ROCHESTER, NY - Three members of the Nazareth men's hockey team earned spots on the Empire 8 All‑Conference list, the league announced Thursday. Senior forward Blake Frost and sophomore defenseman Charles Ross both earned Second Team honors. Will Halecki was Nazareth's representative on the Tomorrow's Leaders List. This year is the first time that the Empire 8 conference has released an All-Conference team.
Frost had a very productive season, recording points in 16 of 27 games, including 15 in his last 11 to earn Second Team Empire 8 honors. He led the team in goals, putting up a career-high 11, ranking T-4th in the Empire 8. Along with the goal scoring, Frost recorded 13 assists (14th), 24 points (9th), 90 shots on goal (4th), and was a +13 (14th).
Ross took a big leap from his freshman season, more than doubling his point total to join Frost on the Empire 8 Second Team. Scoring 7 goals and 10 assists, his 17 points ranked 4th among defenseman in the Empire 8. Ross also recorded 86 shots on goal, finishing 5th overall in the Empire 8, to average 3.31 shots per game (7th) and was a +11 (17th).
Halecki was Nazareth's representative on the Empire 8 Tomorrow's Leaders Team. One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2025-26 Men's Hockey Tomorrow's Leaders Team. The Empire 8 Conference emphasizes that "Competing with Honor and Integrity" is an essential component of a student-athlete's experience in conjunction with an institution's educational mission. These honorees have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding players.
2025-26 Empire 8 Men's Hockey All-Conference Selections
Player of the Year: Alex Dameski, Sr., F, SUNY Geneseo
Defensive Player of the Year: Andrew Della Rovere, Jr., F, Utica
Goaltender of the Year: Jacob Torgner, Jr., G, SUNY Geneseo
Rookie of the Year: Nick Reif, Fr., F, St. SUNY Brockport
Coaching Staff of the Year: SUNY Geneseo, led by Head Coach Chris Schultz
Empire 8 First Team
Alex Dameski, Sr., F, SUNY Geneseo
Drake Morse, Jr., F, Utica
Nick Reif, Fr, F, SUNY Brockport
Preston Brighton, Jr., D, Utica
Sean Melso, Jr., D, SUNY Geneseo
Jacob Torgner, Jr., G, SUNY Geneseo
Empire 8 Second Team
Andrew Della Rovere, Jr., F, Utica
Blake Frost, Sr., F, Nazareth
Filip Wiberg, Jr., F, SUNY Geneseo
Kyle Kussman, Fr., D, SUNY Brockport
Charles Ross, So., D, Nazareth
Dakota Zarudny, Sr., D, SUNY Geneseo
David Filak, Jr, G, SUNY Brockport
Empire 8 Tomorrow's Leaders
Andrew Della Rovere, Jr., F, Utica
Carter Diceman, Jr., F, SUNY Geneseo
Brody Haines, Sr., G, Elmira
Will Halecki, Jr., F, Nazareth
Josh Higgins, Sr., D, SUNY Brockport
Michael Peluso, Fr., D, St. John Fisher
