NORTHFIELD, Vt. – Senior goalie Tom Aubrun (Chamonix, France) of the Norwich University men's ice hockey team has been named the 2020 Sid Watson Award winner, given annually to the nation's best Division III men's ice hockey player.
The award is presented by the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) and honors the memory of former Bowdoin College head coach and athletic director Sid Watson.
Aubrun is the third Norwich University men's ice hockey player to win the Sid Watson Award in its 28-year history. He joins Keith Aucoin '01 and Kurtis McLean '05 as previous NU winners. Both of them went on to play in the National Hockey League and enjoyed long professional careers. The only two men's hockey programs with more Sid Watson award winners are St. Norbert and Middlebury, who each have four.
Aubrun authored one of the most historic seasons in NCAA hockey history as he backstopped the Cadets to their 14th NEHC Tournament title and the No. 1 ranking in the USCHO.com National Rankings before the season abruptly ended due to COVID-19 public health safety. He earned USCHO National Player of the Year honors on Monday as well.
Aubrun set new NCAA Division III all-time records for consecutive shutouts (nine), shutout minutes (572:31) and most shutouts in a single season (13). His consecutive shutouts and consecutive shutout minute streak are NCAA ice hockey records at every level and gender.
Aubrun also concluded his collegiate career as the NCAA Division III all-time career save percentage (.946) and goals against average (1.27) leader. All in all, he set five new NCAA Division III records in 2019-20.
"I would like to extend my sincere thanks to the American Hockey Coaches Association for presenting me the Sid Watson Award," Aubrun said. "I am grateful to have my name added to the Sid Watson Award winner's list alongside two Norwich men's hockey icons in Keith Aucoin and Kurtis McLean, who went on to have great hockey careers. It is a great accomplishment for me and for my school that I represent.
"I want to thank Norwich University for running such a great hockey program that gave me four of my most amazing years. I would like to thank my coaching staff and especially Cam Ellsworth for always trusting my abilities and for pushing me to be the goaltender that I am today. Lastly, thank you to my friends and my teammates who always gave a 100% on and off the ice for the success of our team. This award is a result of a great team effort."
Aubrun was named the NEHC Goalie and Player of the Year the last two years after leading Norwich to back-to-back NEHC Tournament titles. He also earned back-to-back NEHC Tournament Most Valuable Player honors.
This season, he recorded 23 wins and a 23-2-2 record, 0.77 goals against average and a .967 save percentage, which led the country in all categories.
Aubrun last gave up a goal over two months ago on Jan. 24. His consecutive shutout streak will live in perpetuity after the NCAA canceled the Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament prior to the first round games due to public health safety.
"I couldn't be happier for Tom after having a historic year and career here at Norwich," said Norwich University Head Coach Cam Ellsworth. "Tom is the epitome of a Norwich student athlete. He is humble, a great teammate, a great student and an incredibly hard worker. Throughout this season, with all of the records and accolades, I think the most impressive thing was Tom's consistency. He was prepared and focused and gave our team a chance to be successful every night. Tom, along with his senior classmates, left an undisputable mark on the program and will be greatly missed."
Norwich (24-2-2) entered the NCAA playoffs on an 18-game unbeaten streak and was set to host a quarterfinal game on Saturday, March 21 against the winner of Endicott and Plymouth State. The Cadets were looking for their fifth NCAA Division III National Championship and their third appearance in the last four seasons at the final four.
Aubrun won six NEHC Goalie of the Week honors this season to bring his total to 10 in his career.
Aubrun posted a 50-8-5 career record after only seeing game action in 2.5 seasons. His .833 all-time winning percentage ranks 14th in NCAA Division III history. His 50 career wins, rank third all-time in Norwich history behind Randy Hevey and Braeden Ostepchuk.
Aubrun's 20 career shutouts rank tied for second in NCAA Division III history.
Aubrun was also named an AHCA First Team East Region All-American on Friday, marking the second straight year he earned All-American honors after being listed on the third team in 2019.
Aubrun is the sixth goalie in the last seven years to win the award and the third New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) winner in the last five years. He joins Babson's Jamie Murray (2016) and UMass Boston's Colin Larkin (2018).
Sid Watson Award Winners
1993 - Frank Cirone, UW-Stevens Point, Forward
1994 - Ray Alcindor, Middlebury, Forward
1995 - Charlie Gaffney, Bowdoin, Forward
1996 - Ian Smith, Middlebury, Defense
1997 - Steve Toll, RIT, Forward
1998 - Mark Spence, Middlebury, Forward
1999 - Rob Smillie, St. Norbert, Forward
2000 - Steve Aronson, St. Thomas, Forward
2001 - Keith Aucoin, Norwich, Forward
2002 - Jerry Galway, RIT, Defense
2003 - Maris Ziedins, St. Norbert, Forward
2004 - Kevin Cooper, Middlebury, Forward
2005 - Kurtis McLean, Norwich, Forward
2006 - Adam Hanna, St. John's, Goalie
2007 - Andrew Gallant, Manhattanville, Goalie
2008 - Kyle Jones, St. Norbert, Goalie
2009 - Jeff Landers, Amherst, Defense
2010 - David Martinson, Gustavus Adolphus, Forward
2011 - Chris Berenguer, Hamline, Defense
2012 - Jonathan LaRose, Amherst, Goalie
2013 - Paul Rodrigues, Oswego, Forward
2014 - David Jacobson, St. Norbert, Goalie
2015 - Drew Fielding, St. Thomas, Goalie
2016 - Jamie Murray, Babson, Goalie
2017 - Evan Buitenhuis, Hamilton, Goalie
2018 - Colin Larkin, UMass Boston, Forward
2019 - Devin McDonald, Geneseo, Goalie
2020 - Tom Aubrun, Norwich, Goalie
