BOSTON – Three members of the No. 17 Northeastern men's ice hockey team took home Hockey East honors on Wednesday when the league announced a portion of its yearly awards. Junior captain Josh Manson was named the Old Time Hockey Best Defensive Defenseman, redshirt junior goaltender Clay Witt earned the Three Stars Award, and freshman Mike Szmatula was named to the Pro Ambitions All-Rookie Team.

Manson becomes the third Husky to take home best defensive defenseman honors since the award was established in 1998, joining Tim Judy (2004-05) and Louis Liotti (2008-09). Manson has played in 35 of the team's 37 games this season on the NU blue line, helping hold opponents to 2.78 goals per game, it's lowest goals against average since the 2010-11 season.

The Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, who has played in all game situations this season for the Huskies, has also made a habit of jumping into the offense. Manson has three goals and seven assists in 2013-14, which is third on the team among defensemen. His +12 rating also leads the squad and his 35 blocked shots are fifth.

Witt (Brandon, Fla.) is the third Husky to take home the Three Stars Award, and first since Brad Thiessen in 2008-09. Witt appeared in all but one of Northeastern's 20 league games this season, earning seven first star nods and three second star honors.

Witt has rewritten the Northeastern record book during his first season at the NU starting netminder, and is on pace to break both the single-season goals against average (2.37) and save percentage (.932) marks, which were both set by Thiessen during the 2008-09 campaign.

Witt has appeared in 32 games this season, posting a 17-12-3 record and four shutouts. His 17 victories are fourth on the NU single-season record list, while his four shutouts are tied for third on the list and one shy of tying the season record. Last Saturday at New Hampshire, Witt become the eighth goaltender to make at least 1000 saves in a season. His 1043 stops this year are third on the NU record list.

Szmatula's spot on the Hockey East All-Rookie Team marks the sixth straight season that NU has had a freshman on the team. The Commerce Township, Mich. native is second on the team with 39 points (15 goals, 24 assists), the most for an NU rookie since Mike Taylor (11-31-42) in 1990-91 and three points shy of tying the team record for points in a season by a freshman.

Szmatula, a two-time Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week honoree, is second in the nation and first in Hockey East in rookie scoring with 1.05 points per game this season. His 39 points are tied for ninth in the league in scoring, while his 24 assists are tied for 10th. Szmatula leads a Northeastern freshman class that has totaled 125 points (42 goals, 83 assists) this season, tied for the third highest in the nation among rookie classes. The Huskies are 15-6-3 when he records a point, 8-3-2 when he scores a goal, and 11-3-2 when he picks up an assist.

Hockey East will announce its All-Star teams, as well as the Player of the Year, Coach of the Year and Rookie of the Year at the conference banquet on Thursday night.

Award	Winner	Runner-Up
Charlie Holt Team Sportsmanship Award	New Hampshire
Len Ceglarski Individual Sportsmanship Award	Ross Mauermann, Providence	Bryan Rust, Notre Dame
		Conor Sheary, Massachusetts
Old Time Hockey Best Defensive Defenseman	Josh Manson, Northeastern	Stephen Johns, Notre Dame
Gladiator Co-Best Defensive Forwards	Bill Arnold, Boston College	Jeff Costello, Notre Dame
	Ross Mauermann, Providence
Three Stars Award	Clay Witt, Northeastern	Johnny Gaudreau, Boston College
Squad Locker Scoring Champion	Johnny Gaudreau, Boston College	Kevin Hayes, Boston College
Stop It Goaltending Champion	Thatcher Demko, Boston College	Steven Summerhays, Notre Dame
Pro Ambitions All-Rookie Team	Thatcher Demko, Boston College	(unanimous)
	Michael Kapla, UMass Lowell
	Steve Santini, Boston College
	Robbie Baillargeon, Boston University
	Vince Hinostroza, Notre Dame
	Mario Puskarich, Vermont	(unanimous)
	Mike Szmatula, Northeastern	(unanimous)