For the second time in program history, three players on the Canisius College hockey team garnered All-Atlantic Hockey honors, announced by the conference on Thursday. Junior defender Chris Rumble collected first-team all-conference accolades, while junior forward Ralph Cuddemi and senior goaltender Keegan Asmundson were selected to the All-Atlantic Hockey Second Team.
The three selections matches the program record, set during the 2009-10 campaign, when Cory Conacher (first team), Carl Hudson (second team) and Vincent Scarsella (third team) all earned All-Atlantic Hockey honors.
Rumble is the first Griff since Conacher five years ago to earn first-team all-conference and the first Canisius defender in 16 years to collect the accolade when Derek Gilham was named to the All-MAAC First Team in 1998-99.
The junior from Seattle, Wash. leads all Canisius defenders with 19 points this season, scoring six goals and adding 13 assists. He ranks third in Atlantic Hockey and 29th nationally with his 19 points. He also helped anchor the top scoring defense in the league at 2.14 goals per game in conference play, including just 1.67 per game in the last 15 contests of the year – the fourth-best mark in the country. In addition, Rumble led the Griffs with 50 blocked shots.
Cuddemi anchored the team's offense with 36 points, 21 goals, 15 assists and eight power-play goals this season. The junior is just the fifth Griff to score 20 goals in a season with his 21 tallies just two shy of the school record. A three-time Atlantic Hockey Player of the Week this season, Cuddemi currently ranks fourth nationally in power-play goals, eighth in goals and 27th in points.
Asmundson anchored the top defense in Atlantic Hockey this season with a 2.09 goals against average and .926 save percentage. His 2.09 goals against average is currently the top mark in school history, topping the current record of 2.37. The senior has been especially strong as of late, finishing the season with a 9-2-1 record to lead Canisius to a second-place finish. Asmundson ranks fourth in the country since the beginning of 2015 with a .942 save percentage and fifth with a 1.60 goals against average. He is the first Canisius goalie to earn all-conference honors since Byran Worosz was named to the first team following the 2004-05 season.
The trio helped the Griffs to a second-place finish in the Atlantic Hockey standings, matching the team's best finish in program history. Canisius opens the Atlantic Hockey Tournament on Friday, beginning a best 2-of-3 quarterfinal series against Sacred Heart. The series is set for HARBORCENTER on Friday (7:35 p.m.), Saturday (7:35 p.m.) and Sunday (5:05 p.m.).
