DETROIT, Mich. - The Bemidji State University men's ice hockey program lead College Hockey America in the number of skaters named to the annual CHA All-Academic squad for the sixth consecutive season.
BSU placed a league-record 18 skaters on the 2008 team, continuing its domination of the league-wide academic honor roll.
Robert Morris University finished in second place with 12 All-Academic selections, while Niagara University was close behind with 11. Wayne State University and the University of Alabama-Huntsville rounded out the list with six and three players respectively.
With 18 student-athletes earning a spot of the Beavers make up 36 percent of the 50-man CHA All-Academic team in 2008.
Bemidji State's 2008 Academic All-College Hockey America honorees incude:
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Orlando Alamano (Jr., G, Fresno, Calif.; 3rd honor); Jake Bluhm (Sr., F, Red Wing, Minn.; 3rd); Cody Bostock (Jr., D, Salmon Arm, British Columbia; 2nd); Matt Climie (Sr., G, Leduc, Alberta; 3rd); David Deterding (Sr., D, Alexandria, Minn.; 3rd); Matt Francis (Jr., F, Surrey, British Columbia; 1st); Kyle Hardwick (So., D, Warroad, Minn.; 1st); Blaine Jarvis (Sr., F, Gladstone, Manitoba; 2nd); Tyler Lehrke (So., F, Park Rapids, Minn.; 1st); Brandon Marino (Jr., F, Riverside, Calif.; 2nd); Chris McKelvie (So., F, New Brighton, Minn.; 1st); Graham McManamin (So., D, Anchorage, Alaska; 1st); Joey Moggach (So., F, Brandon, Manitoba; 1st); Chris Peluso (So., D, Wadena, Minn.; 1st); Matt Pope (Sr., F, Langley, British Columbia; 3rd); John Vadnais (So., D, Stillwater, Minn.; 1st); Riley Weselowski (Sr., D, Pilot Mound, Manitoba; 3rd) and Travis Winter (Jr., F, St. Cloud, Minn.; 2nd).
Alamano, Bluhm, Climie, Deterding, Pope and Weselowski add their names to an exclusive group of just 22 three-time Academic All-CHA selections in BSU history. This year's group of six three-time honorees is the largest at BSU of any single year, topping the Beavers' 2007 class of five three-time CHA All-Academic picks.
Since setting a CHA record with 16 CHA All-Academic honorees in 2002-03, BSU has led College Hockey America in Academic All-CHA honorees each season.
BSU tied its 2003 record with 16 honorees in 2004; led CHA with 14 academic selections in 2005; and again tied its own league record with 16 academic honorees in 2006 and had a league-high 14 student-athletes selected for the league honor a year ago.
In all, BSU has piled up 101 Academic All-CHA selections in seven years under head coach Tom Serratore, far and away the most in CHA. Niagara is a distant second with 78 during the same seven-year time frame.
BSU's 18-member Academic All-CHA class for 2008 brings the total of Beaver skaters honored for their academic efforts by CHA to 108 since the league's inception for the 1999-2000 season.
To earn placement on the CHA All-Academic Team, a student-athlete must have completed at least one year of residency at his present institution prior to the current academic year. The student-athlete must have a grade-point average of at least 3.00 (based on a 4.00 scale) for the previous two semesters or three quarters, or an overall GPA of at least 3.00 for all terms at his present institution. The student-athlete must be both academically and athletically eligible to compete during the present season.
Bemidji State finished its 2007-08 regular season with a record of 16-15-3 and captured its third College Hockey America regular-season title with a mark of 13-4-3 in the league. The Beavers open play as the No. 1 seed at the 2008 CHA Tournament on Saturday, when they face off with the winner of the tournament's quarterfinal game between Wayne State and UAH.
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BSU's semifinal match up is set for 1 p.m. Central time at Dwyer Arena in Niagara Falls, N.Y.
