Just because Ohio’s season ended more than three weeks ago doesn’t mean the accolades have stopped rolling in for the Bobcats.
Senior captain Michael Schultz was named the Central States Collegiate Hockey League’s Most Valuable Player on Sunday, while junior forward Nick Rostek took home the league’s Sportsmanship Award.
Schultz was also named first-team all-league along with junior forward Tyler Pilmore and senior defenseman Zack Barbis. Rostek was named to the all-league second team.
Defenseman Mike Kretz was selected to the all-rookie team, while key penalty killers Jared Fuhs and Jonathan Pietramala were named to the all-defensive team.
Schultz’s honor comes on the heels of a season in which he led the team in scoring with 31 goals and 30 assists, the third straight season he has led Ohio in both goals scored and points. Schultz finished his career with 216 points, just two off the all-time school record held by current coach Dan Morris.
“He obviously had a great year,” Morris said of Schultz. “Just talking with other coaches, they always asked about Mike and always appreciated the player he is: his hard work, his demeanor, his leadership abilities and his playing skills, too.
“They’ve seen him play for four years, so they appreciate his efforts and it goes without saying that he’s got the respect of the coaches in our league.”
The awards were voted on by the league’s seven coaches, and Schultz said gaining recognition from opposing coaches was a major part of the accolade for him.
“It’s more of kind of a respect thing. It’s nice to see that other coaches respect you as an opponent,” Schultz said. “It’s obviously a huge honor. I think its just good to represent Ohio University and get that kind of recognition for the school.”
Rostek won the Sportsmanship Award after taking just three penalties all season while scoring 41 points, tied for third most on the team. The combination of the two honors shows Rostek was one of the team’s most important pieces.
“He’s an effective player,” Morris said. “It’s a balance between staying out of the penalty box and being respectful to the game and generating a lot of points, and he kind of fit that category to a tee.”
The seven combined Ohio selections to the first, second, rookie and all-defensive teams were tied for most in the league with regular-season and tournament champion Lindenwood. Schultz said that receiving the league’s top honor was a tremendous personal honor, but it was just as great to see so many of his teammates recognized.
“It’s definitely big to have a lot of my teammates win awards like that as well,” he said. “It’s always good to see the guys win end-of-the-season awards like that to represent the team.”
cd211209@ohiou.edu
