MANSFIELD, Mass. – Senior
Hunter Brackett (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) of the Saint Anselm College men's ice hockey team has been named the Northeast-10 Conference (NE10) Player of the Year, the league announced in its annual All-Conference release on Wednesday. Brackett, who also earned a spot on the All-Conference First Team, becomes the fifth student-athlete in program history and second in the last four years to win the NE10 Player of the Year award.
Joining Brackett on the All-Conference roster were senior
Max Burum (Marshfield, Mass.) and freshman
Conor Kelly (Braintree, Mass.). Burum was selected to the NE10 All-Conference Second Team, while Kelly grabbed a spot on the conference's All-Rookie Team.
Saint Michael's led all NE10 programs with five selections to the All-Conference and All-Rookie teams. Assumption and Southern New Hampshire each had four selections, while Saint Anselm had three.
Brackett becomes the first Saint Anselm student-athlete to win the NE10 Men's Ice Hockey Player of the Year Award since
Andrew Andary '23 won it during the 2021-22 season. Brackett currently leads the NE10 with 20 goals and 40 points while playing in all 29 games for the Hawks this year. His 20 assists are tied for second-most in the conference and are only two shy of the league lead. The senior forward, who was recently
named a semifinalist for the prestigious Joe Concannon Award, has scored the most goals in a single season by a Saint Anselm student-athlete since
Mike Richard '13 scored 20 for the Hawks during the 2012-13 campaign.
This season, Brackett has six more goals and seven more points than any other player in the conference. The All-NE10 Second Team selection a season ago has scored three game-winning goals and four power play goals this year, which are tied for first and tied for second in the league, respectively. The Fort Lauderdale native is also leading the team and is tied for first in the NE10 with 140 shots on goal. Brackett is leading the conference with 0.69 goals per game and 1.38 points per contest as well.
All of the aforementioned statistics (goals, assists, points, game-winning goals, power play goals, shots on goal, goals per game, and points per game) are single season career-highs for Brackett with one game still remaining. Brackett has three multi-goal games and 13 multi-point outings while recording at least one point in 22 out of 29 games this year. He also won two NE10 Player of the Week awards this season.
Burum has had a successful season for the Hawks as well. The first-time NE10 All-Conference recipient is second on the team and third in the conference with 28 points. His 20 assists are tied for the team lead and are tied for second-most in the NE10. The center has also scored eight goals and leads the team with 323 faceoff wins, which is fifth-most in the league. The Marshfield native has played in all 29 games this season and is currently riding a five-game point streak with three goals, five assists, and eight points during that span.
Lastly, Kelly has had a solid rookie season on the Hilltop. The freshman has scored five goals and dished out 11 assists for 16 points on the year, which is the most among the team's first year skaters. Kelly, who earned an NE10 Rookie of the Week accolade once this season, has a multi-goal game and two multi-point performances to his credit.
These three student-athletes helped Saint Anselm win the 2024-25 NE10 Men's Ice Hockey Regular Season Championship with a 16-3-1 record in conference play. It was the 16th regular season title in program history and the team's second in the last three seasons. The Hawks accumulated 50 points in NE10 play this year, the most in the history of the conference and 15 points higher than second place Saint Michael's. The Hawks also ended the regular season with 11 straight conference wins, all of which came by at least two goals.
By finishing in first place out of the six competing teams in the NE10, the Hawks earned the top seed and a First Round bye in the 2025 NE10 Men's Ice Hockey Championship. In the Semifinals last weekend, Saint Anselm came back from two goals down to defeat #4 seed Assumption in overtime, 3-2. The Hawks punched their ticket to the NE10 Championship Game and will host #2 seed Saint Michael's on Saturday, March 1st at 4:00 p.m. from the Sullivan Arena.
As a program, Saint Anselm leads the NE10 with 11 conference postseason titles. Their last appearance in the NE10 Championship Game was during the 2022-23 season when they defeated Saint Michael's, 5-1. Additionally, their 18 appearances in the title game are the most of any NE10 institution, current or former.
Saint Anselm leads the NE10 with 3.93 goals per game and 114 total goals this winter, which is 24 more than the next closest team. The Hawks are also second in the conference in faceoff percentage (.513) and have taken the fewest penalties in the league this year (113). The team boasts the best power play percentage (.202) and the fourth-best penalty killing percentage (.843) in the conference as well.
STAY CONNECTED:
