McGrath Named MASCAC Ice Hockey Player Of The Year
Worcester, Mass. native earns conference accolade
FITCHBURG, Mass. – Junior goaltender Worcester, Mass.) was selected Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Ice Hockey Player of the Year as announced by the conference office on Wednesday afternoon.
McGrath led all Fitchburg State honorees after collecting MASCAC Player of the Year honors as well as being named to the MASCAC All-Conference First Team, while sophomore forward Ryan Murphy (Wayzata, Minn.) also garnered MASCAC First Team All-Conference accolades.
Fitchburg State head coach Dean Fuller rounded out this year's MASCAC Ice Hockey season honorees after being named Champions Choice MASCAC Ice Hockey Coach of the Year as voted on by the league's coaches.
McGrath ranked first in the conference in save percentage (.942), while ranking second in GAA (2.05) and winning percentage (.695). In addition, Brian totaled 795 saves on the season en-route to bolstering a 14-5-4 record in net for the Green and Gold.
Murphy witnessed a stellar sophomore season for the Falcons, leading the team in points (26), goals (12) and assists (14), while also notching four power-play markers and three game winners for the Green and Gold in 26 games played.
Freshman forward Myles Abate (Norwell, Mass.) of Plymouth State took home MASCAC Rookie of the Year honors after leading the MASCAC in freshmen scoring with 28 points on 16 tallies and 12 assists.
Joining McGrath and Murphy on the MASCAC All-Conference First-Team were Steven Leonard of UMass Dartmouth, FX Girard and Josh Boulos of Westfield State and from Salem State Callum Hofford.
The MASCAC All-Conference Second Team was comprised of Abate, Sean Leonard and Dillon Radin from UMass Dartmouth, Daniel Backstrom and Thierry Messervier of Westfield State and Drake Longaker from Plymouth State.
The Fitchburg State ice hockey team concluded the 2018-19 campaign with an overall record of 14-8-4 and an 11-3-4 clip within conference play, en-route to capturing the seed in the 2019-20 MASCAC Ice Hockey post-season tournament.
Portions of release courtesy of MASCAC SID office