2018-19 MIAC MEN'S HOCKEY AWARDS

MINNEAPOLIS -- Augsburg University men's hockey coach Chris Brown was named Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year for the third time in his career, and Auggie goalie Nick Schmit (SR, Fargo, N.D./Fargo North HS) was named MIAC Player of the Year, leading a group of 10 Auggies that earned postseason honors from the conference for the 2018-19 men's hockey season, it was announced on Monday.

Schmit is the eighth Auggie to earn MIAC Player of the Year honors in men's hockey, joining Aaron Johnson (2006-07), Jaro Cesky (2002-03), C.J. Beaurline (1993-94), Dallas Miller (1987-88), Steve Nayman (1982-83), Dick Bain (1978-79) and Gary Hughes (1977-78). He is the first goalie to earn the MIAC Player of the Year honor since 2014-15.

Schmit was one of seven Auggies to earn All-MIAC honors in 2018-19, after earning All-MIAC Honorable Mention honors each of the last two seasons. Forwards Luke Dietsch (SR, St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall HS) and Chandler Madry (SR, Bakersfield, Calif./Fairbanks (Alaska) BEST HS) each earned All-MIAC honors for the second straight year, while defender John O'Connor (JR, Moorhead, Minn./Moorhead HS) was named to the All-MIAC squad after receiving All-MIAC Honorable Mention honors last year. Forwards Alex Rodriguez (SR, Miami, Fla./Shattuck-St. Mary's (Minn.) HS), Tommy Carey (SO, Moorhead, Minn./Moorhead HS) and defender Jason Krych (JR, Champlin, Minn./Totino-Grace HS) all earned All-MIAC honors for the first time in their careers. Forward Austin Dollimer (FY, Rosemount, Minn./Rosemount HS) was named to the MIAC's All-Rookie Team, and forward Lukas Gillett (SR, Rosemount, Minn./Rosemount HS) was named to the All-MIAC Sportsmanship Team, both honors the first of their careers.

Brown earned the conference's top coaching honor for the third time in his 13 years as Augsburg's head coach, having previously earned the honor in the 2006-07 and 2015-16 campaigns. It's Brown's fifth conference coach of the year honor; he also earned the honor twice from the Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association as head coach at Marian (Wis.) from 2000-04. He was also a finalist for the American Hockey Coaches Association's Division III National Coach of the Year award three times while at Marian.

In 2018-19, Augsburg claimed the MIAC regular-season title for the second time in the last four years and 10th time in school history, while claiming its fourth straight MIAC playoff title -- a feat unprecedented in MIAC men's hockey history -- and earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III national tournament for the fourth year in a row. Augsburg will travel to face St. Norbert (Wis.) in an NCAA Division III first-round playoff game this Saturday (3/9) at 7 p.m. in Ashwaubenon, Wis.

Brown has developed the Auggies into a consistent force in the MIAC during his tenure, having led the squad to double-digit win totals in nine of the last 10 seasons, including 17-plus wins each of the last four campaigns. Augsburg has finished with eight or more conference wins in eight of the last 11 campaigns. This season, Augsburg is 21-3-3 overall, 13-1-2 in MIAC play, with its 21 overall wins the most since the 1997-98 season (21-8-4) and its 13 conference wins the most since 1982-83 (13-3-0).

In 18 years as a collegiate head coach (2000-04 at Marian, 2004-05 at Hamline, 2006-present at Augsburg), Brown is 243-196-37, and 174-140-29 in 13 years at Augsburg. He also spent two seasons (1996-97 and 2005-06) as an Augsburg assistant coach, and was an assistant coach at Division I Alaska-Anchorage from 1997-2000.

In his three seasons at Augsburg after playing his first year at Wisconsin-Stout, Schmit has developed a reputation as one of the best goalies in the conference. In 22 games (22 starts) in net this season, Schmit has a 16-2-3 record, with a 1.91 goals against-average, .931 save percentage and 571 saves in 1,319 minutes played. His 16 wins, .833 save percentage and 1.91 GAA are all tops among MIAC players in overall statistics, with his .931 save percentage fourth-best. Starting all but one conference game, Schmit had a league-best 12-1-2 (.867) conference record, standing second with a 1.75 GAA and fourth with .932 GAA.

Among NCAA Division III goalies nationally, Schmit's .833 save percentage is third-best, with his 16 wins tied for eighth-most. His 1.91 GAA is 16th-best nationally, while his .931 save percentage is 17th. He recorded 20 or more saves in 15 of his 22 games this season, including a career-high 57 saves in Saturday's 2-1, four-overtime win over Saint John's in the MIAC playoff championship game.

In three seasons as an Auggie (64 games, 61 starts), Schmit has a 44-13-5 record with a 2.09 career GAA, .927 save percentage and three shutouts. Including his first year at UW-Stout (79 games, 76 starts), Schmit has a 48-20-8 record with a 2.35 career GAA, .922 save percentage and three shutouts.

Dietsch has been one of the most reliable forwards in the Augsburg lineup throughout his career, recording 16 or more points in each of his four seasons. This season, he is third on the team in scoring with 29 points (14 goals, 15 assists), with his point total second-best on the team and his assist total tied for fourth-best. He's also claimed a team-best-tying six power-play goals, and has a goal or assist in 16 of his 27 games, including eight multiple-point games, three multiple-goal games and two hat tricks.

His 29 points are currently sixth-best among MIAC players in overall statistics, with his 14 goals tied for fifth-best and his 15 assists tied for 14th-best. His six power-play goals are tied for sixth-most in the MIAC. He recorded 17 points (eight goals, nine assists) in 16 MIAC games, with his 17 points tied for fifth-best, his eight goals tied for sixth-best and his nine assists tied for ninth-best.

In his 111-game Augsburg career, Dietsch has 38 goals and 58 assists for 96 points. He is serving as a team assistant captain this season.

Madry has become one of the most dynamic all-around forwards in the conference in his two seasons in an Auggie uniform, after playing his first two years at Division I Minnesota State Mankato. This season, he is second on the team with 31 points (10 goals, 21 assists), with his 10 goals third-best and his 21 assists leading the squad.

Among MIAC players, his 31 overall points is tied for fourth-best, with his 21 assists tied for second-best and his 10 goals tied for 11th-best. In conference play, his 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) were 10th-best, with his 10 assists tied for seventh-best. He has recorded a goal or assist in 20 of his 26 games this season (including 12 of his last 14 games), with 10 multi-point contests.

In his two seasons as an Auggie (55 games), he now has 17 goals and 42 assists for 59 points, including five power-play goals. In four collegiate seasons (67 games), he has 20 goals and 43 assists for 63 points. 

Rodriguez has become one of the best scorers in the country this season. He opened the 2018-19 season with back-to-back hat tricks and never looked back, recording a league-best 21 goals, while tying for the league lead with 39 points and standing sixth in assists with 18. He has recorded five power-play goals and has four game-winning goals. In his 25 games this season, he has a goal or assist in 20 games, including 12 multi-point games, five multi-goal games and three hat tricks. He will carry an eight-game point streak (eight goals, six assists, 14 points) into Saturday's NCAA tournament game at St. Norbert.

Among Division III players nationally, his 21 goals are tied for fifth-most, with his 0.84 goals per-game average fifth-best. His 1.56 points per-game average is ninth-best nationally, with his 39 points tied for 13th-most. He recorded eight goals and nine assists for 17 points in MIAC play, with his 17 points tied for fifth-most, his eight goals tied for sixth-most and his nine assists tied for ninth-most.

In two seasons at Augsburg (53 games) after spending his first two campaigns at Division I Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (N.Y.), he has 28 goals and 29 assists for 57 points, with seven power-play goals. In 99 overall collegiate games in four seasons, he has 32 goals and 35 assists for 67 points.

O'Connor contributed more to his team's scoring than any other defender in the MIAC this season, leading the conference's defenders with 17 points and 15 assists, while adding two goals, including a power-play marker. His 15 assists are tied for ninth-best among all MIAC players in overall statistics. In MIAC games-only, his 14 assists and 12 goals were also league-bests.

O'Connor has been a key part of a strong Augsburg power-play unit, with its 26.2-percent (28-of-107) conversion rate tops among MIAC teams and seventh-best nationally. His eight power-play points (one goal, seven assists) are tied for 10th-most among MIAC players and tops among all league defenders.

He has a goal or assist in 12 of his 26 games this season, with four multi-assist games. In 61 games in his three Auggie seasons, O'Connor now has five goals and 23 assists for 28 points.

Carey had a strong season as one of the top distributors in the MIAC, recording nine goals with 16 assists for 25 points, including a team-best-tying six power-play goals. He has recorded three game-winning goals this season, including the game-winning goal 54 seconds into the fourth overtime in Augsburg's 2-1 win over Saint John's in the MIAC playoff title game this past Saturday.

His 25 points are tied for eighth-best among MIAC players in overall statistics, with his 16 assists tied for seventh-best. His 11 power-play points (six goals, five assists) are seventh-best in the MIAC, with his six power-play goals tied for second-most. His 14 points (six goals, eight assists) in MIAC games-only are tied for 11th-most, with his five power-play goals second-most and seven power-play points (five goals, two assists) fourth-most.

In his two seasons at Augsburg (39 games), Carey now has 10 goals and 19 assists for 29 points.

Krych has been one of the most reliable defenders in the MIAC this season, playing a strong role in all aspects of the game. He has recorded a power-play goal and 10 assists for 11 points this season, with his 11 points tied for eighth-best among MIAC defenders and his 10 assists tied for fourth-best. Five of his points (one goal, four assists) came on the power play.

He was a key part of an Augsburg unit that led the MIAC in scoring defense, allowing just 57 goals (2.11 per-game) this season, a total 16th-best among NCAA Division III teams nationally. He was also a key player in an Auggie penalty-kill unit that has allowed just 12 goals in 91 opponent power-play opportunities, with its 86.8-percent average third-best in the MIAC and 17th-best nationally. In MIAC games-only, Augsburg led the league in both power play (15-of-61, 24.6 percent) and penalty kill (52-of-55, 94.5 percent) this season.

In his 66 games in his three years at Augsburg, Krych now has five goals and 21 assists for 26 points.

Dollimer was one of three forwards and six players overall named to the MIAC's All-Rookie Team. This season, he stands sixth on the team in scoring with 20 points (eight goals, 12 assists). His 20 points are second-most among MIAC first-year players, with his 12 assists most among rookies and his eight goals tied for fourth-most. In conference games-only, his 13 points (six goals, seven assists) were tied for second-most among defenders, with his seven assists tied for second and six goals tied for third.

Dollimer has recorded a goal or assist in 14 of his 27 games this season, including a four-assist performance in Augsburg's 8-1 MIAC playoff semifinal win over Saint Mary's on Feb. 23. He has had a late-season scoring charge, with points in eight of his last nine games.

Gillett was named to the All-MIAC Sportsmanship Team, as part of the conference's sportsmanship initiative. Members of the All-MIAC Sportsmanship Team are selected by their coaches and teammates as individuals who demonstrate ideals of positive sportsmanship both on and off the field of competition.

Gillett has been a strong leader for the Auggies, serving as team captain this season. He is one of two Auggie skaters (and five overall players) without a penalty this season, and has a three goals and 12 assists for 15 goals, including a power-play goal, to his credit in 19 games played. His 12 assists are tied for 16th among MIAC players in overall statistics.

He has played in 93 games in his four seasons as an Auggie, with 27 goals and 35 assists for 62 points.