Union senior forward Mario Valery-Trabucco was the second-leading scorer in ECAC Hockey play this season.
His 32 points on 19 goals and 13 assists stood only behind Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute forward Chase Polacek’s 35 points. Valery-Trabucco was second in goals, one behind Yale’s Broc Little, was a three-time ECACH player of the week and leads the Hobey Baker Award fan vote.
But it wasn’t good enough to get him on the ECACH’s all-conference first team.
Valery-Trabucco was named to second team on Tuesday. That left Union coach Nate Leaman befuddled.
“It’s an extremely deep class of forwards in our league,” Leaman said, diplomatically. “I certainly feel that Mario finishing second in the league in goals, finishing second in the league in overall points, is worthy of being an All-American. I’ve coached some All-Americans in the past at other schools I’ve been at, and I think Mario is an All-American.
“I wouldn’t trade Mario for any other forward in the league.”
Valery-Trabucco leads the Dutchmen in overall scoring with 21 goals and 21 assists. He has the team record for goals in a season, and a career with 57.
The Dutchmen did get a player on the first team. Defenseman Mike Schreiber, who is a finalist for the league’s Defensive Defenseman Award, was the top-scoring defenseman in ECACH play with six goals and 13 assists.
“What’s nice about Mike is that he’s not only a first team, but he’s up for Defensive Defenseman, as well,” Leaman said. “He finished the year with a plus-23 [defensive rating]. In order for our team to win this year, we needed Mike to play great both offensively and defensively, and he’s done that.”
Dutchmen goalie Keith Kinkaid was named to the third team and the all-rookie team. Kinkaid posted a 10-4-2 record with a 2.54 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage. He is a finalist for Rookie of the Year and the Ken Dryden Award for top goalie.
“For the most part, he’s played terrific throughout the season,” Leaman said. “He keeps accumulating awards. In junior hockey, he accumulated every award that he could. Now, at the next level, he’s started to do the same.”
RPI was well-represented on the postseason teams. Polacek was named to the first team after collecting 17 goals and 18 assists. He is a finalist for the Player of the Year award.
Goalie Allen York was named to the second team. He was 9-7-3 with a 2.26 GAA, second only to Cornell goalie Ben Scrivens’ 1.89, and a .919 save percentage.
RPI’s second- and third-leading scorers, Brandon Pirri (10-31-41) and Jerry D’Amigo (10-22-32), both made the all-rookie team. D’Amigo missed four games while skating for the gold-medal-winning U.S. team in the World Junior Championships.
“We’re all very happy for those four young men,” RPI coach Seth Appert said. “They’re real high-quality student-athletes for our program, and for our university. They’re all equally deserving of the honors and the recognition they were given on the different teams.”
Categories: College Sports
