MIAC Men's Hockey All-MIAC Teams

WINONA, Minn. — With seven members bringing home honors from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team is going to need a truck to haul all that post-season hardware back to Winona.
 
And the driver of that truck?
 
The same person who steered the Cardinals to the most wins in nearly two decades  and their first conference post-season appearance since 2003-04—MIAC Coach of the Year, Bill Moore.
 
"It's very humbling, but the reality is—I didn't win MIAC Coach of the Year, we did," said Moore, who  joined his seven players atop the MIAC post-season awards podium as Saint Mary's first MIAC men's hockey coach of the year since Don Olson received the honor in 1994-95. "Without (assistant coaches) Ben (Kinne) and J (Reszka)—and the players—this honor would never have happened.
 
"This is definitely a team award."
 
Yet, while Moore is quick to credit his assistant coaches, Kinne knows how important the Cardinal head coach was to his team's success.
 
"Coach Moore did an amazing job getting the guys prepared each and every week," said Kinne, who is in his first year as Moore's top assistant. "He is the ultimate motivator—he gets each player to believe in themselves and their abilities.
 
"He is a big-picture kind of guy who knows that for these student-athletes, it's more about being a great person and doing things the right way than wins and losses," Kinne added. "You won't find a more passionate person about Saint Mary's and Saint Mary's athletics. To be named coach of the year shows how hard work and determination—and doing things the right way—pays off."
 
Moore and the Cardinals enjoyed a banner season in 2014-15, using a regular season-ending sweep of Hamline to not only lock up that elusive conference playoff berth, but also leap-frog all the way to second place in the conference standings—Saint Mary's highest regular-season finish since placing second in 1994-95.
 
Saint Mary's kicked off conference playoff action with a memorable double-overtime 3-2 win over Concordia to reach the MIAC Playoff championship game for the first time since winning the tournament title in 1994-95.
 
Unfortunately, the Cardinals' post-season ride hit a season-ending speed bump in the title game, as Hamline scored three unanswered goals to beat Saint Mary's 4-2.
 
Led by All-MIAC First-Teamers Martin Gruse (Trenton, Mich.), Bob Kinne (St. Paul, Minn.), Bob Marx (Sioux City, Iowa), Mike Mezzano (Woodbury, Minn.), and Phil Heinle (York, Pa.)—not to mention honorable-mention selection Jed McGlasson (Kenai, Alaska) and MIAC All-Rookie Team member Chad Cesarz (Jackson, Mich.)— the Cardinals closed out the year with 15 wins, their highest win total since the 1996-97 season.
 
"It was a great season," Moore said. "Obviously we would like to still be playing, but I am so proud of this group and the hard work they put in to making this a very successful season."