University of Minnesota Athletics
Stoa Earns First-Team WCHA; Schroeder Top Rookie
3/22/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Hockey
Ryan Stoa earned first-team All-Western Collegiate Hockey Association honors and Jordan Schroeder was named the league’s Rookie of the Year at the annual league awards banquet in St. Paul.
Stoa was also honored as the league’s scoring champion, while Schroeder received second-team all-league honors and a spot on the league’s all-rookie team.
Stoa was the first Gophers’ player to win the scoring title since Reggie Berg in 1998, while Schroeder was the eighth Minnesota player to win the Rookie of the Year since 1965 and the first since Phil Kessel in 2006.
Stoa, a junior forward from Bloomington, Minn., came back from season-ending knee injury in second game of 2007-08 season to lead the team in most offensive categories with 24 goals and 22 assists for 46 points. In addition to leading the league with 36 points in conference games, he also was the WCHA’s top goal-scorer with 19 goals in league contests.
Stoa ranked sixth nationally with 1.28 points per game and third in the country in goals per game with 24 goals in 36 games. He was one of five players in the country with four shorthanded goals. Stoa was named the WCHA Player of the Month for November with 12 points in nine games.
Schroeder, a freshman forward from Prior Lake, Minn., finished second on the team with 13 goals and 32 assists in 35 games. He ranks fourth in the nation in scoring with 1.29 points per game and is the only freshman player among the nation’s top 50 scorers. Schroeder’s 0.91 assists per game ranks third in the country. In league play, he finished second behind Stoa with 35 points and led the league with 22 assists.
Schroeder was named the National Rookie of the Month for November with 13 points in nine games. He won back-to-back WCHA Rookie of the Week honors after series against Minnesota State and New Hampshire.
He centered the team’s top line all season, scoring points in 28 of 35 games, including 15 multiple point games. Schroeder finished the season with an eight-game scoring streak. His 32 assists tied for sixth in a single season by a Gopher freshman, matching Erik Rasmussen’s total from 1995-96. Schroeder’s 45 total points ranked 10th by a freshman in Minnesota history.
Wisconsin’s Jamie McBain was named the league’s Player of the Year, while North Dakota coach Dave Hakstol was the Coach of the Year.
