Bowling Green State University Athletics
BG Icer Jones Named USA Most Outstanding Player
April 15, 2000 | Ice Hockey
April 15, 2000
Auburn Hills, MI -
Bowling Green senior defenseman Michael Jones was named Team USA's Most Outstanding Player for Saturday's 6-2 USA victory over Team Canada in game one of the 2000 North American College Hockey Championship. Tonight's game was played at the Palace of Auburn Hills, while the Sunday afternoon contest will be at the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario.
Jones, who recently signed an NHL contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning, scored the game-winning goal 3:35 into the second period when he rang a breakaway shot in off the post during a four-on-four situation.
The series matches the best seniors from NCAA institutions (Team USA) against their counterparts from the CIAU (Team Canada). Launched in Detroit in 1997, Team Canada took the inaugural game, 5-4 in overtime, and swept the first two-game event a year ago, 4-3 in Detroit and 5-4 (in a shootout) in Toronto. The lone U.S. victory prior to tonight came in 1998, 3-1 in Detroit, in the last of the single-game series.
Jones was the 1998-99 Central Collegiate Hockey Association Best Offensive Defenseman and this past year was named to the 1999 Rensselaer/HSBC Holiday Hockey All-Tournament team. He finished his collegiate career by scoring 12 points on five goals and seven assists in his last 11 games.
