January 5, 2009

Bryan Leitch Named ECAC Hockey Player Of The Week

Quinnipiac University senior Bryan Leitch (Coquitlam, British Columbia) was named the ECAC Hockey Player of the Week on Jan. 5, 2008. Leitch led Quinnipiac to a 4-0-0 mark over a six-day period that featured wins over No. 11 Air Force, No. 20 Dartmouth and the 16th Annual Toyota UConn Hockey Classic Championship.

The award is Leitch's third this season, making him just the third player in the history of ECAC Hockey to win the award three times in the same season. The last player to do was St. Lawrence's Kyle Rank, who did it the same year as Clarkson's Steve Zalewski. Leitch was previously named ECAC Hockey Player of the Week on Oct. 13 and Nov. 17.

The senior forward led Quinnipiac with 10 points on four goals and six assists as Quinnipiac won four games in six days, including two games against nationally ranked teams. Leitch also collected Most Valuable Player honors at the 16th annual Toyota UConn Hockey Classic on Dec. 29-30, 2008, after leading the entire tournament field with five points on five assists. Leitch had a hand in five of Quinnipiac's nine goals in their two-game series. Most notably, Leitch had three assists against No. 11 Air Force in a 4-2 win the Classic Championship game.

Against Harvard in a 5-2 win, Quinnipiac's first against the Crimson at the TD Banknorth Sports Center, Leitch scored twice and assisted on another goal. Against No. 20 Dartmouth on Saturday, Leitch once again scored a pair of goals as the Bobcats rolled to a 6-0 win over the Big Green.

Leitch currently leads NCAA Division I hockey in points (31), points per game (1.72), assists (23) and assists per game (1.28). The senior wing has scored eight goals in addition to his 23 assists for 31 points in 18 games played – one point shy of his 2007-08 total in 39 games. Leitch has recorded a point – either a goal or an assist – in 11 straight games dating back to Nov. 14, 2008. For the season, he has posted multiple assists in nine games in addition to also posting three multiple goal games.