McAleer (Oswego State)

Second Team

Forward — Kyle Neudorf (Canisius College)
Forward — Thomas Sansone (Oswego State)
Forward — Ryan Peterson (University at Buffalo)
Defense — Eddie Evaldi (The College of New Jersey)
Defense — Anthony Trigilio (University at Buffalo)
Goaltender — Michael Bussanich (The College of New Jersey)