John McLean was recognized as All-MIAC Honorable Mention in this year's MIAC postseason awards.
Bloomington, Minn. – Three Gustavus Adolphus men’s hockey players were recognized in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference postseason awards released Tuesday, March 10 by the league office. John McLean (Jr., Eagan, Minn.) earned a spot on the All-Conference Honorable Mention Team, while Jake Bushey (Fr., Duluth, Minn.) and Conor Deal (Fr., Anchorage, Alaska) were named to the All-Rookie Team.
St. Thomas goaltender Drew Fielding (Sr., Burlington, Ont.) was named the MIAC Player-of-the-Year for the second straight season, and Saint Mary’s University Head Coach Bill Moore was honored by his peers as the MIAC Coach-of-the-Year.
Jake Bushey
A member of the 2013-14 All-Conference Team, netminder John McLean earns recognition in the league’s post-season awards for the third time in his career. Although he missed the first half of the season while recovering from surgery undergone in the summer leading up to this season, McLean got the start in all 13 of Gustavus’s second half games and compiled an overall record of 5-5-3. In 796:40 total minutes, McLean finished the year with a 2.03 goals against average (2nd/MIAC) and a .929 save percentage (3rd/MIAC). He posted two shutouts and allowed just one goal on four occasions. Within conference play, the Eagan product had a 2.15 goals against average (3rd) and a .927 save percentage (1st). He averaged 27.1 saves per game and recorded 30 or more saves four times – including a weekend against St. Thomas (Feb. 13-14) during which he stopped 66-of-68 shots.
Jake Bushey and Conor Deal earn a place on the All-Rookie Team after Drew Aspinwall (So., Maple Grove, Minn.) was bestowed the honor a year ago. Bushey, a defenseman, played in 23-of-25 games and finished the season ranked third on the team in scoring with 14 points (5G, 9A). He also finished second on the team in power play goals with three. Deal, a forward, suited up in all 25 games and led the Black and Gold in scoring with 20 points thanks to a team-best 10 goals and 10 assists. The Anchorage product is the first rookie to lead the team in scoring since Eric Bigham ’10 did so during the 2006-07 campaign. Within league play, Deal lead all freshman with 14 points (6G, 8A) and tallied an MIAC-best seven power play points (2G, 5A).
Conor Deal
As part of a conference-wide sportsmanship initiative, the MIAC also announced the ninth annual All-MIAC Sportsmanship team for men’s hockey. Members of the All-MIAC Sportsmanship team are selected by their coaches and teammates as individuals who demonstrate ideals of positive sportsmanship both on and off the field of competition.
Senior forward Andy Pearson (Burnsville, Minn.) was selected as Gustavus’s representative on this year’s All-Sportsmanship Team. For four seasons beginning in 2011, the “penalty/minutes” category in 104 box scores was blank next to the name of No. 22 Andy Pearson. In the 104 games Pearson skated in while donning a Gustavus sweater, not once was the forward been sent to the penalty box. Within Gustavus men’s hockey history, John Gambucci (1979-80) is the only skater to justify a mention. Gambucci, however, played in 46 career games, 58 less than Pearson. No skater in the history of NCAA Division III men’s hockey has played in more games without logging a single penalty.