Boston College Men’s Hockey Wins Multiple Hockey East Awards

Earlier today, Hockey East announced its yearly awards — and BC has a ton to celebrate. Spencer Knight was awarded the 2020-21 Hockey East Player of the Year, Nikita Nesterenko was tabbed Co-Rookie of the Year, and Coach York is Hockey East’s Coach of the Year.

Knight had a 15-2-1 record, leading Hockey East with his 15 wins. His .937 save percentage was tied for first in the league, and was third in the NCAA. He had at least 30 saves in ten of his games this season, and began the year on an 11-game unbeaten streak — going 10-0-1 in that span. Outside of Hockey East action, Knight backstopped Team USA to a gold medal at the World Junior Championship and became the first American goaltender to earn three shutouts in the tournament. Knight is the first BC goalie to win the Player of the Year award outright since Thatcher Demko shared the award in 2015-16. This honor shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone since Knight has been phenomenal this year, both at BC and internationally.

Nesterenko’s 18 points led all league rookies, with seven goals and 11 assists and averaging 0.86 points per game. He’s had five multipoint games this season, and began his career at BC with a five game point streak. He’s been named the Rookie of the Week twice this season; once after his two point night against Merrimack, and after scoring the game winning goal in the Hockey East Quarterfinal win against UNH.

Coach York was awarded the Coach of the Year award for the fifth time. He led the Eagles to a 16-4-1 record this season and the top seed for the Hockey East Tournament. We know that he’s a legend, and this honor only adds to it. BC scored 3.9 goals per game this season, good for second in the NCAA, while only allowing 2.19 goals per game. Additionally, the penalty kill scored eight shorthanded goals, leading the country.

Congratulations to all!