Army West Point Athletics
Gahagen Named Senior CLASS Award Candidate
January 13, 2017 | Hockey
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Senior goaltender Parker Gahagen of the Army West Point men's hockey team has been named a candidate for the Senior CLASS Award, announced by the association Friday.
Â
Gahagen is one of top 15 NCAA men's ice hockey student-athletes who excel both on and off the ice. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.
Â
"Parker is an outstanding young man who possesses great qualities as a goaltender and as a cadet-athlete at the U.S. Military Academy," said head coach Brian Riley. "His numbers in the net over the past two years prove that he is one of the top goalies in all of college hockey. More importantly, Parker is an outstanding leader of character.
Â
"He is committed to being the best cadet he can possibly be across all three pillars, and he is always accountable for his actions on and off the ice. I think the most amazing attribute that helps define who he is as a person and a leader is the fact that he is selfless. He cares more about others than himself and puts the team and his company above himself. Parker is always looking out for his teammates as well as his fellow cadets within the Corps."
Â
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School ®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.Â
Â
The 15 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists in February, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.
Â
A native of Buffalo, N.Y., Gahagen has excelled across all three pillars at the U.S. Military Academy. He currently boasts a grade-point average of 3.376 to rank in the top-half of the firstie class. For this feat, he dons the golden "wreath" on his military uniform as the Superintendent's Award for Achievement" to distinguish his top-20 percent ranking across all three pillars. During his junior year, Gahagen was a First Sergeant for BEAST (freshmen basic training).
Â
In the community, Gahagen partakes in many events and exemplifies selfless service. Each year, the Army hockey team hosts several "skate with the Black Knight" events where children from the community are able to interact with the team on the ice. He is also active with the team's sled hockey partnership with the Long Island Rough Riders and the Special Olympics meet that is hosted by West Point each year.
Â
On the ice, Gahagen ranks nationally in multiple categories and has already cracked the West Point record books. During his junior campaign, the netminder led the nation with a .937 save percentage. The saves percentage also set the single-season Army record for save percentage. He recorded a career-high 14 wins last season along with a program-high of 1,024 saves.
Â
Currently, Gahagen boasts 2,737 career saves, just 306 shy of the Army record. He totals nine shutouts to tie him for second in program history and has the third-best goals against average at 2.43.
Â
To see Gahagen and the rest of the Black Knights in action at Tate, fans can purchase tickets online by clicking here, by calling the Army West Point Ticket Office at 1-877-TIX-ARMY or in person at Gate 3 of Michie Stadium.
Â
2017 Senior CLASS Award Candidates
Â
For up-to-date information about Army hockey, please follow @ArmyWP_Hockey on Twitter and Instagram.
Â
Â
Gahagen is one of top 15 NCAA men's ice hockey student-athletes who excel both on and off the ice. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.
Â
"Parker is an outstanding young man who possesses great qualities as a goaltender and as a cadet-athlete at the U.S. Military Academy," said head coach Brian Riley. "His numbers in the net over the past two years prove that he is one of the top goalies in all of college hockey. More importantly, Parker is an outstanding leader of character.
Â
"He is committed to being the best cadet he can possibly be across all three pillars, and he is always accountable for his actions on and off the ice. I think the most amazing attribute that helps define who he is as a person and a leader is the fact that he is selfless. He cares more about others than himself and puts the team and his company above himself. Parker is always looking out for his teammates as well as his fellow cadets within the Corps."
Â
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School ®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.Â
Â
The 15 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists in February, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.
Â
A native of Buffalo, N.Y., Gahagen has excelled across all three pillars at the U.S. Military Academy. He currently boasts a grade-point average of 3.376 to rank in the top-half of the firstie class. For this feat, he dons the golden "wreath" on his military uniform as the Superintendent's Award for Achievement" to distinguish his top-20 percent ranking across all three pillars. During his junior year, Gahagen was a First Sergeant for BEAST (freshmen basic training).
Â
In the community, Gahagen partakes in many events and exemplifies selfless service. Each year, the Army hockey team hosts several "skate with the Black Knight" events where children from the community are able to interact with the team on the ice. He is also active with the team's sled hockey partnership with the Long Island Rough Riders and the Special Olympics meet that is hosted by West Point each year.
Â
On the ice, Gahagen ranks nationally in multiple categories and has already cracked the West Point record books. During his junior campaign, the netminder led the nation with a .937 save percentage. The saves percentage also set the single-season Army record for save percentage. He recorded a career-high 14 wins last season along with a program-high of 1,024 saves.
Â
Currently, Gahagen boasts 2,737 career saves, just 306 shy of the Army record. He totals nine shutouts to tie him for second in program history and has the third-best goals against average at 2.43.
Â
To see Gahagen and the rest of the Black Knights in action at Tate, fans can purchase tickets online by clicking here, by calling the Army West Point Ticket Office at 1-877-TIX-ARMY or in person at Gate 3 of Michie Stadium.
Â
2017 Senior CLASS Award Candidates
| Gavin Bayreuther, St. Lawrence | Brock Maschmeyer, Northern Michigan |
| Will Butcher, Denver | Chad McDonald, Ferris State |
| James de Haas, Clarkson | Nick Schilkey, Ohio State |
| Max French, Bentley | John Stevens, Northeastern |
| Parker Gahagen, Army West Point | Eric Sweetman, St. Lawrence |
| David Goodwin, Penn State | |
| Brendan Harms, Bemidji State | |
| Johnny Hrabovsky, Air Force | |
| Alexander Kerfoot, Harvard | |
| Justin Kloos, Minnesota |
For up-to-date information about Army hockey, please follow @ArmyWP_Hockey on Twitter and Instagram.
Â
Players Mentioned
G
/ Hockeyvs. Sacred Heart
Saturday, November 10
Test
Wednesday, November 07