Junior goaltender Jeff Lerg was named the team’s Most Valuable Player for the second straight season while classmate Justin Abdelkader and freshman Jeff Petry were the night’s two-award winners as the Michigan State hockey team held its season-ending banquet on Tuesday evening at the Kellogg Center.
Five other Spartans earned honors on the evening, with most awards presented selected by a team vote.
In addition, former hockey coach and athletics director Ron Mason was honored as the program’s Distinguished Alumnus.
Putting together one of the most decorated campaigns in school history, Lerg was a Hobey Baker finalist, a Second-Team All-America selection, the CCHA First-Team goaltender and the CCHA Scholar-Athlete of the Year. In addition, he was a finalist for the prestigious James E. Sullivan Award as the nation’s top amateur athlete, as well as a finalist for CCHA Player of the Year honors. Lerg finished the season ninth in the country in save percentage (.926), which is tied for sixth-best all-time in the MSU annals, and a 2.22 goals-against average, which ranked 18th nationally and ninth-best in the Spartan record book. His 24 victories were the fourth-highest total in the country this season and puts him tied for eighth in the MSU records. He set his career-best in shutouts (four, eighth all-time at MSU) and saves (1,136, which ranks third in the MSU annals). Lerg’s career numbers also rank among the top five all-time at Michigan State in several categories: save percentage (.922), second; saves (2,956), second; goals-against average (2.22), third; career shutouts (10), fourth; wins (67), fifth; games played (114), fourth; and consecutive games played (63), first.
Full story from MichiganCollegeHockey.com.
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