Wojtala and Klann take home major awards while five total Seahawks garner All-CCC recognition

NEWPORT, R.I - Five members of the Salve Regina University men's hockey team have been named to the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) All-Conference team. Jack Billings (Oak Lawn, Ill.), Nick Cyr (Mount Laurel, N.J.), Danny Eruzione (Winthrop, Mass.), Vincenzo Renda (Westmount, Quebec), and Blake Wojtala (Trenton, Mich.) represented the Seahawks on the All-Conference squad. Wojtala was named the Goaltender of the Year while first-year head coach Zech Klann was named Coach of the Year.

Klann led Salve Regina to a remarkable regular season in his first year on the Seahawks' bench. His team posted a 14-2-2 CCC (19-4-2 overall) record and claimed the CCC Regular-Season Championship. Klann's team also garnered national attention as it took down perennial championship contenders such as Norwich, UMass Boston, and Adrian. Salve currently sits in the No. 5 spot in both the D3Hockey.com Men's Top 15 and the USCHO.com Division III Men's Poll. In total the Seahawks went 7-1 against ranked teams this season. A lot of the team's success came thanks to the conference-best defense in terms of goals allowed. The team holds a goals-against average of 1.94, which ranks it eighth in scoring defense in Division III. However, the Seahawks can also put up big offensive numbers as their 4.08 goals per game leaves them in the No. 10 spot nationally. The Seahawks were ranked second in the East Region in the first published NCAA Division III Regional Rankings.

"I am honored to receive this award which acknowledges the hard work of the players and coaching staff," said Klann. "I am very proud of the players. The recognition is well deserved and is great for our program." 

Wojtala makes his second All-CCC squad and was named a first team goalie. Wojtala was one of the best goaltenders in the nation during the regular season and currently boasts the fourth best save percentage in Division III at .938. In addition to leading the league in that category, he also has a league-best 17 wins and the league's lowest goals-against average at 1.94. Wojtala has started all 23 games for the Seahawks, who are currently ranked No. 5 in both D3hockey.com and USCHO.com national polls. He also helped his team clinch the top seed in the upcoming CCC Championship Tournament. 

Billings also makes his second All-CCC team and was named a first team forward. Billings currently ranks fourth in the nation in points per game scoring. During the regular season he totaled 17 goals and 24 assists. His 41 total points (1.64 points per game) set a new program record for points in a single season. Billings also netted the most game-winning goals (6) in the nation during the regular season.

Nick Cyr makes his second All-CCC team and was named a third team defenseman. Cyr was a team-best +24 this season while chipping in one goal and 13 assists. His plus/minus ranked fourth among all skaters in the CCC and third amongst defenseman. His 13 assists also ranked fourth in the CCC among defenseman.

Eruzione makes his first All-CCC team in his freshman season after ranking sixth in the nation in points per game for freshman. He was second on the Seahawks in scoring, netting nine goals and 19 assists for 28 total points. Eruzione was named a third team forward.

Renda also makes the All-CCC squad in his freshman campaign after being the fourth leading scorer among defenseman in the CCC. Renda scored two goals and dished out 18 assists for 20 total points while boasting a +23, the fifth highest in the conference among all skaters. He was named a second team defenseman.

The Seahawks open the playoffs as the number one seed in the CCC this Saturday when they host Western New England at 4 p.m., at the Portsmouth Abbey.