RODRIGUES NAMED SUNYAC PLAYER OF YEAR
Former Vaughan Viper and Toronto Jr. Canadien Paul Rodrigues (photo courtesy of Oswego State Athletics), now with the Oswego State University Lakers, was named SUNYAC Player of the Year for his performance throughout the 2012-13 NCAA Division III season.
The 24-year old native of Etobicoke, Ontario made the jump to junior hockey as a 16-year old member of the Vaughan Vipers in 2005-06, finishing fourth in scoring on the club with 43 points in 47 games played. Rodrigues would spend three full seasons in Vaughan from 2005-08, recording 188 points in 138 regular season games played. He would taste his greatest OJHL success in 2007-08, leading the OJHL with 61 assists, while finishing tied for the OJHL scoring lead with 98 points to earn South Division Most Valuable Player honours. Following the season, Rodrigues joined the Jr. Canadiens and would again post impressive offensive numbers with 90 points in 53 games played to finish tied for sixth in the league scoring race. Following his four year OJHL career, he made the jump to NCAA Division III hockey with the Lakers.
Below is the official press release from the Oswego State Athletics website (www.athletics.oswego.edu):
Oswego State men's ice hockey senior forward Paul Rodrigues (Etobicoke, Ontario) has been named the 2013 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Herb Hammond Most Valuable Player as announced by SUNYAC Commissioner Azure Davey Monday afternoon.
The Player of the Year award is named after Herb Hammond who coached at Oswego State (1969-1980) and Plattsburgh (1981-83). At Oswego State, he compiled a 176-122-5 mark and at Plattsburgh a 52-17-4 record. He was named the 1982 Division III Coach of the Year. He also coached at Division I Brown University from 1983-88. He left coaching to become a National Hockey League scorer for 11 seasons before his death in 2009.
Rodrigues, a First Team All-SUNYAC pick, paced the conference in points at 25 and assists at 20 and tied for the league lead in power-play points with 12 on a goal and 11 assists over 16 games. The 2012 Second Team All-SUNYAC honoree currently leads the team in overall scoring at 42 points on 14 goals and 28 assists. He joined the 100-point club earlier this season, and now has 129 points on 48 goals and 81 assists in his career. Rodrigues was a two-time SUNYAC Player of the Week, earning the honor on October 29 and December 10.
He is the ninth Oswego State player to receive SUNYAC Player of the Year recognition and the first since Eric Selleck won the award in 2010.
The Lakers, who are 22-4-0, host Plattsburgh, which is 19-6-1, in the SUNYAC Championship on Saturday, March 2 at 7 p.m. in the Campus Center Ice Arena.
