AHCA Sid Watson Award finalists
AHCA College Division Men's Coach of the Year Award finalists

GLOUCESTER, Mass. (March 27, 2020) – Senior forward Alex Lester (Methuen, Mass.) and head coach Shaun Millerick of the Franklin Pierce University men’s ice hockey team have both been named as finalists for major year-end awards by the American Hockey Coaches Association, as announced earlier this month by the organization. Lester is one of nine finalists for the Sid Watson Award, which is given to the AHCA’s Division II/III men’s player of the year. Meanwhile, Millerick is one of 11 finalists for the College Division Men’s Coach of the Year award. The AHCA’s College Division consists of Division II and III institutions.

Lester earned his second straight Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Year award this winter, on the strength of a season where he led the league in scoring both on an overall (18-22-40) and per-game (1.25 points per game) basis. While playing in all 32 games for the Ravens, he added seven power-play goals and a game-winning goal along the way. Lester re-wrote the record books this season, as he has become the program’s all-time leader in goals (45), assists (57) and points (102), while also setting the program’s single-season record in all three categories as well. On Feb. 14, he became the program’s first member of the 100-point club.

In his third season behind the bench, Millerick, the NE10 Coach of the Year, steered the Ravens (16-12-4) back to the postseason for the first time since 2012-13 and led the squad to its second all-time appearance in the NE10 title game. This winter marked the second straight year the Ravens established a new program record for wins in a season. The past two seasons are the only two seasons of double-digit wins in program annals.

Winners for both awards are expected to be announced later on Friday.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (https://www.fpuravens.com). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics’ official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce ice hockey apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics’ brand new online store (https://www.shopfpuravens.com).