UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State men's ice hockey team just completed its eighth season as a varsity program and earlier this week announced its 2019-20 team awards.
The Nittany Lions secured their first-ever Big Ten regular-season championship and were set to host Minnesota in a Big Ten semifinal contest before the NCAA cancelled the remainder of winter sports along with all spring sports due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Penn State finished the season with its highest-ever Pairwise ranking of No. 7 and most likely would have qualified for its third NCAA Tournament in the last four years.
In total five team voted awards were handed out including the third annual Team Culture Award as well as Team MVP, Top Defenseman, Freshman of the Year, and the Players' Player. Additionally, the team recognized its top scorer and top student-athlete as well as the Iron Lion, which recognizes the top performer in the weight room.
Recent LA Kings signee Cole Hults (Stoughton, Wis.) was voted the team's Top Defenseman for the second-straight season as well as the Most Valuable Player by his peers after a career-best 30-point season to lead all defensemen in the Big Ten and rank tenth nationally among blueliners. Along with his 30 points, the junior's eight goals this season were also a career-best as both marks tied the Penn State single-season records for points and goals by a defenseman.
Hults, a current finalist for the Big Ten Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, started the season strong netting the eighth hat-trick in program history on opening night, the first-ever by a Nittany Lion defenseman, and continued his strong play through Big Ten action with four goals and a league-leading 17 assists in 24 games ranking seventh in the conference with 21 points in Big Ten play. Hults also led the entire Big Ten in plus/minus with a +23 rating, tied for sixth in the nation and fourth among blueliners.
Earlier this month, Hults along with senior Nate Sucese (Fairport, N.Y.) were each named CCM/AHCA Second-Team West All-Americans becoming the first players in program history to earn All-American honors.
Sucese, the team's top scorer, earned the Iron Lion Award as the top performer in the weight room for the third time in his career. The recipient is one of the strongest pound-for-pound athletes on the team and possess a strong work ethic while being consistent in doing the little things right on a daily basis.
On the ice this season, Suese led the Big Ten and ranked tied for 15th nationally with a career-high 38 points on a league-best 27 assists and 11 goals which tied for 13th in the Big Ten.
Freshman Connor McMenamin (Collegeville, Pa.) was voted the team's Freshman of the Year after leading all first-year players with 12 points on four goals and eight assists in 32 games played while taking just a single penalty all season. The rookie also ranked second on the team with three game-winning goals to his credit.
Senior captain Brandon Biro (Sherwood Park, Alberta) was voted the 2019-20 Players' Player, which honors the player who best exemplifies work ethic and commitment to Penn State hockey's on ice objectives. Biro battled a pair of injuries during his senior year, but still finished the season averaging a point per game with 25 points on 10 goals and 15 assists in 25 games played. The senior finished his career in Hockey Valley with 116 points in 138 games to rank fourth on the all-time points list while his 41 goals and 75 assists are good for eighth and third, respectively.
Senior Liam Folkes (Scarborough, Ontario) earned the third annual Team Culture Award as the student-athlete who best influences a positive culture of quality and values off the ice. A two-time All-Big Ten Tournament team member, Folkes finished his career tied for seventh on the Penn State all-time points list with 103 on 48 goals and 55 assists good for fifth and ninth all-time.
Finally, sophomore Oskar Autio (Espoo, Finland) was named the 2019-20 Top Scholar on the team as the psychology major currently has a 3.65 cumulative grade point average. Autio appeared in five games as a sophomore with four starts compiling a 2-1-1 record with a pair of shutouts registering a .930 save percentage and a 1.87 goals against average.
2019-20 Penn State Team Awards
Team MVP: Cole Hults
Top Defenseman: Cole Hults
Freshman of the Year: Connor McMenamin
Players' Player: Brandon Biro
Culture Award: Liam Folkes
Top Scorer: Nate Sucese
Top Student-Athlete: Oskar Autio
Iron Lion: Nate Sucese
