BOSTON – Three members of the Boston University men’s ice hockey team earned yearly honors from the New England Hockey Writers’ Association, as presented at the annual banquet on April 13 in Saugus, Mass. Terrier Head Coach Jack Parker was named the Coach of the Year for the second-straight year, freshman forward Brandon Yip (Abbotsford, B.C.) took the title as Rookie of the Year and senior forward Brad Zancanaro (Trenton, Mich.) was named the region’s Best Defensive Forward.

The trio joined senior defenseman Dan Spang (Winchester, Mass.) and junior goaltender John Curry (Shorewood, Minn.), who were named to the All-New England Team on April 6.

Parker led the Terriers to a 26-10-4 record, including a 21-3-2 mark in the last 26 games. For the highly successful second-half run, BU earned a No. 1 ranking in the national polls and gained a No. 1 seed in the NCAAs, both of which occurred for the first time since 1998. As a result of the celebrated season, Parker became the first coach in Hockey East history to earn the Hockey East Coach of the Year title for a second-consecutive year.

Further, the 2005-06 campaign saw BU win the Beanpot title and both the Hockey East Regular-Season and Tournament Championships, while the team skated to an 11-game win streak – second longest in BU history. Parker is now the fourth winningest coach in NCAA history (second among active coaches), with an all-time record of 742-379-84 (.651).
 
Zancanaro, co-captain of the Terriers, had a breakout season offensively, tallying 36 points (14-22) to rank second on the team, while factoring in the scoring 25 times. As the center on the top line, he played all 40 games and was ranked first on the team with a +23 rating. He also notched four power-play goals and four game-winners.

Finishing his career having played in all 161 games in four seasons, Zancanaro become just the sixth player in BU history to do so and is ranked second on the all-time games played list. Upon the completion of the 2005-06 season, he signed an amateur tryout contract with the Lowell Lock Monsters of the American Hockey League and made his professional debut on March 31.

Yip led the Terriers’ impressive freshmen class with nine goals and 22 assists for 31 points. He tallied two game-winning goals and was the first rookie in Hockey East Tournament history to score an overtime game-winner in the championship game.

For his efforts, Yip was named to the Hockey East All-Rookie Team and honored as the league’s Rookie of the Year.