O'CONNOR NAMED HEA DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF WEEK
Former Upper Canada (now Toronto Lakeshore) Patriot and Burlington Cougar netminder Matt O'Connor (photo credit - Steve McLaughlin/BU Athletics) of the Boston University Terriers was named the Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week for his performance this past weekend.
The Toronto, Ontario native joined the OJHL as a 16-year old member of the then Upper Canada Hockey Club in 2008-09, posting respectable numbers despite playing on one of the leagues poorer clubs. The following year, O'Connor would improve on his numbers and was moved to the first place Burlington Cougars at the trade deadline to solidify their netminding for the playoff drive, ultimately falling to the eventual CCHL champion Newmarket Hurricanes in the semi-final. Following two seasons with Youngstown in the USHL, O'Connor made the jump to NCAA Division I hockey this season as a freshman with the Terriers.
Below is the official press release from the Boston University Athletics website (www.goterriers.com):
After leading the Boston University men's ice hockey team to a win and tie against then-No. 14/15 North Dakota, sophomore goaltender Matt O'Connor has been named the Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week.
O'Connor stopped 92 of the 96 shots he faced over the weekend, including a career-high 55-save performance in Saturday's 3-3 draw. He also made 37 saves in Friday's 3-1 triumph, taking a shutout bid into the third for the second time in as many games.
He posted a 1.92 goals-against average and a .958 save percentage in the series to improve his season numbers to .926 and 2.80 and now holds a 5-2-1 record.
This is the first Defensive Player of the Week honor for O'Connor, who earned Player of the Week and Rookie of the Week accolades once each last year as a freshman.
