Conn College sweeps NESCAC men's hockey major postseason awards

Old Lyme girls advance to Class S second round by routing Thomaston

New London — Connecticut College became only the third program New England Small College Athletic Conference men's hockey history to sweep its three major awards on Tuesday.

Sophomore goalie Connor Rodericks was named NESCAC Player of the Year, freshman forward Paul Capozzi was named Rookie of the Year and Jim Ward was named Coach of the Year.

Only Hamilton College (2011) and Williams College (2016) previously swept the three awards.

Rodericks is the first player in Conn history to be honored as the conference's top player. He finished the season with a .937 save percentage while allowing only 2.16 goals per-game and posting three shutouts. He finished with 620 saves, including a career-high 50 during a 2-2 tie with Hamilton on Feb. 10.

Capozzi joins ex-Conn player Greg Parker (2007) as the only two Camels to be named Rookie of the Year. He led all freshman with 19 points (10 goals, nine assists), highlighted by a three goal, one assist performance during a 7-1 win over Bowdoin on Dec. 9.

Ward was named NESCAC Coach of the Year for the second time after leading the Camels to a 9-5-4 conference record and the second seed in the conference tournament, the highest in program history. Conn returns 20 players, including Rodericks and its top three scorers, next season.

In addition, Rodericks was named to the All-NESCAC first team while sophomore forward Jacob Moreau (11 goals, 11 assists) earned a spot on the second team. In other college honors: • Conn College junior forward Elena Gualtieri and sophomore defender Ashley Carbone earned All-NESCAC second team honors in women's hockey. Gualtieri leads the Camels in scoring with 11 goals and 11 assists while Carbone has led a back line which posted eight shutouts while allowing one goal or less in 14 games. Conn, the No. 2 seed, will play No. 3 Amherst in the NESCAC tournament semifinals on Saturday at 4 p.m. at Middlebury College.

• UConn junior Azura Stevens was named American Athletic Conference Player of the Year in women's basketball. The 6-foot-6 forward average 19.3 points and 7.7 rebounds in three wins for the No. 1 Huskies, including 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting against Tulane on Feb. 21 and a 14-point, 14-rebound effort against SMU on Feb. 24.

• Two Coast Guard Academy athletes were New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference All-Sportsmanship Team honors, Micah Baldez in men's basketball and Jill Bray in women's basketball.

H.S. girls' basketball

• Audrey Gavin scored 15 points and Britney DeRoehn added 14 as No. 11 Old Lyme knocked off No. 22 Thomaston 67-40 in the Class S first round. Jordan Lewis had 12 points and Emily Rivera added 10 points for Old Lyme (16-7), which will play at No. 6 Sacred Heart of Waterbury in Friday's second round at 7 p.m. The Naugatuck Valley League champion Hearts thumped No. 27 Ellis Tech 70-31.

• Fourth-seeded East Windsor pulled away in the second half for a 33-17 win over No. 29 St. Bernard in the Class S first round. Emily Nelson scored seven points, Briana Beverly five and Amber Caldwell had nine rebounds for the Saints (8-14), who trailed by only seven at the half.

H.S. hockey

• The Eastern Connecticut Eagles finished their regular season with a 4-0 victory over Shepaug/Litchfield/ Thomaston/Nonnewaug. The Eagles (14-3-3) will host Tri-Town on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Conn College's Dayton Arena for the Nutmeg Hockey Conference tournament championship. The Eagles were the regular-season champs. Against Shepaug, Sean Buckley and Rylin Fowler combined in goal for the shutout while Kyle Jacobson scored two goals, Riley Jordan had a goal and an assist, Kevin Close scored a goal, and Jake Verbridge, Quenten Dean, Ryan Huta, Evan Tower, Will Cannella and Etan Stewart had assists.

Men's lacrosse

• Benner Geurtsen had three goals and two assists to lead Coast Guard to a 15-7 win over Eastern Connecticut in the season-opener for both schools. Riley McNulty had three goals and two assists for Coast Guard and Will Iorio had two goals and two assists.

• Casey Hickey had two goals and five assists as St. Joseph (N.Y.) won its season-opener over Mitchell 23-3. Matt Prokesch had four goals and an assist for St. Joseph, which led 12-0 at halftime. Jesse McKeever had two goals and an assist for the Mariners (0-2) and Jade Shields scored.

Women's lacrosse

• Brenna Farrington had four goals and an assist and Daria McKenna added three goals and two assists to pace Coast Guard to a 17-3 win over Salve Regina.

Haley McCue had three goals and an assist for Coast Guard (2-0) and Mary Goins had three goals. Olivia Slysz had a goal and an assist for the Seahawks (0-1).