Rensselaer goaltender Joel Laing, the winner of this year’s U.S. College Hockey Online Vote for Hobey contest, leads the list of 24 players selected to the 2000 Division I All-America teams, as selected by the American Hockey Coaches Association.
Laing, who had a 1.82 goals-against average and a .947 save percentage in the regular season, was named East First Team goalie, while teammates Brad Tapper and Brian Pothier were named to the Second Team. Other schools with three selections were Boston College (Jeff Farkas, Brian Gionta, Mike Mottau), North Dakota (Karl Goehring, Jeff Panzer, Lee Goren) and Wisconsin (Jeff Dessner, Steve Reinprecht, Dany Heatley).
North Dakota’s junior netminder Goehring was named to the West First Team after helping to lead the Sioux to a WCHA Tournament championship and a trip to the Frozen Four. Junior Ty Conklin of New Hampshire and junior Jayme Platt of Lake Superior were East and West Second Team picks, respectively.
The East defense is dominated by seniors, including First Team selections Mottau and Justin Harney of St. Lawrence, whose teams will square off Thursday in one of the national semifinals, and Pothier, who was a Second Team pick. Boston University sophomore Chris Dyment rounds out the East Second Team defense. It was the second straight First Team honor for Mottau, who, along with Conklin, was this year’s co-Hockey East Players of the Year.
In the West, the First Team defense contains underclassmen Dessner and Jeff Jillson of Michigan. St. Cloud sophomore Mike Pudlick, who recently signed a free agent contract with the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings, was named to the Second Team along with Michigan State senior Mike Weaver, who was also a Second Team pick a year ago.
The First Team forwards include four seniors and two juniors. Colgate senior Andy McDonald joins the senior Farkas and junior Gionta in the East, while senior Reinprecht is joined by Michigan State senior Shawn Horcoff and junior Panzer. Reinprecht led the nation in points during the regular season (61).
The East Second Team forwards include Hockey East top scorer Cory Larose of Maine, St. Lawrence sophomore Brandon Dietrich, and Tapper, who led the nation in goals (30) and game-winning goals (seven) during the regular season. In the West, Second Team picks were Michigan sophomore Mike Comrie, Goren and Heatley, the only freshman on this year’s team.
2000 JOFA/AHCA Division I All-America Teams
First Team
West East
F Steve Reinprecht, Wisconsin SR F Andy McDonald, Colgate SR
F Jeff Panzer, North Dakota JR F Jeff Farkas, Boston College SR
F Shawn Horcoff, Michigan St. SR F Brian Gionta, Boston College JR
D Jeff Dessner, Wisconsin JR D Justin Harney, St. Lawrence SR
D Jeff Jillson, Michigan SO D Mike Mottau, Boston College SR
G Karl Goehring, North Dakota JR G Joel Laing, Rensselaer SR
Second Team
West East
F Mike Comrie, Michigan SO F Brad Tapper, Rensselaer JR
F Dany Heatley, Wisconsin FR F Cory Larose, Maine SR
F Lee Goren, North Dakota SR F Brandon Dietrich, St. Lawrence SO
D Mike Pudlick, St. Cloud SO D Chris Dyment, Boston U. SO
D Mike Weaver, Michigan State SR D Brian Pothier, Rensselaer SR
G Jayme Platt, Lake Superior St. JR G Ty Conklin, New Hampshire JR
