BLOOMINGTON -- The Western Collegiate Hockey Association men’s league has announced its final round of all-decade honorees as it completes its celebration of 70 years of history.
The 2010s were the final round to be recognized this week.
Minnesota Duluth’s Jack Connolly and Minnesota State’s Mike Hastings were selected as Player and Coach of the Decade, respectively.
Alongside Connolly at forward on the All-Decade Team were Minnesota State duo Marc Michaelis and Matt Leitner. Wisconsin’s Justin Schultz and Bowling Green’s Alec Rauhauser were named to the team as defensemen, while Minnesota State’s Dryden McKay earned the nod at goaltender.
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Connolly, the WCHA’s most recent Hobey Baker Award winner, captained UMD to its first national championship as a junior in 2010-11. He’d win the Hobey Baker a year later, along with the WCHA scoring title and Player of the Year honors, after compiling 60 points from 20 goals and 40 assists.
A Duluth native, Connolly finished his career eighth on the Bulldogs’ all-time scoring list with 197 points (66g-131a) while never missing a contest in his 166-game career.
Hastings, currently in his ninth season behind the bench at Minnesota State, has guided the Mavericks to six MacNaughton Cup titles, including an unprecedented four in a row from 2017-18 to 2020-21. The six regular-season titles are tied for third all-time in WCHA history with Michigan Tech’s John MacInnes, outmatched by only the seven titles won by Denver’s Murray Armstrong and Minnesota and Colorado College’s Don Lucia.
A Crookston native, Hastings has a nine-year record of 234-88-24. His .710 career winning percentage is the best in WCHA history for any coach with at least 300 games coached in the league.
As the oldest league in college hockey, the WCHA has celebrated seven decades of history during the 2020-21 season. The honorees were selected by a panel of WCHA staff and media members who have covered the league.
WCHA 2010s All-Decade Team
Name, Pos., School, Years, Hometown, Stats
Jack Connolly, F, Minnesota Duluth, 2008-12, Duluth, Minn., 66 G/131 A/197 Pts
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Marc Michaelis, F, Minnesota State, 2016-20, Mannheim, Germany, 71 G/91 A/162 Pts
Matt Leitner, F, Minnesota State, 2011-15, Los Alamitos, Calif., 49 G/113 A/162 Pts
Justin Schultz, D, Wisconsin, 2009-12, Kelowna, B.C., 40 G/73 A/113 Pts
Alec Rauhauser, D, Bowling Green, 2016-20, Bismarck, N.D., 29 G/93 A/122 Pts
Dryden McKay, G, Minnesota State, 2018-present, Downers Grove, Ill., 93 Gms/.935 Sv. Pct./1.46 GAA
