2023-24 MIAC MEN'S HOCKEY AWARDS

MINNEAPOLIS – Led by conference Defensive Player of the Year Samuel Vyletelka (SO, Zilina, Slovakia/Grammar School of St. Francis of Assisi) and Rookie of the Year Landon Parker (FY, East Grand Forks, Minn./East Grand Forks HS), the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular-season champion Augsburg University men's hockey team had nine players earn conference postseason honors, it was announced on Thursday.

Vyletelka joined Auggie teammates Fritz Belisle (SR, Red Wing, Minn./Red Wing HS), Daniel Chladek (SR, Anaheim, Calif./Canyon HS), Michael Ferrandino (JR, Lisle, Ill./Waterloo West (Iowa) HS), Logan Kons (SR, Niles, Ill./Niles West HS) and Erik Palmqvist (SR, Linkoping, Sweden/Anderstorpsgymnasiet) on the 20-member All-MIAC team. Parker joined teammates Cade Stibbe (SO, Fargo, N.D./Fargo Davies HS) and Vincent Weis (SR, Madison, Wis./Madison Edgewood HS) among the nine All-MIAC Honorable Mention honorees. Kons also earned a spot on the eight-member All-MIAC Playoff Team for his performance in the MIAC playoffs.

Belisle earned All-MIAC honors for the second time, after being named All-MIAC in the 2021-22 season. Vyletelka and Kons were both 2021-22 All-MIAC Honorable Mention honorees. The conference honors are the first for the remaining six Auggies.

Vyletelka became the 10th Auggie to earn an MIAC Player of the Year honor in men's hockey since the 1977-78 season, and the first since the MIAC split the Player of the Year awards into offensive and defensive awards last season.

Playing in all but 41 minutes, 39 seconds of Augsburg's season in goal (1,517:58), Vyletelka finished 15-8-2 overall with four shutouts, a 2.29 goals against-average and .932 save percentage. His 797 saves were 278 more than any other goalie in the conference, and the fifth-most saves of any NCAA Division III goalie nationally this season. His .932 save percentage was second-best among conference goalies and 21st nationally. Vyletelka averaged a league-best 30.65 saves per-game, with 30 or more saves in 17 of his 26 games.

In three seasons as an Auggie (60 games, 3,527:09 in goal), Vyletelka now has a 38-17-3 career record, with a .930 save percentage (1,618 saves) and a 2.06 goals against-average.

Parker had an impressive debut campaign as a forward, scoring six goals with 12 assists for 18 points in 26 games. He collected two game-winning goals, had eight blocked shots and a plus-8 plus-minus rating. His 12 assists were tied for 11th among MIAC players in overalls statistics. He had a goal or assist in 14 of his 26 games this season, including a goal and assist in Augsburg's 4-3 loss at Saint John's on Jan. 25 and in the Auggies' 3-2 win over St. Scholastica on Feb. 17.

Belisle, a team assistant captain, concluded his five-season Auggie career as a forward with another strong campaign, scoring five goals with 13 assists for 18 points. He recorded three power-play goals and a game-winner, and led all Auggie forwards with 22 blocked shots. He had a goal or assist in 14 of his 26 games, including four multi-point games. Playing in 112 games in his Auggie career, Belisle scored 29 goals with 39 assists for 68 points, including 11 power-play goals, a shorthanded goal and five game-winners, with a plus-13 plus-minus rating.

Chladek finished second on the team in scoring in his senior campaign, scoring a team-leading nine goals with 10 assists for 19 points, with a power-play goal, two game-winning goals, 14 blocked shots and a plus-5 plus-minus rating. His nine goals were tied for 10th-most among MIAC players, with his 19 points tied for 13th. He had a goal or assist in 13 of his 25 games this season, including four multi-point games. He scored two goals with an assist in the Auggies' 4-3 win over Bethel on Jan. 12. Playing in 49 games in two seasons as an Auggie, Chladek scored 17 goals with 20 assists for 37 points, with five power-play goals, five game-winning goals and a plus-17 plus-minus rating.

Ferrandino, a team assistant captain, led Auggie defenders in scoring this season finishing with four goals and seven assists for 11 points in 24 games, contributing a power-play goal, a team-best 32 blocked shots and a team-best plus-14 plus-minus rating -- the second-best plus-minus in the conference. His 32 blocked shots were tied for sixth-most among MIAC players. He had a goal or assist in 10 of his 24 games this year, includng a two-goal effort in the Auggies' 4-0 win at Concordia-Moorhead on Feb. 2. In 54 games in his two seasons as an Auggie, Ferrandino has four goals and 17 assists for 21 points, with a power-play goal and a plus-23 plus-minus rating.

A team captain this season, Kons provided solid leadership for the Auggies, finishing with eight assists in 26 games, with 23 blocked shots and a plus-2 plus-minus rating as a defender. He had one assist in eight games this season. Kons played in 89 games in his Augsburg career, with eight goals and 25 assists for 33 points, three power-play goals, two game-winning goals and a plus-16 career plus-minus rating.

Palmqvist had one of the best seasons of his career in 2023-24, leading the team with 16 assists and 23 points, while contributing seven goals. He had a power-play goal, six blocked shots and a plus-2 plus-minus rating. His 16 assists were tied for third-most among MIAC players in overall statistics, with his 23 points fifth-most. A center, Palmqvist won 254 of his 466 faceoffs (.545), ranking eighth-best among MIAC players in the category. He had a goal or assist in 16 of his 25 games, with six multi-point games. Playing in 103 games in five seasons, Palmqvist finished his career with 29 goals and assists for 73 points, with eight power-play goals, one game-winning goal and a plus-17 plus-minus rating.

A transfer from Division I Arizona State, Stibbe made an immediate impact in his first season as an Auggie, finishing tied for second on the team in scoring, with seven goals and 12 assists for 19 points, with his 12 assists tied for 11th among MIAC players in overall statistics and his 19 points tied for 13th. He contributed a power-play goal, game-winning goal, nine blocked shots and a plus-6 plus-minus rating this season. He had a goal or assist in 12 of his 26 games this season, with five multi-point games and a three-goal hat trick in the Auggies' 3-2 win at Adrian (Mich.) on Dec. 8. 

A defender, Weis capped his collegiate career with a strong campaign, finishing with two goals and three assists for five points in 26 games, with 26 blocked shots and a plus-4 plus-minus rating. He had a goal or assist in five of his 26 games this season. A transfer who played his first two seasons at Division I St. Thomas, Weis played in 54 games in two Auggie seasons, with six goals and 10 assists for 16 points and a plus-5 plus-minus rating, adding four assists in 30 career games at St. Thomas.

Under first-year head coach Garrett Hendrickson, Augsburg finished 15-9-2 overall and 12-3-1 in MIAC play, winning the conference regular-season championship for the 12th time in school history, while reaching the MIAC postseason playoffs for the ninth full season in a row. It's the 10th full season in a row that Augsburg has won 12 or more games, and its eighth straight full season with a top-four MIAC finish.