Ahead of the Northland Pines boys’ hockey team advancing to the state tournament after a sectional final victory on Feb. 28, Pines senior Josh Graves and junior Evrett Leslie were named finalists a few weeks ago for the Joe Piskula Award and the Jon Hillebrandt Award. These awards are presented by Wisconsin Prep Hockey to the top Division 2 defenseman and top Division 2 goaltender.
Staff at WiPH, the Wisconsin Hockey Coaches Association and the Girls Wisconsin Hockey Coaches Association nominated players at the end of the regular season, which ended with 36 finalists for nine awards.
Graves and Leslie are each one of three finalists for their respective awards.
Graves, a senior defenseman, is more of a dual threat on the ice. In 24 regular-season games, he tallied 28 goals and 43 assists. In the three playoff games leading up to the state tournament, Graves also added eight goals and four assists for a total of 83 points as a defenseman. He also has four game-winning goals this season.
He had six hat tricks, including two four-goal games.
Other finalists for the award include Amery senior Elliot Greene (17 goals and 28 assists) and Waunakee senior Calvin Behnke (5 goals and 28 assists). Both teams joined Northland Pines in the Division 2 state tournament.
In net, Leslie was a key contributor for Northland Pines this season in its 18-win regular season.
Leslie posted a 20-6 record through the regular season and playoffs, facing over 600 shots. He allowed 56 goals for a 91% save percentage as a junior. Leslie allowed just over two goals per game on average this season and recorded seven shutouts.
Other finalists for the award include Rice Lake senior Hayden Van Gilder and Steve Hoang of McFarland.
The location and time of the awards presentation will be announced at a later date.
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