Leivermann, McLean, & Smyth Honored In MIAC’s Men’s Hockey Awards

St. Peter, Minn. – Three Gustavus Adolphus men’s hockey players were honored as members of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Men’s Hockey All-Conference team as a part of the 2013-14 MIAC Men’s Hockey Awards released on Tuesday, March 11.  Gusties featured on the 20-player All-Conference Team included senior forward Corey Leivermann (North Mankato, Minn.), sophomore goaltender John McLean (Eagan, Minn.), and senior forward Adam Smyth (Burnsville, Minn.).

St. Thomas goaltender Drew Fielding and Concordia defenseman Caleb Suberman were named the MIAC Co-Players-of-the-Year, while St. Thomas Head Coach Jeff Boeser was honored by his peers as the MIAC Coach-of-the-Year.

Making his first appearance on the All-MIAC Team, Corey Leivermann certainly made the most of his short tenure in a Gustavus sweater since transferring from MSU, Mankato halfway through the 2012-13 campaign.  With top-class hands and a lightning fast release, Leivermann proved to be the league’s top goal-scorer in his final season of collegiate hockey.  Within league play, the senior captain scored a conference-best 12 goals and added seven assists for a total of 19 points.  Following the MIAC’s 16-game conference season, Leivermann finished in a four-way tie for first place in point-scoring – sharing the scoring title with St. Olaf’s Dan Cecka (10G, 9A), Concordia’s Andrew Deters (7G, 12A), and Augsburg’s Mack Ohnsted (5G, 14A).  He was the first Gustie to lead the MIAC in scoring since David Martinson `10 scored 36 points (23G, 13A) during the 2009-10 season.

Overall, Leivermann played in all 27 games and finished with 30 points off of 18 goals and 12 assists.  His 30 points ranked third in the MIAC, while his 18 goals placed him in first place alongside St. Olaf’s Dan Cecka who also scored 18.  Leivermann recorded four power play goals, two short-handed goals, and two game-winners while also finishing with a rating of +9.  He registered six multiple point games and scored two goals in a game on three occasions.

A member of the 2011-12 MIAC All-Rookie Team, goaltender John McLean missed nearly all of last season after being sidelined with a severe ankle injury in mid-November.  After nearly a full year of recovery and rehabilitation, the six-foot eight-inch netminder showed few signs of rust as he settled in between the pipes this season.  Within conference play, McLean went 12-3-1 and finished the 16-game league schedule with a 1.50 goals against average (2nd/MIAC) and a .936 save percentage (2nd/MIAC).  Although a shutout eluded him until blanking Bethel in a 24-save effort in the regular season finale on Feb. 22, McLean allowed MIAC foes just one goal a total of nine times.

The Eagan, Minn. product started in 25 of Gustavus’s 27 games and logged a total of 1,525:03 minutes.  He averaged 22.1 saves per game went 15-6-4 overall with a 1.97 goals against average (2nd/MIAC) and a .920 save percentage (.920).  McLean is the first Gustavus goaltender in the last 20 years to finish the season with a goals against average under two.  His .920 save percentage is the program’s best mark since he finished with a .923 rate his rookie year.  Those two statistics rank second and third at Gustavus since the 2000-01 season, sitting behind Dan Melde’s save percentage of .929 posted in 2001-02.

A member of the 2012-13 All-Conference Team, Adam Smyth makes his final appearance in the MIAC’s post-season awards.  A long and lengthy sniper who used a combination finesse and physically to find shooting lanes, Smyth finished second on the team in both goals and points.  He found the back of the net a total of 11 times and added eight assists for a total of 19 points overall.  It was the fourth time in his career that the Burnsville, Minn. native reached the 15-point mark.

The senior’s goal breakdown included two on the power play, two game-winners, one short-handed, and one game-tying.  He tallied five multiple-point games, led the team in shots (135) for the third straight season, and ended up with a rating of +8. Within conference play, Smyth scored 12 points off of seven goals and five assists.

Adam Smyth will graduate this spring with 107 games logged as a member of the Gustavus men’s hockey team – ranking him fourth since the turn of the century.  He was the most seasoned veteran in the MIAC this season with more games played than any other player.  Smyth is the first player since Ross Ring-Jarvi `12 to earn back-to-back all-conference accolades, finishing his career with 73 points off 44 goals and 29 assists.

To go along with Gustavus’s three all-conference honorees, freshman defenseman Drew Aspinwall (Maple Grove, Minn.) was named to the MIAC All-Rookie Team.  Aspinwall played in all 27 games and finished alongside Nate Paulsen (Jr., La Habra, Calif.) for the team lead in defenseman scoring after recording eight points off one goal and seven assists.  His lone goal turned was a third period game-winner in Gustavus’s 3-2 win over Marian on Nov. 30.  Aspinwall is Gustavus’s first member of the All-Rookie team since the 2011-12 season when Andy Pearson and John McLean took home the award.

As part of a conference-wide sportsmanship initiative, the MIAC also announced the eighth 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.  Junior forward Andy Pearson (Burnsville, Minn.) was selected at Gustavus’s representative on this year’s All-Sportsmanship Team.

MIAC Release