BEVERLY, Mass. – The No. 14 nationally ranked Endicott men's ice hockey team saw four student-athletes and head coach R.J. Tolan earn Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) postseason awards on Tuesday evening, as announced by the league office. Conor O'Brien (Pinellas Park, Fla.), Zach Mazur (Lancaster, N.Y.), and Tolan headlined the group as the trio won CCC Goaltender of the Year, Rookie of the Year, and Coach of the Year honors, respectively.
Along with those honors, O'Brien was joined on the CCC All-Conference First Team with James Winkler (York, Maine), while Jacob Gammelgaard (Esbjerg, Denmark) was selected to the CCC All-Conference Third Team to round out the list of award winners.
CONOR O'BRIEN | SO. | G | PINELLAS PARK, FLA.
In 24 games (all starts), O'Brien is 19-4-0 overall this season behind a 1.72 goals against average (GAA), a .941 save percentage (626 saves), and three shutouts.
O'Brien currently ranks first in the conference in games played and games started, minutes (1361:56), GAA, save percentage, wins, and win percentage (.826). O'Brien also is fourth in goals against (39) and second in saves.
Nationally, O'Brien is fifth in save percentage, seventh in GAA and winning percentage, and tied eighth in shutouts.
Meanwhile, individual game highlights for O'Brien this season include the following: 19 games of 20 or more saves, eight games with 30 or more saves, and a single-game career-high 48 saves on November 23, 2019.
This is O'Brien's first career CCC Goaltender of the Year award and All-Conference First Team selection. He also has been named the CCC Goaltender of the Week three times and a Joe Concannon Award Semifinalist this season.
ZACH MAZUR | FR. | F | LANCASTER, N.Y.
The freshman forward's impact on the ice was immediate this season as Mazur scored one goal and dished out one assist in his career debut and didn't stop scoring for the rest of the season.
In 25 games played, Mazur has compiled 14 goals and 17 assists for 31 points. His goals and points totals are second on the team, while his 17 assists are tied for first on the squad. Along with those numbers, five of his goals came on the power play and three of them served as game-winners.
Mazur's play at the faceoff dot has been equally as impressive as the freshman center is 187-for-314 (.596) on draws this season.
Meanwhile, as far as true freshmen campaigns go, Mazur is ranked tied for first in goals, tied for third in assists, and second in points for a student-athlete during their rookie season in program history.
Current teammate Jason Kalinowski (Stamford, Conn.) holds all three rookie records at 14 goals, 24 assists, and 38 points, which he set during his 2016-17 campaign.
Additionally, on the national scene, Mazur is No. 41 in points per game (1.24), No. 38 in goals per game (0.56), No. 72 in assists per game (0.68), No. 49 in power play goals per game (0.20), No. 24 in game-winning goals (5), and No. 4 in points per game by freshmen. As for the CCC, Mazur is first in games played, sixth in points, fifth in goals, ninth in assists, seventh in power play goals, and fourth in game-winners.
R.J. TOLAN | COACH OF THE YEAR
For the seventh in his illustrious career, and third time at Endicott, Tolan has been selected as the league's Coach of the Year by his peers.
So far this season, Tolan has guided the Gulls to their current No. 14 nationally ranking behind a 20-5-0 overall record (.800) and a 16-2-0 conference mark (.889).
Endicott, who will enter the CCC Semifinals this weekend on a 13-game winning streak, ranks tied for 12th in scoring offense (103 goals, 4.12 goals/game), fourth in scoring defense (45 goals allowed, 1.80 g/gm, four shutouts), sixth in scoring margin (2.32), 19th on the power play (31-for-134, two shorthanded, 23.1%), 17th on the penalty kill (122-for-142, 85.9%), ninth in combined special teams (153-for-276, 55.4%), and fourth in team winning percentage (20-5-0, .800) among all NCAA Division III programs.
Tolan is 222-107-25 (.662) overall in his career (13 seasons) and 94-33-9 (.724) at Endicott (5 seasons).
JAMES WINKLER | SR. | F | YORK, MAINE
In 24 games played this season, Winkler has amassed a team-leading 20 goals and 14 assists for a team-best 34 points.
Winkler also has potted a team-leading seven power play goals, a program-high four game-winners, and currently sports a plus-minus of +18.
Among CCC student-athletes, Winkler is first in the league in goals, fourth in points, 17th in assists, second in power play goals, first in game-winners, and first in hat-tricks. Nationally, Winkler is positioned No. 19 in points per game (1.42), fourth in goals per game (0.83), No. 14 in power play tallies, and ninth in game-winning goals.
Meanwhile, Winkler's best game of the season came against Becker earlier this year on January 25 as the senior forward potted a program-record five goals and dished out three assists for a program-best eight points.
This is Winkler's first career postseason honor.
JACOB GAMMELGAARD | SR. | D | ESBJERG, DENMARK
Gammelgaard has anchored a defensive unit that features all freshmen, besides himself, to a No. 4 national ranking in scoring defense (45 goals allowed, 1.80 g/gm, four shutouts) and a No. 17 national ranking on the penalty kill (122-for-142, 85.9%).
Individually, Gammelgaard has played in 20 games and logged one goal and 11 assists for 12 points. He also has registered a +18 plus-minus rating and blocked 19 shots.
Among all conference teams, Gammelgaard's play and senior leadership have aided Endicott in allowing the least amount of goals (45) in the league and helped the Gulls to a conference-best 1.79 GAA.
This is Gammelgaard's first career postseason award.
WHAT'S NEXT
Endicott (20-5-0, 16-2-0 CCC) will host the winner of the second-lowest remaining seed that advances out of the CCC Quarterfinal round on Saturday, February 29 in the CCC Semifinals at 7:30 PM. The CCC Quarterfinals matchups include No. 6 Wentworth/No. 3 Curry and No. 5 Nichols/No. 4 Salve Regina.
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(Photo Credit - David Le '10)