O’Brien, Kurapov Headline All-CCC Award Winners
BEVERLY, Mass. — Four members of the Endicott men’s ice hockey program have received postseason honors from the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC), as announced by the league office earlier today.
BEVERLY, Mass. — Four members of the Endicott men's ice hockey program have received postseason honors from the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC), as announced by the league office earlier today.
Conor O'Brien (Pinellas Park, Fla.) and Andrew Kurapov (Corvallis, Ore.) headlined the group of award winners for the Gulls.
O'Brien earned CCC Player of the Year and Goaltender of the Year honors, respectively, while Kurapov was named the conference's Rookie of the Year.
Along with his pair of major awards, O'Brien was selected to the All-CCC First Team.
The Gulls also saw Kurapov and Eric Manoukian (Manalapan, N.J.) chosen to the All-CCC Second Team, while Zach Mazur (Lancaster, N.Y.) landed a spot on the All-CCC Third Team to round out the list of achievements for Endicott.
CONOR O'BRIEN | SR. | GOALIE
In 23 games played (all starts) this season, O'Brien has compiled a 17-5-1 record (14-4-1 CCC) behind a 1.38 goals against average (GAA) and a .949 save percentage (581 total) in 1,344:07 minutes.
O'Brien leads the CCC in games played, games started, minutes, goals against (31), GAA, save percentage (3rd in saves), and wins (2nd in win percentage, .761).
Nationally, O'Brien ranks first in save percentage, second in GAA, and No. 17 in winning percentage.
O'Brien also has stopped 25 or more shots in 13 games this season and registered four shutouts.
Additionally, O'Brien is the first goaltender in CCC men's ice hockey history to earn Player of the Year honors.
Today's announcement marks O'Brien's second career Goaltender of the Year award and second career All-CCC First Team selection.
ANDREW KURAPOV | SO. | FORWARD
Kurapov has made quite the impact in his first full season for the Gulls.
He currently leads the team in goals (12), assists (12), and points (24). He also ranks third on the team in plus-minus (+12) and has scored a team-best four game-winning goals.
Kurapov's CCC ranks include: games (24, 20th), points (7th), goals (3rd), assists (14th), plus-minus (16th), power play goals (2, 16th), short-handed goals (1, 8th), and game-winners (2nd, 11th in D3).
Alongside those numbers, Kurapov has logged six multi-point games this season and enters Saturday's playoff matchup versus Wentworth riding a 12-game point streak (1/14-2/19).
This is Kurapov's first career All-CCC Second Team selection. He also is the second career Rookie of the Year award winner in program history joining Mazur on the list (2019-20).
ERIC MANOUKIAN | JR. | DEFENSEMAN
In 21 games this season, Manoukian has produced three goals (1 PPG, 1 GWG) and 10 assists for 13 points.
He also ranks first on the team and second in the CCC in plus-minus (+21) and fifth on the squad in blocked shots (18).
As a team, the Gulls rank No. 1 in the country in penalty kill percentage (.928), fourth in scoring defense (1.64), and No. 14 in winning percentage (.740) due in large part to Manoukian's play in front of O'Brien.
ZACH MAZUR | JR. | FORWARD
The two-way forward has notched nine goals (2 PPG, 1 SHG, 1 GWG) and 11 assists for 20 points in 22 games.
Mazur's CCC ranks include: points (12th), goals (15th), assists (17th), power play tallies (16th), short-handed goals (8th), game-winning goals (19th).
He also has compiled four multi-point games, including one four-point contest (2G, 2A, 1/21/22) and one three-point performance (1G, 2A, 2/18/22), won 165 faceoffs (third-most on the team), and ranks first in power play scoring with eight points (2G, 6A).
WHAT'S NEXT
No. 13 nationally ranked Endicott (18-6-1) hosts Wentworth in the CCC Quarterfinals on Saturday, February 26 at 3 PM.
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(Photo Credit - David Le '10)