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ROCHESTER — Four members of the Canisius hockey program were recognized as the Atlantic Hockey Conference announced its individual award winners for the regular season on Thursday.
Senior goaltender Charles Williams received a pair of honors as he was recognized as the league’s Player of the Year and took home the circuit’s Goaltending Trophy. Head Coach Dave Smith was named Coach of the Year, junior Ryan Schmelzer was honored as the league’s Best Defensive Forward and sophomore Cameron Heath shared Best Defenseman honors. Canisius also received its trophy for winning the league’s regular season title.
A native of Canton, Mich., Williams was dominant between the pipes for Canisius during conference play, leading the league in goals against average (1.69), save percentage (.947) and shutouts (5) to help guide a Griffs defense that ranked first in the league in scoring defense (1.89), goals allowed (53) and penalty kill percentage (.899). The All-AHC First Team honoree was in goal for all 18 Canisius victories in league play, allowing one goal or fewer in 13 of 27 conference games played. He also recorded 25 or more saves on 19 occasions.
Williams becomes the second player in program history to be named Atlantic Hockey’s top player, joining former standout Cory Conacher, who was recognized as AHC Player of the Year in 2009-10. Williams also took home the program’s first AHC Goaltending Trophy; becoming just the second Canisius player to be named league goaltender of the year and the first since Sean Weaver was named MAAC Goaltender of the Year in 1999-2000.
Smith claimed Coach of the Year accolades for the first time in his 12 seasons at Canisius after guiding the program to its first Atlantic Hockey Conference regular season title. Picked to finish ninth in the league’s preseason poll, the Griffs finished the regular season with an 18-4-6 record in league play and closed the regular season with a program-record 15-game unbeaten streak that spanned the final two months of league play. Under Smith’s guidance, the Griffs led the league in both power play (.246) and penalty kill (.899) percentage, ranked first in scoring defense (1.89) and were teid for second in scoring offense (3.21).
Schmelzer was named the league’s top two-way forward following a junior campaign that saw the Buffalo native lead Canisius with a +16 rating and win 51.0 percent of his faceoffs. The All-AHC Second Team pick also contributed to the team’s success while shorthanded, serving as regular member of the top penalty kill unit in Atlantic Hockey. Schmelzer is the second Canisius player to receive Best Defensive honors from the AHC, joining David Kasch, who was recognized following the 2007-08 campaign.
Heath shared Top Defensemen honors with Mercyhurst’s Lester Lancaster following a sophomore season that saw the Troy, Mich., product finish tied for first in goals (7) and rank fifth in points (16) amongst the league’s defensemen. In his own end, Heath led Canisius with 46 blocked shots and was a key piece of a Canisius defense that ranked first in the league in scoring defense, goals allowed, and penalty kill percentage. He is the first Griffs defensemen to take home honors as the league’s top blueliner.
The top seed in the Atlantic Hockey Tournament, No. 20 Canisius (21-10-7) faces fourth-seeded Robert Morris in the first semifinal contest at 4:30 p.m. Friday at Blue Cross Arena.