By Skye Tulio
Assistant Sports Editor
Michael Iulianello received some of the best news of his college hockey career last Wednesday morning while sitting in his JMC 102 class.
“I got a text from the commissioner of the American Collegiate Hockey Association, telling me to give him a call when I got a second and that it was about the All-Star Game,” Iulianello said.
The sophomore captain made the call and found out he was invited to the 2012 ACHA Men’s Division 1 All-Star Game in Cleveland.
The game, played last Saturday at the Gilmour Academy Athletic Center, featured 40 of the top players in the nation. Iulianello was the first player to be chosen in St. Bonaventure history.
“It’s an honor,” Iulianello said. “When I first heard, I was so excited. It just shows that hard work and trying to put Bonaventure on the hockey map paid off.”
Assistant coach Chuck Massaro wrote in an email he was ecstatic when he found out Iulianello made it via Facebook.
“Iggy certainly deserved to be an all-star with the season he had,” Massaro wrote. “It’s such a tremendous accomplishment. With all the excitement the SBU basketball teams created last week, I was way more excited about this all-star game, and I really wanted to see him play with and against the best players in our league.”
Both Massaro and head coach John Andhor made the trip to Cleveland to cheer on their all-star forward. One of Iulianello’s professors, Laurie Branch, also came to support her student.
“There was never a doubt that Coach Andhor and I would be driving to Cleveland,” Massaro wrote. “Laurie, who is one of the busiest people I’ve ever known, also made the trip to cheer on Mike. That she took a day out of her packed schedule to be there should tell you what kind of person Mike is.”
Though he didn’t score Saturday, Iulianello led the Bonnies with 58 points this season. He earned second Team All-NECHL and was the inaugural recipient of the Josh R. Esformes award for leading the league in points.
Each set of coaches drafted the players for the red and white teams, respectively. Iulianello played for the red team, which won, 11-8. The game featured competitions such as hardest shot, fastest skater and a shootout. Although he did not place, Iulianello recorded a 79 mile-per-hour shot in the hardest shot competition.
The team’s adviser, Father Dave Blake, O.F.M., expressed in an email interview his happiness for one of the players he’s spent so much time getting to know the last two seasons.
“I am very happy for Mike that he is being recognized for what we have known throughout the season: he is a fine young man and an incredible hockey player with tremendous skill and potential for even greater things these next two years,” Father Dave wrote. “It was a great ending to a fine growing year for the team.”
Massaro wrote Iulianello’s accomplishment will benefit the future of the Bonnies hockey program.
“I was so proud of Mike and he made a lot of people take notice of Bonnies Hockey,” Massaro wrote. “It was a real boost for our program.”
