University of Maine sophomore goalie Albin Boija and junior defenseman Brandon Holt were named to the All-Hockey East teams announced by the league on Friday morning.
Boija was named to the second team and Holt was a third team selection for UMaine, which is facing UMass Lowell in a Hockey East Tournament quarterfinal game at 6 p.m. Saturday at Alfond Arena in Orono.
The 6-foot-1, 195-pound Boija has been a model of consistency for the Black Bears.
His 1.77 goals-against average is fourth-best in the country among 64 Division I programs and his .929 save percentage is eighth-best.
He has posted four shutouts and has a 20-7-6 record. He has held opponents to one goal or less 13 times and to two or fewer 24 times.
The Sundsvall, Sweden, native is the only goaltender in Hockey East to play in all 24 league games and, since at least the 2002-03 season, his 1.77 GAA is the best mark by a Hockey East goaltender who played in at least 23 conference games.
He is the third Hockey East goalie since the start of the 2005-06 season to post a GAA below 1.80 in their first 33 overall games in a season.
“He is as good a goalie as there is in our league and there are a lot of good ones,” said UMaine head coach Ben Barr. “I’m super happy for him. It’s well-deserved.”
Holt, a 5-11, 181-pound native of Grand Forks, North Dakota, has produced four goals and 16 assists for 20 points in 30 games. He has set career-highs in assists, points and blocked shots (41) and his four goals match each of his previous two seasons.
Six of his assists have come on game-winning goals and he scored a goal with the extra-attacker on the ice to tie Quinnipiac and set the stage for senior defenseman and co-captain David Breazeale’s overtime game-winner.
He has 71 shots on goal and he has helped anchor a defense corps that has been instrumental in limiting opponents to 1.88 goals-per-game, third best in the country.
He plays in all situations and was the runner-up for the league’s best defensive defenseman award behind Boston College’s Powell.
“He has been great since he’s been here,” said Barr. “He quietly goes about his business. He is a great skater, a great defender. He doesn’t do anything flashy, he just does everything really well.”
In addition to Holt being runner-up for a major award, UMaine senior center Nolan Renwick was the runnerup to UConn’s Schandor for the league’s best defensive forward award and Breazeale was the runnerup for the sportsmanship award which also went to Schandor.
League regular season champion Boston College put four players on the All-Hockey East first team: sophomore goalie Jacob Fowler, graduate student defenseman Eamon Powell and sophomore linemates Ryan Leonard, a right wing, and Gabe Perreault, a left wing. The other first teamers were UMass sophomore right wing Cole O’Hara and Boston University freshman defenseman Cole Hutson.
Boija was accompanied on the second team by Boston University sophomore defenseman Tom Willander and junior right wing Quinn Hutson, Cole’s brother; Providence College senior defenseman Guillaume Richard and UConn linemates sophomore right wing Joey Muldowney and graduate student center Hudson Schandor.
Holt was joined on the third team by UMass sophomore goalie Michael Hrabal, University of New Hampshire senior defenseman Alex Gagne, Boston University junior center Ryan Greene, Northeastern junior left wing Cam Lund and UConn sophomore left wing Jake Richard.
The all-league teams were chosen by the league’s 11 head coaches.
The league will announce the finalists for Player, Coach and Rookie of the Year on Monday.
There were no UMaine players on the All-Rookie team.
The members of the All-Rookie team were Boston College forwards James Hagens and Teddy Stiga; Boston University defenseman Cole Hutson and forward Cole Eiserman; UConn goalie Callum Tung, UMass defenseman Francesco Dell’Elce and Vermont forward Colin Kessler.
