MIAC Release
COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Five Saint John's University hockey student-athletes received MIAC honors on Tuesday, March 7.
Junior forward
Sam Valerius (Maple Grove, Minn.) and freshman defenseman
Cole Souto (Yorba Linda, Calif.) were named to the All-MIAC first team. Souto and forward
Brady Heppner (Crookston, Minn.) were named to the seven-man MIAC All-Rookie team. Junior forward
Huba Sekesi (Germering, Germany) was named All-MIAC honorable mention and senior defenseman
Daniel Tripicchio (Hudson, Wis.) was named the MIAC All-Sportsmanship team.
Valerius played all 25 games and led the Johnnies in goals (9), points (22) and power-play points (11), while tying for the team lead in assists (13), plus/minus (+6) and power-play goals (4). He posted six points (3g/3a) in his final five games, led SJU with 13 points (4g/9a) in conference play and registered only three penalties.
Souto finished third in the MIAC, both among freshmen and the league's defensemen, with 10 points (2g/8a) in conference play despite missing two games. His 17 points overall (4g/13a), including 10 (3g/7a) on the power play, were good for second on the team. He registered a team-high four points (1g/3a) Nov. 27 in the 6-1 win over Lawrence (Wis.).
Heppner tied for fifth in the MIAC among freshmen with eight points (1g/7a) in 13 conference games. He tied for fifth on the team with 13 points (6g/7a) in 21 games and tallied two game-winning goals, Dec. 10 in the 3-2 overtime win at St. Scholastica and Jan. 21, shorthanded, in the 5-4 win at Bethel.
A 2015-16 All-MIAC first-team selection and member of the 2014-15 MIAC All-Rookie team, Sekesi appeared in all 25 games and finished third on the team with 15 points (6g/9a). The co-captain led the team in the faceoff circle, winning 58.6 percent (287-203) of his draws, finished second in plus/minus (+5) and contributed nine points (4g/5a) in conference play.
The MIAC All-Sportsmanship honor is the second consecutive for Tripicchio, who collected eight points (1g/7a) in 17 games this season, six (0g/6a) of which came in conference play. He ended his career with 19 points (2g/17a) in 63 career games from the blue line.
SJU finished sixth in the MIAC, two points from fifth place and a playoff berth, with a 7-7-2 conference record (12-10-3 overall). It was the sixth consecutive season that the Johnnies finished with a .500 or better league record, and fifth consecutive season the Johnnies finished over .500 in all games.
