April 6, 2012

Spencer Abbott and Brian Dumoulin were named First Team All-Americans

TAMPA, Fla. -- The Hockey East Association has placed four players on the 2012 CCM All-America Team, as announced by the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) on Friday night on the off-day of the Frozen Four at the Tampa Bay Times Forum.

The league garnered two of the six spots on the First-Team and placed two honorees on the Second Team. The First- Team is highlighted by Hockey East Player of the Year Spencer Abbott (Hamilton, Ont.), a forward from the University of Maine and First-Team Hockey East All-Star defenseman Brian Dumoulin (Biddeford, Maine) from the Boston College Eagles.

Abbott finished his four years at Maine with a career-best 62 points (21g,41a) in his senior season in 39 games for the Black Bears. Abbott led the nation in points and assists, as well as points per game (1.59) and assists per game (1.05). He was recently named a Top three finalist for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award, given annually the best college player in the country.

Dumoulin has skated in all 43 games for the Eagles and amassed 27 points (7g,20a) leading his team to the NCAA Championship Game in Tampa. His +26 plus/minus rating ranks first among Hockey East players and tied for fifth nationall among Divsion I players.

Boston College forward Barry Almeida (Springfield, Mass.) and Merrimack goaltender Joe Cannata (Wakefield, Mass.) were the two selections to the Second-Team All-America Team from Hockey East.

Almeida has tallied a career-high 39 points and 22 goals in his final season at the Heights in 43 games, while Cannata ended his Merrimack career with stellar season, posting a 17-12-7 record to go along with a 2.18 goals against average, a .925 save percentage and two shutouts for the Warriors.

With the addition of four All-Americans this year, the league has boasted 192 All-America selections in the 28-year history of the conference (an average of almost seven per season). Abbott, Almeida and Cannata all earned All-America status for the first time in their collegiate careers, while Dumoulin earns the First-Team distinction for the second consecutive season.

The Hockey East Association is a 10-team Division I college men's hockey conference founded in 1984 and an eightteam Division I women's league which began play in 2002-03. The men's league has won seven NCAA championships in the past 19 years. Since 1999, Hockey East has won five NCAA Championships and have placed 19 teams in the Frozen Four, along with 49 teams in the NCAA Tournament.