The men’s hockey team had perhaps its best season ever, finishing with a record of 11-8-5 and narrowly falling to Amherst in the first round of the NESCAC Tournament. The Cards were handsomely rewarded by the conference, as forward Will Bennett ’07 and goalie Mike Palladino ’09 were named to the First Team All-NESCAC, while head coach Chris Potter was recognized as the NESCAC Coach of the Year. One glaring omission in the conference award choices of the NESCAC coaches was David Layne ’10 as NESCAC Rookie of the Year.
In the men’s hockey team’s historic season, during which the team was ranked as high as 11th in the nation and first in the NESCAC, Layne emerged as one of the Cardinals’ go-to players. Early in the season, Layne demonstrated that he was a force to be reckoned with, as the freshman scored six goals and added three assists in his first five games. Layne’s offensive fireworks didn’t end there, as the Flourtown, PA native went on to record 13 goals, fourth best in the conference, leading the Cardinals in the category. Layne also added 12 assists, and his 25 total points were 12th-best in the conference. Layne’s goal, assist, and point totals were all tops in the conference among freshmen. Layne was also second in the entire conference in power play goals with 10, trailing only NESCAC Player of the Year Greg Osborne.
Yet, Instead of Layne, the NESCAC named Connecticut College goalie Greg Parker the confrence’s top rookie. Parker had an impressive rookie campaign, as he led the Camels to a the sixth seed in the NESCAC Tournament, where they fell to Colby by a 5-1 margin. On the year, Parker finished with a save percentage of .916, second only to Palladino’s .920. Parker was also a big factor in the Camels’ turnaround season, where their 10-13-2 record was a major improvement from the team’s 4-19-1 record a year ago. On the other hand, Parker was only sixth among goalies in allowing 2.70 goals a game, and eighth in winning percentage, as his 8-7-2 record was barely above .500.
While it is difficult to compare the impact of a goalie and forward on their respective teams, one can look at the head-to-head match-up between the Cardinals and Camels. In the 3-2 Cardinal victory, Layne put two goals past Parker, the second pulling the Cards back from a 2-1 deficit. If Layne found a way to beat Parker, getting the best of his only match-up with the Camel goalie, it is difficult to justify selecting Parker over Layne.
“I was extremely disappointed Layne didn’t get recognized by the NESCAC for his outstanding rookie season,” Bennett said. “He definitely got a name for himself in the league this year. He is a dangerous scorer in the red zone. While Parker had a good season, Layne was a huge reason we had such a successful year. He deserved to get the award.”
Bennett pointed to the All-Conference awards handed out by the columnists of U.S. College Hockey Online, the well respected website with extensive coverage of Division I, II, and III hockey teams. Layne was named the USCHO.com co-NESCAC Rookie of the Year, with Connecticut College’s Ryan Howarth sharing the honor.
“I think this all-conference team, picked by the college hockey writers, is probably more accurate and much more respectable than that picked by the NESCAC coaches,” Bennett said. “They pick the best players without any type of bias.”
One factor that most likely played into the coach’s minds in selecting the NESCAC awards was the fact that a Cardinal has won the Rookie of the Year in two of the past three seasons, with Bennett claiming the award in 2004 and Dallas Bossort ’09 claiming the distinction a year ago. In a similar light, perhaps the coaches didn’t want to overload the NESCAC postseason awards with Cardinal players, as three Cardinals were already recognized.
Yet, the Cardinals who were honored this year and in years past deserved the awards they received because of their impact on the ice. Layne’s performance over the season was simply brilliant for a rookie, and in the eyes of many, he deserved to be the NESCAC Rookie of the Year.
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