Keller is First Defenseman Voted Player of the Year

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Boston College junior defenseman Megan Keller won the Cammi Granato Award as Hockey East's Player of the Year on Friday night, becoming the first blue liner in the conference's 15-year history to be voted the league's top player by the conference's coaches.

Several other Eagles also were recognized at the annual Hockey East Tournament Banquet, held at the Royal Sonesta Hotel.

Sophomore forward Makenna Newkirk earned a place on the Hockey East All-Star Second Team. Senior forward Andie Anastos, junior goaltender Katie Burt and junior defenseman Kali Flanagan earned places on the All-Star Honorable Mention squad. Earlier this week, two freshmen – Caitrin Lonergan and Delaney Belinskas – were unanimous selections to the Pro Ambitions All-Rookie Team.

Keller anchored the league's top defense, power-play and penalty-kill units this season, and also ranked among the league's top scorers. Keller finished second in points per game among all players (1.35), while finishing sixth in scoring with 27 points despite missing four games while winning a gold medal with the U.S. National Team at the Four Nations Cup in late October and early November. She was the only defenseman in the league's top 20 point scorers.

She also led the league in assists (21) and her plus/minute total of +25 was six points better than the next closest non-BC player. She finished tied for second in power-play points (11) and tied for fifth in shorthanded points (2). Among defenseman, she topped all conference blue liners by nine points in four fewer games.

BC's defense allowed just 1.58 goals per game, almost a full goal better than the next closest team. Additionally, the team's power play mark of 23.4 percent paced the league, and its 95.7 percent penalty kill rate was second-best in league history.

Keller was also one of two unanimous selections to the Hockey East All-Star First Team. This was her third-straight selection to the top all-conference team. Earlier this week, she was tabbed the Hockey East Best Defenseman for the second straight year.

Newkirk tied for fourth in conference scoring with 28 points (9 goals, 19 assists) despite missing three games. Her 1.33 points per game was tied for third in the league, while her 19 assists were second in the league behind Keller. Newkirk's 12 power-play points were most in Hockey East and her three game-winning goals were tied for third. Her +22 plus/minus rating was second in Hockey East after Keller.

For the third straight year, Burt led all conference goaltenders in goals against average (1.61) – almost a full half-goal better than the next closest player – as well as wins (15), shutouts (4) and winning percentage (.750). She was third in save percentage (.928) and played the second-most minutes in the league this year at 1308:16. Burt is also one win away from matching the Hockey East career wins record (52) as she'll enter her senior year with 51 career wins in conference play.

Flanagan, like Keller, played significant minutes this season on the league's top defense. She was also a key player on the team's power-play and penalty-kill units. Offensively, she added 12 points in league play from three goals and nine assists. Flanagan was only whistled for two penalties in 24 league games.

Anastos scored 25 points in Hockey East play this season, ranking ninth in the league despite seeing limited ice time in the first four games of the league season because of injury. Her 14 conference assists were tied for seventh, her 10 power-play points were sixth and her three shorthanded points were tied for second in league play. Anastos also ranked fifth in shots (95) as she was a presence on the Eagles' top power-play and penalty-kill units. Earlier this week, Hockey East announced that Anastos was the runner-up for both the Sportsmanship Award and Best Defensive Forward.

Sixth-ranked Boston College (25-5-5, 17-4-3 Hockey East) returns to the ice tomorrow – Saturday, March 4 – when the top-seeded Eagles face fifth-seeded Vermont in the Hockey East Tournament semifinals. Faceoff is set for 1:30 p.m. at Boston University's Walter Brown Arena. The winner of the BC-UVM semifinal will meet the winner of the BU-Northeastern semifinal at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 5, in the Hockey East Championship game at Walter Brown Arena.

Keller is First Defenseman Voted Player of the Year

Players Mentioned

Andie Anastos

Delaney Belinskas

Katie Burt

Kali Flanagan

Megan Keller

Caitrin Lonergan

Makenna Newkirk

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