Matus Spodniak of Adrian College Wins Sid Watson Award As 2022-23 AHCA Division III Men’s Player of the Year
BEVERLY, MA. – Matus Spodniak, a senior forward from Adrian College, is the recipient
of the 2023 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. The announcement was made on the eve of the
NCAA Men's Division III Ice Hockey Championships hosted by Endicott College.
Spodniak, a native of Kosice, Slovakia, has had a standout season for the Adrian College NCAA men's hockey team. He leads the country in scoring with 29 goals on the season, averaging 0.97 goals per game. He also ranks fifth in the country in assists with 27, and leads the country with 56 points and points per game with 1.86.
Adrian enters Friday's semifinal match-up with the University of New England having won 11 of its last 12 games and five straight in the post-season. In those five playoff games, Adrian has outscored its opponents by 41-8 and Spodniak has registered 7-5-12 in those contests.
Spodniak has been particularly adept on the power play, scoring 12 times, including the game-winning goal in the Quarterfinal Round against UW-Stevens Point that sent the Bulldogs to the Frozen Four. Five of Spodniak's goals have been game-winning goals and he leads the team with four hat tricks. Adrian has won three overtime games this season with all three overtime goals coming from Spodniak. He has also played an important role on defense as he sits fourth on the team in blocked shots with 17 leading all the forwards. Spodniak was named to the All-NCHA Team and was an obvious pick for the NCHA Player of the Year.
In two seasons at Adrian, Spodniak is 46-47-93 in 59 games. Prior to arriving at Adrian, he appeared in seven games for American International College (AIC), recording one goal.
The runner-up for this year’s Sid Watson Award was Luke Aquaro, a sophomore forward from Hobart College and Yardley, PA. 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 |
| 2023 | Matus Spodniak | Adrian | Forward |
