BEMIDJI — On the penultimate day of the college hockey season, members of the Bemidji State men’s hockey team got to take one final (metaphorical) victory lap for their successful 2016-17 campaign. Junior goaltender Michael Bitzer continued to rack up more awards, while senior forward Brendan Harms closed out his BSU career with one last one.
On Friday, Bitzer was named a first-team All-American by the American Hockey Coaches Association while Harms won the 2017 Senior CLASS Award.
Both awards capped BSU’s 2016-17 season — one in which they finished 22-16-3, claimed their first-ever Western Collegiate Hockey Association title and took home the MacNaughton Cup.
Bitzer, from Moorhead, became BSU’s first ACHA All-American since Matt Read in 2009-10 and just the second ACHA All-American overall in the Beavers’ Division I era. Andrew Murray was also named a USCHO All-American in 2004-05.
The first-team honor is just another award to add to Bitzer’s ever-growing trophy case.
The reigning WCHA player of the year was also the league’s goaltending champion and first-team All-WCHA goaltender. He ended his season with a 1.71 overall goals-against average — still best in the country — and six shutouts. He was also a top-10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Award and a top-five finalist for the Mike Richter Award, which goes to the best goaltender in Division I hockey.
Denver’s Tanner Jaillet ended up claiming the Richter while Pioneers’ defenseman Will Butcher won the Hobey.
Bitzer was BSU’s first finalist for the Richter, and its first finalist for the Hobey since Joel Otto in 1984.
Harms, a senior, also took home a major accolade — the Senior CLASS Award.
The award emphasizes both on-ice performance and off-ice character — “CLASS” is an acronym for “Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School” and goes to a senior who has notable achievements on the ice, in the classroom and in the community.
The Steinbach, Manitoba, native recently completed his BSU career with 21 points (8g, 13a) in his senior season. In his career, he scored 88 points (33g-55a) in 141 games. He’s 12th on BSU’s all-time scoring list for the Division I era and is eighth in assists. Off the ice, he has a 4.0 grade point average as a business administration major with a minor in human performance. He also volunteered on campus and also with the Bemidji Boys and Girls Club.
Harms is the first BSU player to win the award.
“Brendan Harms personifies what it means to be a student-athlete,” BSU head coach Tom Serratore said in a press release. “He does everything the right way, always committed to his work in the classroom, in the community and on the ice. He leads by example and makes a positive impact with everything he does and everyone he meets. He is a great representative of Beaver Hockey and leaves Bemidji State and our community a better place.”
Harms has already started his professional hockey career — late last month he signed with the Florida Everblades of the ECHL. He already has one point in four games.