KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Senior defenseman Ryan Mahrle was named as one of 10 finalists of the 2006-07 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award for the Men's Hockey Division. He is one of four student-athletes to make the final 10 from CCHA member institutions. The winner, which will be determined by fan voting as well as votes submitted by coaches, sponsors and the media, will be announced during Frozen Four Weekend in St. Louis.
Fans for vote for their choice at www.seniorclassaward.org beginning March 10.
The award, which was originally created to honor collegiate basketball seniors, added hockey and other Olympis sports just this year. The nation's premier award for NCAA senior student-athletes is derived from an acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School. The award was initially developed in response to the trend of college basketball players leaving school early to turn professional. Since that time, the collegiate community has embraced the award and the idea of honoring seniors for remaining committed to their university throughout their entire collegiate athletic eligibility.
The names of hockey student-athletes were submitted from all across the nation and the 10 finalists were selected from a group of 30 entrants. The criteria to determine the top ten included the areas of classroom, character and community in addition to performance in the hockey rink during this season.
“Not only are these finalists among the nation's best college hockey athletes, they also have a very impressive list of achievements in the classroom and in the community,” said Bob Gfeller in a released statement, Lowe's senior vice president of marketing and advertising. “We salute these tremendous NCAA student athletes for making an impact with their time and talents.”
Mahrle is joined on the finalist list by CCHA brethren David Brown (UND), Curtis Fraser (UA) and Jeff Jakaitis (LSSU). He will graduate with a degree in finance and currently carries a 3.68 GPA. He has made the Dean's list six times over his Bronco career and been a member of the Bronco Honor Roll seven times.
Currently, the Troy, Mich., native is the team's leader in points (15) among defenseman and is coming off a two-point weekend (0-2) at Lake Superior State. The senior will skate this weekend in a home playoff series for the first time in his career as the Broncos, seeded sixth in the CCHA Tournament, welcome 11th-seeded Alaska to Lawson Ice Arena for a best-of-three series.
