April 7, 2008 Air Force Hockey Announces Team Awards Matt Charbonneau Takes Two Major Awards; Goalie Andrew Volkening Named MVP USAF ACADEMY, Colo. - Senior Matt Charbonneau earned two major awards and sophomore goaltender Andrew Volkening was named the team MVP at the annual Air Force Hockey Awards Banquet, Sunday, April 6, at the Garden of the Gods Club. A defenseman from Stillwater, Minn., Charbonneau earned the prestigious Vic Heyliger Award. This award, voted on by the team, is the cornerstone of Air Force hockey. It is awarded to the player whose dedication, character, leadership and work ethic exemplifies Falcon hockey. Known as the "Father of Air Force Hockey", Heyliger came to the Academy in 1966 to coach the Falcon club team. Charbonneau also earned the Larry Cronk Award. This award, voted on by the team, is presented to the player whose play on the ice inspired his team and most typifies Falcon hockey. Cronk has been a part of Air Force hockey since its inception in 1966. An assistant captain this season, Charbonneau was named to the all-tournament team at the AHA Final Five as he tallied three assists in the win over RIT in the semifinals. He played more career games than any other player on this year's team, taking the ice 138 times in four years. His inspired and physical play made him a mainstay in the lineup all four years. He had career-high 19 points his senior year with four goals and 15 points. Volkening, a sophomore from Genoa, Ill., won the Chuck Delich Award as the team's most valuable player. This award, voted on by the team, is named after the Falcons' all-time leading scorer and the No. 8 scorer in the history of NCAAhockey. Volkening was named to the AHA all-tournament team for the second straight year. He was the goaltender on the all-tournament team at the NCAA Northeast Regional, becoming to first Falcon to ever earn that honor. He set new school records for saves percentage and goals-against average and ranked 10th in the nation, allowing just over two goals per game. Freshman Derrick Burnett earned the John Matchefts Award as the team's rookie of the year. This award, voted on by the team, is named in honor of the Falcons' second coach. A member of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame, Matchefts coached the Falcons for 11 seasons, leading Air Force to the second-most wins in school history and a record of 154-150-6. Burnett scored 17 points in his last 18 games. He finished third in the league, and 31st in the nation, in scoring by a rookie with 26 points in 39 games. He earned AHA Rookie of the Week honors twice this season and scored AFA's first goal vs. Miami in the NCAA Northeast Regional. Senior Frank Schiavone won the Jim Bowman Award. The scholar-athlete award is named after a man who has put his heart and soul into Air Force athletics. As a coach and administrator since 1958, Bowman's extensive experience was instrumental to the success of Falcon athletics. Schiavone carries a 3.6 cumulative grade point average and a 3.80 in his major of management. A finalist for the Lowe's Senior Class Award, he is a two-time academic all-conference selection and has been on the dean's list every semester. On the ice, he had a career best five goals this season, including one in the win over Mercyhurst in the AHA Championship game. The team's most improved player award, voted on by the team, went to junior right winger Brent Olson. Olson scored eight points last season as a sophomore and exploded for 18 goals and 39 points this year to lead the team in both categories this season. He was the MVP of Atlantic Hockey Final Five as he scored five points in the two games. Junior Greg Flynn was named the team's Defenseman of the Year. This award is presented to the defensive player who the coaching staff feels was the team's most diligent defensive performer. Defensive habits and skill with plus-minus ratio are factors used to select the recipient. Flynn was one of the top offensive defenseman in the nation, ranking fifth with 31 points in 39 games. A second-team all-league selection, he became the first Falcon blueliner in 13 years with 30 or more points. --30-- Dave Toller Sports Information Director U.S. Air Force Academy (719) 333-3478 (office) (719) 200-2802 (cell) (719) 333-3798 (fax) /"\ ASCII Ribbon | charlie shub (719) 262-3492 \ / Campaign Against | [log in to unmask] (mobile) 761-8778 X HTML in e-mail | http://cs.uccs.edu/~cdash (fax) 262-3369 / \ and news | University of Colorado at Colorado Springs