Former Viper Collins Named To Hockey East 2012-13 All-Star Team:

Former Vernon Vipers forward Mike Collins was named to the Hockey East Conference 2012-13 All-Star Team.  Collins was one of seventy seven players up for this years Hobey Baker Award. The Hobey Baker Award is an annual award given to the top National Collegiate Athletic Association men's ice hockey player. Collins finished his third season at Merrimack College. In 38 games this season Collins collected (17-21-38). Collins played two season's in Vernon (2008-2010) In 119 regular season games with the Vipers Collins recorded (55-71-126)

Mike Collins Player Profile:

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=122117

This is posted on the Hockey East website:

HOCKEY EAST ANNOUNCES 2012-2013 ALL-STAR TEAMS

March 21, 2013

Nine of the 12 First and Second Team All-Stars in action this weekend at Garden

Wakefield, Mass. - The Hockey East Association announced its 2012-2013 All-Star Teams on Thursday night at the Hockey East Championship banquet at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge, Mass.

Two freshman goaltenders highlight the All-Star selections, which are uncharacteristically dominated by underclassmen. For the first time in Hockey East history, a first-year player was selected as the first-team goaltender. Providence College rookie Jon Gillies (South Portland, Maine) becomes only the third freshman at any position to be named to the first team, joining Hockey Hall-of-Fame defenseman Brian Leetch (BC, 1986-87) and Hobey Baker winner Paul Kariya (Maine) in a truly exclusive group. He was the Friars' unquestioned starter from the first day of the season, and finished with four shutouts in league play.

Fellow freshman Connor Hellebuyck (Commerce, Mich.) of UMass Lowell was selected as the second-team goaltender. Hellebuyck was a major part of the River Hawks' late season surge to the Hockey East regular season title, going 8-1 over the final nine games on the schedule, and finishing with a 1.38 GAA and .948 save percentage over 13 total league games, both good for second all-time in Hockey East history (to Jimmy Howard of Maine in 2003-04.) Hellebuyck and Gillies will face off in Friday's first Hockey East semifinal match, just as they did in a split home-andhome series on the final weekend of the regular season.

Hellebuyck is joined by two other River Hawks on the second team, which includes junior Joseph Pendenza (Wilmington, Mass.) and forward Riley Wetmore (Swanton, Vt.), who round out the trio of forwards alongside Boston University sophomore Evan Rodrigues (Etobicoke, Ont.). Jordan Heywood (Regina, Sask.) of Merrimack College and Patrick Wey (Pittsburgh, Pa.) of Boston College were the second-team blueliners.

For the third consecutive season, BC has multiple representatives on the first team, sniper Steven Whitney (Reading, Mass.), the only senior on the top All-Star squad, and Athletic Republic Hockey East Player of the Year Johnny Gaudreau (Carneys Point, N.J.), a sophomore. Fellow second-year player Trevor van Riemsdyk (Middletown, N.J.), a defenseman from the University of New Hampshire, was the only Wildcat All-Star this season. The other first-team defenseman was UMass-Lowell's Chad Ruhwedel (San Diego, Calif.), giving the top-seeded River Hawks four total All-Stars, the most of any program this season. Merrimack junior forward Mike Collins (Boston, Mass.) rounded out the squad, joining goaltenders Martin Legault (1996-97) and Joe Cannata (last year) as the only Warriors to ever qualify for First-Team honors.

2013 Hockey East Honorable Mention All-Stars

G: Casey DeSmith, New Hampshire (So. Rochester, N.H.)
D: Matt Grzelcyk, Boston University (Fr., Charlestown, Mass.)
D: Steven Shamanski, Providence College (Jr., Carberry, Man.)
F: Joey Diamond, Maine (Sr., Long Beach, N.Y.)
F: Kevin Goumas, New Hampshire (Jr., Long Beach, N.Y.)
F: Branden Gracel, Massachusetts (Jr., Calgary, Alb.)
F: Wade Megan, Boston University (Sr., Canton, N.Y.)
F: Chris McCarthy, Vermont (Jr., Collegeville, Pa.)