Hobart garners trio of NEHC awards for 2023-24 college hockey campaign as Buzoverya top player, Morrissey rookie of year, Taylor best coach

Artem Buzoverya has garnered the points this season for Hobart (photo: Kevin Colton).

The NEHC men’s division has announced the recipients of the league’s major award winners, all-conference and all-rookie teams as selected by the league’s 10 head coaches.

Hobart’s Artem Buzoverya was named NEHC player of the year after finishing conference play with five goals and 18 assists for 23 points. His 18 assists ranked second in the league and his 23 points ranked third in NEHC action. Two of his five tallies were game winners. Buzoverya’s 34 points overall helped Hobart lead the country in scoring offense with a 5.40 goals per game average. The senior forward also registered an impressive plus-26 plus/minus in NEHC play, helping to lead the Statesmen to a 16-1-1 conference record.

Skidmore’s Tate Brandon garnered NEHC goaltender of the year accolades after his impressive senior campaign. The Thoroughbred netminder led the NEHC in wins (12), posting a conference record of 12-3-1. Brandon also ranked first in saves with 400 while collecting three shutouts during NEHC action.

Hobart’s Bauer Morrissey was selected as NEHC rookie of the year after leading all NEHC defensemen in both conference points (21) and conference assists (17). His 23 total assists led all freshman defensemen in the nation and his .90 assists per game ranks 9th among all players in Division III. Morrissey helped anchor a blueline that led the country in defense, allowing just .96 goals per game.

The Statesmen’s Mark Taylor was voted NEHC coach of the year by his peers for the third straight season after guiding the program to a 16-1-1 conference record and the No. 1 seed heading into the NEHC postseason. Overall, the Statesmen are 22-2-1 and lead both the NEHC and the nation in winning percentage, goals per game, goals against average, scoring margin and penalty kill percentage, among several other categories. The Statemen finished the regular season ranked first in the national polls and will look to defend their 2022-23 national title.

FIRST TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
Forward, Tanner Hartman, Hobart
Forward, Ignat Belov, Hobart
Forward, Artem Buzoverya, Hobart
Defense, Danny Magnuson, Skidmore
Defense, Colby Bailey, Babson
Goaltender, Tate Brandon, Skidmore

SECOND TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
Forward, Kaeden Patrick, Skidmore
Forward, Nicholas Domitrovic, Elmira
Forward, Shawn Kennedy, Elmira
Defense, Jordan Gonzalez, Elmira
Defense, Kevin Sadovski, UMass Boston
Goaltender, Damon Beaver, Hobart

THIRD TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
Forward, Luke Aquaro, Hobart
Forward, Andrew Stefura, VTSU Castleton
Forward, Clark Kerner, Norwich
Defense, Jared Patterson, Hobart
Defense, Matthieu Wuth, Hobart
Goaltender, Sami Molu, Norwich
Goaltender, Bryce Walcarius, Norwich

ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
Forward, Chris Duclair, Hobart
Forward, Owen Sclisizzi, Norwich
Forward, Matt Sullivan, Southern Maine
Defense, Bauer Morrissey, Hobart
Defense, Cooper Betrand, Norwich
Goaltender, Bryce Walcarius, Norwich