ANAHEIM, CA - Fourteen different NCAA hockey-playing institutions can boast TITAN ALL-AMERICANS today as the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) announced college hockey's best players this afternoon at the NCAA Finals in Anaheim, CA. The Spartans of Michigan State and the Fighting Sioux of North Dakota, regular season champions of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) and Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA), respectively, led all teams with three selections, two on the West First Team and one on the West Second Team.

The University of New Hampshire and Boston College, the regular season and tournament champions, respectively, of the Hockey East Association each had two honorees, as did Clarkson University, regular season and tournament champion of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), as well as Colorado College, the University of Maine, and Ohio State University. In all, 13 of the All-Americans played on championship teams.

The 24 players chosen by the nation's head coaches were fairly evenly distributed through the country's four NCAA Division I hockey-playing conferences. Hockey East had eight selections, the CCHA and WCHA each had six players honored; the ECAC had four.

Nine players recognized today are still playing. They are: Boston College forward Brian Gionta and BC defenseman Mike Mottau (both East First Team); Maine forward Steve Kariya and Maine blueliner David Cullen (both East First Team); UNH forward Jason Krog (East First Team) and UNH defenseman Jayme Filipowicz (East Second Team), and the three Spartans from Michigan State, goalie Joe Blackburn, forward Mike York (both West First Team), and defenseman Mike Weaver (West Second Team). York is the only First Team repeat selection from 1998.

Other facts about these All-Americans:

• 2 players come from the United States and 12 from Canada.
  
• Players come from eight states and six provinces.
  
• There are 14 seniors, five juniors, and five sophomores.
  
• The only school to win a regular season or tournament championship and not have an All-American was CCHA tournament champion Michigan.
  
• All ten Hobey Baker Award finalists are All-Americans.
  
• 11 of the senior selections will play for Team USA in the April 10-11 North American College Hockey Championships in Detroit and Toronto.
  

The voting for the TITAN ALL-AMERICAN TEAMS is carried out by the American Hockey Coaches Association, and sponsored by TITAN. The TITAN COLLEGE DIVISION ALL-AMERICANS were announced last week. The Women's All-Americans, sponsored by USA Hockey, will be announced next week.