AMHERST, Mass. - For the second-straight season, UMass posted 12 Minutemen to the Hockey East All-Academic Team as announced by the league office on Monday. Each student-athlete achieved a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or better in each of the two academic periods during which he was actively competing.

Martin Nolet (Quebec City, Quebec) was named to the Academic All-Star Team which recognizes the players with the highest GPA by position. Additionally, Scott Crowder (Nashua, N.H.) and John Wessbecker (Victoria, Minn.) earned Distinguished Scholar honors for having been on the all-academic team for four years.

This marks the fourth consecutive season that UMass has posted 10-or-more student-athletes on the All-Academic Team. In 2006-07 a program-record 13 earned the distinction.

Nolet and co-captain Brett Watson (Media, Pa.) earned All-Academic honors for the third consecutive season, while Brian Keane (Shortsville, N.Y.), Michael Lecomte (St. Hyacinthe, Quebec), All-American James Marcou (Kings Park, N.Y.), and co-captain Cory Quirk (Brockton, Mass.) each earned the honor for the second time in their careers.

In all, a league-record 94 student-athletes to the 2008-2009 All-Academic Team in Hockey East's 25th season of play.

Merrimack College set the standard in the conference this year with 16 honorees, while the University of Maine placed 13 student-athletes on the team. Northeastern University and UMass-Lowell also had a strong presence on the team with 11 and 10 student-athletes respectively.

The league also boasted a record setting 10 student-athletes that received "Distinguished Scholar" status. Those earning "Distinguished Scholar" status achieved a 3.0 or better in each semester over four varsity seasons. Maine's Chris Hahn (Fort Qu'Appelle, Sask.); UML's Nick Monroe (Groton, Mass.) and Mark Roebothan (St. John's, Nfld.); UNH's Thomas Fortney (Webster Groves, Mo.) and Alan Thompson (Gilford, N.H.); NU's Denis Chisholm (Fox Valley, Sask.) and Rob Rassey (Shelby Township, Mich.), along with Providence College's Kyle Laughlin (Gambrills, Md.) rounded out the group of "Distinguished Scholars" with Crowder and Wessbecker.

Merrimack College junior goaltender Andrew Braithwaite (Kingston, Ont.) and UMass-Lowell junior forward Frank Stegnar (Toronto, Ont.) earned 4.0 GPA's on the year to earn Hockey East Top-Scholar Athlete honors for the league's 25th anniversary season.

University of Massachusetts (12)
Scott Crowder +
Brian Keane **
Doug Kublin
Ryan Leary
Michael Lecomte **
James Marcou **
Martin Nolet ***
Cory Quirk **
T.J. Syner
Brett Watson ***
Casey Wellman
John Wessbecker +

Academic All-Star Team
(Top GPAs by position)
G: Andrew Braithwaite, MC (4.00)
D: Martin Nolet, UMass (3.95)
D: Ryan Ruikka, Boston U. (3.88)
F: Chris Hahn, Maine (3.84)
F: J.C. Robitaille, MC (3.93)
F: Frank Stegnar, UML (4.00)

+ - Indicates "Distinguished Scholar" who has posted a 3.0 or better in each semester during his four years.
*** - Indicates three-time honoree
** - Indicates two-time honoree