The Pioneer hockey program hosted its 55th annual banquet on Friday evening, where senior captain Kyle Ostrow was named season MVP and fellow-senior Jesse Martin was awarded most-inspirational player.
Ostrow engraved his name into DU hockey history this season as he recorded a career-high 28 points (15 goals and 13 assists), making him the 93rd member of the Pioneer Century Club for 100-point scorers. Ostrow will graduate DU with the Bill Masterton Memorial Award (MVP) for his leadership on and off the ice.
“Kyle Ostrow did just a tremendous job this season as our captain,” said head coach George Gwozdecky. “Right from day one when our freshmen got here, he educated them on their expectations. He made [the freshmen] feel like they were an important part of this team and ran this team very well.”
The 25 wins this season also marked the 8th 25-win season for Gwozdecky. Gwozdecky has served as head coach for the DU hockey team for 17 seasons while capturing two NCAA national championships, three WCHA regular-season titles, and four WCHA playoff titles.
The highlight of the night came when Martin received the Dr. Ralph Verploeg Award for most inspirational player. While Martin maintains optimism that he may play again for the Pioneers, Martin will graduate as a three-time All-WCHA Academic team member and contributed 64 points (32 goals and 32 assists) in 120 games.
Martin stepped up to the stage as the crowd gave him a standing ovation similar to the one he received while speaking during a timeout on Feb. 5 in a game against Colorado College.
“Life changes and different adversity is thrown at you, and nobody can go though those adversities alone,” said Martin. “I don’t want this past year to overshadow my time here. This year was one that I didn’t get to play as much as I wanted, but a year that I felt most part of the team.”
Martin went on to thank a long list of people, but highlighted his thankfulness to Dr. Alex Mendez for repairing the three fractures to his C2 vertebra in St. Paul, Minn. after the injury occurred on Oct. 3.
The event was held at the Cable Center, with family and friends in attendance.
The Pioneers celebrated a season in which they posted a 25-12-5 record in the 2010-2011 season.
After defeating Western Michigan in double overtime in the first round of the NCAA tournament, the Pioneers advanced to the NCAA Midwest Regional Final, where they lost to new-rival North Dakota.
The team also captured its 15th Denver Cup Classic title and retained the Gold Pan.
The Pioneer class of 2011 also became the first team in school history to play in four NCAA tournaments, while contributing four seasons with 20 or more wins to bring that streak to 10 consecutive seasons for the DU hockey program.
The senior class finished their careers at DU with three Denver Cup Classic titles, one WCHA Final Five Championship, one WCHA regular-season title and 101 wins overall.
