Sardarian earns Most Valuable Player, Van Blaricom is Most Improved Player
HOUGHTON, Mich. – Michigan Tech hockey recently held its third annual George McCarthy Hockey Awards Banquet. Stiven Sardarian was named the team MVP, receiving the Merv Youngs Award, while Joe Prouty received the prestigious George McCarthy Performance Award for Scholastic and Athletic Achievement.
The coaching staff presented each award, and the late George McCarthy’s son, Bill McCarthy, and daughter Kathleen Marsal attended the banquet to celebrate the 2025-26 season. Descriptions of the awards are listed below.
Stiven Sardarian also received the Gary Crosby Leading Scorer Memorial Award for the second straight season. Sardarian was named the CCHA Forward of the Year and to the All-CCHA First Team after he led the conference with 32 points on 10 goals and a league-high 22 assists. He skated in 37 games in his second season with the Huskies and tallied 12 goals and 32 assists. Sardarian ranked fifth in the nation in assists and 12th in points.
Joe Prouty also was honored with the Rick Yeo Unsung Hero Award after skating in all 39 games as an alternate captain in his only season with the Huskies. He tallied a career-best 14 points on two goals and 12 assists. He scored in the GLI Semifinal win over Miami (Dec. 28) and at St. Thomas (Jan. 30). He ranked second on the team in penalties (11) and third in blocked shots (38). Prouty was named a CCHA Scholar Athlete and to the CCHA All-Academic Team.
Jack Anderson was named the team’s most outstanding defenseman, taking home the Gitzen-Loutit Memorial Award. Anderson was named the CCHA Defensive Defenseman of the Year and was on the All-CCHA First Team. As an alternate captain with the Huskies this season, Anderson tallied a career-best 24 points in 39 games. He ranked fourth in the nation in goals by a defenseman and 16th in blocked shots (65) while also holding a plus-13 rating. Anderson signed a two-year entry-level NHL contract with the Dallas Stars after the season. He was named to the CCHA All-Academic Team.
Teydon Trembecky was honored with the Norbert Matovich Memorial Outstanding Freshman Award after tallying 26 points in 36 games. He led CCHA freshmen and was ninth in the nation with 15 goals. Trembecky had four game-winning goals and four power-play goals. He had six multi-point games and scored twice against Ferris State (Oct. 24), at Clarkson (Oct. 31), versus Alaska Anchorage (Jan. 3), at Northern Michigan (Jan. 23), and at Lake Superior State (Feb. 14) which included the overtime winner.
Matthew Van Blaricom was named the team’s most improved player, receiving the Elov Seger Memorial Award. He skated in 28 games as a freshman and tallied 10 points with two goals and eight assists. Van Blaricom scored at Ferris State (Dec. 13) and on Winter Carnival Saturday Night against Augustana (Feb. 7).
The Harold Meese Sportsmanship Award went to Max Koskipirtti. The junior alternate captain was named to the All-CCHA Second Team. He skated in all 39 games and tallied a career-best 35 points on 13 goals and 22 assists. He had 26 points in CCHA action, ranking sixth in the conference. He ranked 11th in the nation in faceoff wins and 16th nationally with four game-winning goals. Koskipirtti was named to the CCHA All-Academic Team.
Luca Fasciano and Carson Latimer were awarded the John MacInnes Slide Rule Award. Both student-athletes hold a 4.0 grade-point average while pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Finance. Fasciano skated in 29 games in his first season with the Huskies and tallied nine points on five goals and four assists. Latimer, also in his first season, appeared in 35 games and scored seven goals while adding six assists in 35 games.
Merv Youngs Award (Team MVP)
The award is named after Merv Youngs, a journalist and editor for the Daily Mining Gazette. Youngs is credited with convincing Doc Gibson to join and organize the Portage Lake hockey organization.
George McCarthy Performance Award for Scholastic and Athletic Achievement
The award is named after the late George McCarthy, a former hockey player and member of Michigan Tech’s Sports Hall of Fame. McCarthy played for the Huskies from 1935-38 and was named the team MVP all three seasons.
Gary Crosby Memorial Award (Leading Scorer)
The award is named after Gary Crosby, who led Tech in scoring in his sophomore season and was drafted and signed by the LA Kings after the season. Unfortunately, he was killed in a car accident soon after. He played 67 games for the Huskies from 1970-72.
Harold Meese Sportsmanship Award
The award is named after Harold Meese, a professor and dean of students at Michigan Tech from 1947-83. He was an active supporter of the Huskies and has a sportsmanship award named in his honor across all sports teams. Meese was inducted into the Michigan Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 1986.
John MacInnes Slide Rule Award
The award is named after legendary hockey coach John MacInnes, who had a record of 555-295-39 from 1956-82. MacInnes was most proud of the fact that 94 percent of his hockey letter winners graduated with degrees. He won three NCAA Championships as head coach of the Huskies and is in the US Hockey Hall of Fame, UP Sports Hall of Fame, and Michigan Tech Sports Hall of Fame.
Gitzen-Loutit Memorial Award (Outstanding Defensive Player)
An annual award since the 1957-58 season, the Gitzen-Loutit Memorial Hockey Award is presented each year to Tech’s most outstanding hockey defenseman in their honor. Robert Gitzen played hockey for Tech from 1949-50. He and team manager Dick Loutit were killed in a bus accident while the team was traveling home from a series at Michigan State on January 14, 1950.
Rick Yeo Unsung Hero Award
The award is named after Rick Yeo, who played hockey for Tech from 1963-66, winning the NCAA Championship in 1965. He was also an assistant coach for Tech from 1973-76 and then the Athletic Director from 1990-2005. He was inducted into the Michigan Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 1988.
Norbert Matovich Memorial Outstanding Freshman Award
The award is named after Norbert Matovich, who was a freshman hockey player from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. In 1966, he was killed in a car accident over Christmas break.
Elov Seger Memorial Most Improved Player Award
The award is named after Elov Seger, who passed away in the mid-sixties as a result of a brain tumor. Throughout his career, he battled against great odds and was always successful. He played for Tech from 1959-62 and was an All-American in 1962 when the Huskies won the NCAA Championship. He was inducted into the Michigan Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 1998.
