Fantilli Named Big Ten Freshman of the Year
3/14/2023 12:30:00 PM | Ice Hockey
ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Adam Fantilli of the University of Michigan ice hockey team was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year when the all-conference awards were announced on Tuesday (March 14). Luke Hughes joins Fantilli on the first team.
Mackie Samoskevich captured second-team honors, while Gavin Brindley and T.J. Hughes earned honorable mention nods. Fantilli and Seamus Casey took spots on the all-freshman team and Jay Keranen is Michigan's recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.
The nation's leading scorer, Fantilli had 30 points in 19 conference games for a league-best 1.58 points per game. Overall, he has 27 goals and 33 assists for 60 points in 32 games to average 1.88 point per game and is a +28 with a 52.3 faceoff win percentage. Fantilli boasts 18 multi-point performances with four game-winning goals and two hat tricks. He is now third all-time at Michigan in freshman scoring with 60 points -- behind Bruno Baseotto's 67 (1979-80) and Kyle Connor's 71 (2015-16). After Saturday night's (March 11) four-point performance, Fantilli now holds the record for most goals, seven, and most points, 10, in a single Big Ten tournament. Fantilli is the sixth Wolverine and third straight to be named Big Ten Freshman of the Year, joining Luke Hughes (2022), Thomas Bordeleau (2021), Kyle Connor (2016), Dylan Larkin (2015) and JT Compher (2014).
A finalist for both the Big Ten Player and Defensive Player of the Year, Luke Hughes led the league's defensemen in scoring with seven goals and 21 assists for 28 points, averaging 1.27 points per game. Hughes had a four-goal game against Penn State on Jan. 28 and scored the game-winning goal with 0.6 seconds left to defeat Michigan State at the Duel in the D. In 35 total games, Hughes has 42 points (nine goals, 33 assists) ranking him second in the nation in defensemen points per game. The No. 4 overall selection in the 2021 NHL Draft by the New Jersey Devils, Hughes is a +24 with 31 blocked shots.
With 19 goals, Samoskevich is second on the team in goals and third in overall points with 40 in 35 games. An All-Freshman Team selection last season, Samoskevich has points in 24 of 35 games. The Florida Panthers' first-round draft pick, he has scored six power-play goals.
Brindley and T.J. Hughes were named honorable mention as freshmen. Brindley is fourth on the team in scoring with 33 points, scoring 11 goals and 22 assists in 37 games. Twenty-three of his points came after he captured a bronze medal with Team USA at the World Junior Championship in January, as he went on an eight-game point-scoring streak. T.J. Hughes is fifth on the team in scoring and had 32 points in 35 games. He has 13 goals and 19 assists and has the best faceoff win percentage on the squad at 54.8 percent.
A member of the All-Freshman Team, Casey has 24 points as a defenseman. He ranks third in the nation in freshman defenseman scoring with six goals and 18 assists. A New Jersey Devils draft selection, Casey adds 19 blocked shots.
A senior, Keranen has played in 36 games at both forward and defenseman. He has five points, 26 blocked shots and has taken a leadership role in the team's volunteer and community activities.
Michigan is ranked No. 4 in the DCU/USCHO poll and in the Pairwise ranking and looks to defends its Big Ten Tournament Championship at Minnesota.
2022-23 All-Big Ten Hockey Team and Individual Awards
As selected by Big Ten coaches and Media Voting Panel
FIRST TEAM
Adam Fantilli, Fr., F, MICH
Logan Cooley, Fr., F, MINN
Matthew Knies, So., F, MINN
Luke Hughes, So., D, MICH
Brock Faber, Jr., D, MINN
Ryan Bischel, Sr., G, ND
SECOND TEAM
Mackie Samoskevich, So., F, MICH
Jimmy Snuggerud, Fr., F, MINN
Jake Wise, Gr., F, OSU
Jackson LaCombe, Sr., D, MINN
Mason Lohrei, So., D, OSU
Justen Close, Sr., G, MINN
HONORABLE MENTION
Gavin Brindley, Fr., F, MICH
T.J. Hughes, Fr., F, MICH
Jagger Joshua, Sr., F, MSU
Stephen Halliday, Fr., F, OSU
Connor MacEachern, Sr., F, PSU
Kevin Wall, Sr., F, PSU
Ryan Johnson, Sr., D, MINN
Nick Leivermann, Gr., D, ND
Corson Ceulemans, So., D, WIS
Dylan St. Cyr, Gr., G, MSU
Jakub Dobeš, So., G, OSU
ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Adam Fantilli, Fr., F, MICH *
Logan Cooley, Fr., F, MINN
Jimmy Snuggerud, Fr., F, MINN
Luke Mittelstadt, Fr., D, MINN
Seamus Casey, Fr., D, MICH
(no goaltender)
Player of the Year: Matthew Knies, So., F, MINN
Defensive Player of the Year: Brock Faber, Jr., D, MINN
Goaltender of the Year: Ryan Bischel, Sr., G, ND
Freshman of the Year: Adam Fantilli, Fr., F, MICH
Coach of the Year:Bob Motzko, MINN
SPORTSMANSHIP AWARDS
Jay Keranen, Sr., D, MICH
Dylan St. Cyr, Gr., G, MSU
Ryan Johnson, Sr., D, MINN
Landon Slaggert, Jr., F, ND
Jake Wise, Gr., F, OSU
Paul DeNaples, Sr., D, PSU
Brock Caufield, Gr., F, WIS
* unanimous selection
