Peter Bates of St. Norbert College Wins Sid Watson Award As 2021-22 AHCA Division III Men’s Player of the Year
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. – Peter Bates, a senior forward from St. Norbert College, is the recipient of the 2022 Sid Watson Award. The award, voted on by the nation’s Division III head coaches, is presented to the best player at the men’s NCAA Division III level by the American Hockey Coaches Association.
Bates enjoyed a banner senior season for St. Norbert in 2021-22, registering 28 goals and 30 assists for 58 points in 31 games. Through the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division III Tournament, Bates leads all Division III players in goals per game at 0.97 and points per game at 1.97. His six game-winning goals is second nationally.
A native of Evanston, IL, Bates was selected as the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) Player of the Year for the second time. Bates’ 28 goals and 58 points this season are the second-most in St. Norbert history, while his 30 assists are tied for third-most. Bates finished with 17 multi-point games this season, including each game in a seven-game stretch from Nov. 19 to Jan. 1 that saw him score 12 goals and 11 assists for 23 points.
Bates played in 123 games during his decorated career, tied for the most ever at St. Norbert. His career totals of 65 goals, 92 assists and 157 points are all third in school annals. Bates’ 15 career game-winning goals is a school record.
Bates is St. Norbert’s fifth Sid Watson Award winner. He joins forward Rob Smillie (1999), forward Maris Ziedins (2003), goaltender Kyle Jones (2018) and goaltender David Jacobson (2014) as St. Norbert Sid Watson Award winners. St. Norbert’s five Sid Watson Awards are the most for any school. St. Norbert finished 24-7 and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament in its 20th all-time appearance.
The runner-up for this year’s Sid Watson Award was Ryan Black, a senior forward from Babson College and Pomfret, CT. Sponsored by the American Hockey Coaches Association, the Sid Watson Award honors the memory of former Bowdoin College head coach and athletic director Sid Watson. A three-time AHCA Coach of the Year, Watson served Bowdoin for more than 30 years, winning 326 games in 24 seasons as head coach.
| Winners of the Sid Watson Award | |||
| 1993 | Frank Cirone | Wisconsin-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 | SUNY 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 |
| 2021 | Not Awarded | ||
| 2022 | Peter Bates | St. Norbert | Forward |
