Former Bramalea Blue and Georgetown Raider Josh Burnell (photo credit - Maria Strinni/Strinni Studios), now with the Elmira College Soaring Eagles, was named an ECAC West's 1st Team All-Conference to top a list of three OJHL alumni that won year-end awards in the Conference.

A native of Mississauga, Ontario, Burnell played three full seasons in the OJHL as a member of the Bramalea Blues and the Georgetown Raiders. All three seasons, he would be one of the top scorers on his squad, starting as a 17-year old in 2008-09 with Bramalea. His second year with the Blues was a breakout season, notching 72 points in 56 games played to finish second on the club, while leading the team in goal scoring with 37. Last year with a strong Georgetown Raiders squad, Burnell finished third in scoring with 62 points and led the team with 42 assists.

Also winning awards in the ECAC West was former Port Hope Predator and Aurora Tiger (2008-11) Lucas Van Nattar, who also took home 1st Team All-Conference honours, and for Ajax Attack (1992-96) Aaron Saul, who was named the Coach of the Year with Elmira College.

Below is the official press release from the ECAC West website (www.ecacdiiihockey.com/mens_west):

The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) announced its 2013-2014 ECAC Men’s West Hockey All-Conference teams today. Utica College senior forward Trever Hertz (Jaffray, British Columbia) was named the ECAC Men’s West Player of the Year, marking the second consecutive season a Pioneer has garnered the distinction. Manhattanville College junior defensemen Anton Racklin (Gothenburg, Sweden) and Neumann University senior goaltender Braely Torris (Red Deer, Alberta) were selected Co-Defensive Players of the Year. Nazareth College freshman forward Ben Blasko (Kingston, Ontario) and Neumann University freshman forward Shayne Morrissey (St. John’s Newfoundland) were voted the Conference Co-Rookies of the Year. Elmira College Head Coach Aaron Saul was named the Coach of the Year. The voting for the ECAC Men’s West All-Conference Teams and major award winners was completed by the head coaches within the ECAC Men’s West.  

Hertz led Utica in points and assists, registering 26 points on eight goals and 18 assists. He is tied for third in the conference in assists and is among the top-ten in total scoring. The Pioneers won their third ECAC Men’s West regular season title after posting a 15-6-4 overall record and finishing 10-4-1 in conference play this year. Hertz was named the ECAC Men’s West Player of the Week on Feb. 3, following a three-point weekend in a key series against Elmira.

Racklin anchors a defensive unit for the Manhattanville Valiants that surrendered 77 goals in 25 games in the regular season. Offensively, Racklin leads the conference in scoring by a defenseman, notching seven goals and a league-leading 19 assists. He is also among the top-five in the conference with 13 power-play points, recording six goals and seven assists. Manhattanville finished the year 12-11-2 and 5-8-2 in ECAC Men’s West play.

Torris started 14 games in net for the Neumann Knights this season and leads the conference in save percentage (.923). He posted a goals against average of 2.75 and led Neumann to a 9-11-5 overall record this season. Torris was named ECAC Goaltender of the Week on Feb. 17, after making 38 saves in a conference win over Hobart.

Blasko’s ECAC Men’s West Co-Rookie of the Year is the first major award Nazareth College has been awarded since joining the conference last year. He leads the conference in freshman scoring netting 11 goals and dishing out 15 assists for 26 points this season. The Golden Flyers captured the No. 6 seed in the ECAC Men’s West Tournament with a 4-9-2 conference record and an 8-15-2 overall record.

Morrissey is second in the conference in freshman scoring, recording 22 points on 14 goals and eight assists. He led the Knights in goals and points this season and potted two power-play goals. Morrissey was named ECAC Men’s West Rookie of the Week three times this season, his most recent coming on Feb. 17, after a four-point weekend in a pair of wins against Hobart. 

In his fifth season at the helm for the Soaring Eagles, Saul was named Coach of the Year for the third time. This season, he guided Elmira to an overall record of 14-10-1 and a conference record of 10-4-1 for second-place in the ECAC Men’s West.  Saul has compiled a career record of 75-45-10 with Elmira and the Soaring Eagles have won two ECAC West Championships and made two NCAA tournament appearances during his tenure.

The 2014 ECAC Men’s West Hockey Tournament begins on Wednesday, Feb. 26 with two quarterfinal games. The semifinals will take place on Saturday, March 1 and Sunday, March 2.  The Tournament will conclude on Saturday, March 8 with the championship game at the highest remaining team’s campus. For more information regarding the 2014 ECAC Men’s West Hockey Tournament, including scores, game times and locations, visit www.ecacdiiihockey.com.  

2013-2014 ECAC Men’s West Hockey Major Award Winners

Player of the Year
 Trever Hertz, F, Sr., Utica College

Co-Defensive Players of the Year
 Anton Racklin, D, Jr., Manhattanville College
 Braely Torris, G, Sr., Neumann University

Co-Rookies of the Year
 Ben Blasko, F, Fr., Nazareth College
 Shayne Morrissey, F, Fr., Neumann University

Coach of the Year
 Aaron Saul, Elmira College

2013-2014 ECAC Men’s West Hockey First Team All-Conference

Forward
 Josh Burnell, Jr., Elmira College
 Trever Hertz, Sr., Utica College
 Luc Van Natter, Sr., Manhattanville College

Defense
 Anton Racklin, Jr., Manhattanville College
 Terrence O’Neill, Jr., Hobart College

Goaltender
 Nick Therrien, Sr., Utica College

2013-2014 ECAC Men’s West Hockey Second Team All-Conference

Forward
 Michael Collins, So., Elmira College
 Jesper Strale, Sr., Elmira College
 Mac Olson, So., Hobart College

Defense
 Ryan Michel, Jr., Hobart College
 Scott Dawson, So., Nazareth College
 Eric David, Jr., Elmira College

Goaltender
 Braely Torris, Sr., Neumann University

2013-2014 ECAC Men’s West Hockey Honorable Mention

Forward
 Ben Gamache, So., Hobart College
 Jon Gaffney, Sr., Utica College
 Mark Rivera, Sr., Manhattanville College

Defense
 Mike Slowikowski, Sr., Utica College

Goaltender
 Alex Scola, Sr., Manhattanville College

2013-2014 ECAC Men’s West Hockey All-Rookie Team

Forward
 Ben Blasko, Fr., Nazareth College
 Alexander Taulien, Fr., Elmira College
 Shayne Morrissey, Fr., Neumann University

Defense
 Carl Belizario, Fr., Hobart College
 Sam House, Fr., Neumann University

Goaltender
 Sal Magliocco, Fr., Elmira College