G-PR has two named All-State
The Grafton-Park River hockey team had two players named to the All-State hockey team at the conclusion of the 2011-2012 hockey season.
Senior forward Austin Campbell was one of nine forwards named to the team and senior Joey Demers was one of was one of six defenseman given All-State honors.
Campbell and Demers were the top two point scorers for the Spoiler hockey team which finished 17-9-1 overall and in second place at the state tournament.
Campbell, a three-year starter finished the season with 26 goals and 16 assists and was a valuable asset to G-PR’s top scoring line. It was the second year in a row that he led the Spoilers in both goals and assists.
“Austin was such a great offensive player,” Petersen said. “He had the knack of finding the puck and putting it in the net.”
Petersen said Campbell became a more complete player his senior year improving on his defensive skills.
“We ended up using him a lot on our penalty kill because of his defensive discipline. He really grew into a defense-first kind of player.”
Demers was the Spoilers top defenseman and finished the season with a team high 25 assists to go along with seven goals.
“Joey was a leader on our team, in the locker room, on the ice and outside of the arena,” Petersen said. “All of our offense ran through him. He led our breakout and did all of the things we needed to be successful. He made everyone else on the ice so much better. It’s going to be hard to replace him.”
Campbell and Demers were also named to the All-State Tournament Team to the EDC All-Conference team.
In addition to Campbell and Demers, Jade Miller, Peter Hills and Zach Suda were named to the EDC All-Conference team.
Miller a sophomore forward finished the season with 14 goals and 17 assists. Miller was also named to the All-State Tournament team.
“It’s easy to forget he’s only a sophomore,” Petersen said. “He played a key role on the power play and our top scoring line and he continues to develop the skills to be successful at the high school level.”
Hills, a junior forward finished with eight goals and 20 assists.
“Peter is another player that saw limited time last year but came in and contributed on our top scoring line and was also a key player on our power play,” Petersen said. “He’s another player that’s only going to get better as he continues to develop his game.”
Suda had a solid season as the Spoilers netminder. He made 572 saves out of 627 chances for a 91.2 save percentage and a 1.90 goals allowed average.
“You’re nowhere if you don’t have a goaltender and Zach was the difference between finishing second and not even making it to state,” Petersen said. “He’s one of the best goalies in the state and a great competitor.”
Suda was also named the North Dakota State Hockey Tournament MVP.