Matus Spodniak, a senior forward from Adrian, is the recipient of the 2023 Sid Watson Award.
The award, voted on by the nation’s Division III head coaches, is presented to the best player at the men’s NCAA Division III level by the American Hockey Coaches Association.
Spodniak, a native of Kosice, Slovakia, has had a standout season for the Bulldogs. He leads the country in scoring with 29 goals on the season, averaging 0.97 goals per game. He also ranks fifth in the country in assists with 27 and leads the country with 56 points and points per game with 1.86.
Adrian entered Friday’s semifinal match-up with the University of New England having won 11 of its last 12 games and five straight in the post-season. In those five playoff games, Adrian has outscored its opponents by 41-8 and Spodniak has registered 7-5-12 in those contests.
Spodniak has been particularly adept on the power play, scoring 12 times, including the game-winning goal in the quarterfinal round against UW-Stevens Point that sent the Bulldogs to the Frozen Four. Five of Spodniak’s goals have been game-winning goals and he leads the team with four hat tricks. Adrian has won three overtime games this season with all three overtime goals coming from Spodniak.
He has also played an important role on defense as he sits fourth on the team in blocked shots with 17 leading all the forwards. Spodniak was named to the all-NCHA team and was an obvious pick for the NCHA player of the year.
In two seasons at Adrian, Spodniak has registered a 46-47-93 line in 59 games. Prior to arriving at Adrian, he appeared in seven games for American International, recording one goal.
The runner-up for this year’s Sid Watson Award was Luke Aquaro, a sophomore forward from Hobart.
