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USHL Tri-City Storm

Ronnie Attard, Zac Jones, Isaiah Saville Win USHL End of Year Awards

April 25, 2019 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Tri-City Storm News Release


Kearney, NE. - The United States Hockey League (USHL) announced on Thursday that the Storm's Ronnie Attard, Zac Jones, and Isaiah Saville have been awarded with USHL Year End Awards for the 2018-2019 season. Ronnie Attard has been named the 2018-2019 USHL Defenseman of the Year and the 2018-2019 USHL Player of the Year. Zac Jones has been named the USHL's Rookie of the Year for the 2018-2019 season. Isaiah Saville has been named the 2018-2019 USHL Goaltender of the Year. Today marks the 1st time in organization history that a Storm player has been awarded the USHL Defenseman of the Year, USHL Rookie of the Year, and USHL Player of the Year honors. For the 2nd consecutive season, a Storm player has been named USHL Goaltender of the Year.

Ronnie Attard, 20, of White Lake, Michigan is the 1st Storm player to be named USHL Player of the Year in the organization's 19-year history. Attard's record breaking season also gave him USHL Defenseman of the Year honors, another 1st for the Tri-City Storm organization. On November 16th, 2018 Attard was named Captain of the 2018-2019 Tri-City Storm along with teammate Connor McMenamin. He became just the second player in team history to score four goals in a single game in a 7-0 shutout of Green Bay on February 8th, 2019. Four times during the 2018-2019 regular season, Attard was named USHL Defenseman of the Week. His thirty goals scored this season set a record for the most goals scored in a single season by a defenseman in the history of the USHL. His 65 points set a new Tri-City Storm team record for most points in a single season by a defenseman. Attard's +47 plus/minus rating was the highest plus/minus rating for a single season in Tri-City Storm team history. His +47 rating was also the best by any player in the USHL this season. In total, Attard finished the 2018-2019 regular season with 30 goals, 35 assists, 65 points, and a plus minus rating of +47. Ronnie has committed to play college hockey at Western Michigan University.

"Ronnie, and other leaders in our locker room, have been instrumental in the success and accomplishments of our team this year. His records from this season are numbers that I see standings for a very long time. Along with his point production, he was also one of the best defensive defensemen in the league this season. He is as good of a leader as I've ever been around. Ronnie brings passion to the rink every single day, he's our MVP because of the intangibles he brings as a leader. He has paid his dues, worked incredibly hard, and it's nice to see him get rewarded for all he's done."- GM/Head Coach Anthony Noreen

Zac Jones, 18, of Glen Allen, Virginia was named 2018-2019 USHL Rookie of the Year today following a sensational 1st season with the Storm. Jones scored his 1st Career USHL Goal on September 28th, 2018 in a 2-1 Tri-City over Madison at the 2018 USHL Fall Classic. He tied a Tri-City Storm record for most assists and most points recorded in a single game in a 4-3 overtime win for the Storm over the Dubuque Fighting Saints on March 22nd, 2019. Jones was named the USHL's Defenseman of the Week on December 31st, 2018 following a three-assist week in Tri-City's wins over instate rivals Lincoln and Omaha. Jones' 45 assists during the 2018-2019 regular season set a new Tri-City Storm team record for most assists recorded in a single season. His 25 power play assists led the USHL and set a new Tri-City Storm team record for most power play assists in a single season. Jones broke the previous team record of 22, held by current St. Louis Blues forward Jaden Schwartz. In total, Jones finished the 2018-2019 regular season with 7 goals, 45 assists, 52 points, and a plus/minus rating of +38. Zac has committed to play college hockey at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

"Zac has had probably the most impressive rookie season of anyone I've ever seen in the league. Young defenseman often struggle in our league, and he found a way to be impactful on a nightly basis. He has improved greatly during this time here and is as determined and puts as much work into what he does as anyone I've ever coached. Zac has a lot of qualities you can't teach, and that's part of what makes him so special." - GM/Head Coach Anthony Noreen

Isaiah Saville, 18, of Anchorage, Alaska was named the 2018-2019 USHL Goaltender of the Year following his dominating performance in net during the Storm's Anderson Cup Championship season. With today's announcement, Saville became the 2nd player in Tri-City Storm history to win USHL Goaltender of the Year honors. Current Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL) goaltender Filip Larsson became the 1st player in Storm history to win the award last season. With Saville winning this year's award, the Storm became the 1st organization in the last twenty years to win the award two years in a row. Saville recorded his 1st Career USHL victory in Tri-City's 2-1 defeat of the Madison Capitols on September 28th, 2018 at the 2018 USHL Fall Classic. Saville was named USHL Goalie of the Week three times during the 2018-2019 regular season. He posted 25 wins for the Storm, with only 4 regulation losses throughout the season. He finished the regular season with the best Goals Against Average (GAA) in the USHL. With a GAA of 1.90, Saville was the only goaltender in the league this season to average less than two goals a game in goal. Saville made 845 saves on 908 shots in the 2018-2019 regular season and had the second best save percentage in the USHL (.926). He recorded his 1st Career Shutout on October 12th, 2018 in Tri-City's 3-0 win over the Des Moines Buccaneers. Saville had 4 shutouts in total and finished the 2018-2019 regular season with a record of 25-4-2-1 in 34 games played. He has committed to play college hockey at the University of Nebraska Omaha.

"Isaiah is an elite goaltender who gives you a chance to win every single night in a league that's tough on first year goaltenders. His body of work during the season speaks for itself. He was impressive in the All-American Prospects Game, USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game, and at the World Junior A Challenge. From the beginning of the year to the last game of the regular season, he proved to be the most consistent goaltender over the course of the year in our league, and he is certainly deserving of the award." GM/Head Coach Anthony Noreen

The Tri-City Storm became the 1st organization in the history of the USHL to win Defenseman of the Year, Goaltender of the Year, Rookie of the Year, and Player of the Year honors in the same season.

Earlier this week, the USHL announced the All-USHL and All-Rookie teams for the 2018-2019 regular season. Ronnie Attard and Isaiah Saville represented the organization on the All-USHL First Team, and Zac Jones was named to the All-USHL Second Team. Shane Pinto, Zac Jones, and Isaiah Saville all placed on the USHL's All-Rookie First Team, and Cole McWard was named to the USHL's All-Academic Team.

The Tri-City Storm congratulates all players for their outstanding accomplishments on and off the ice this season!

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