St. Lawrence had just disposed of Quinnipiac with a sweep in the quarterfinals of the ECAC Hockey tournament, and Saints coach Joe Marsh needed his glasses.

It’s customary for any head coach to scan the stat sheet after every game. Marsh skimmed the box score and saw senior defenseman Zach Miskovic’s name appear twice in the scoring rundown of the Saints’ 5-3 victory over the Bobcats.

“Misko had two more goals tonight?” Marsh asked.

“Yep, he did,” I responded.

“Tell me he isn’t an All-American,” Marsh said, peering over his dark-rimmed spectacles to prove a point.

Marsh knew it, and ostensibly, so did the rest of the head coaches in Division I.

Miskovic was selected as a first-team All-American by the American Hockey Coaches Association on Friday in a ceremony at the Verizon Center. He is the first SLU player to receive All-America status since defenseman Drew Bagnall was picked to the first team in 2007.

Joining Miskovic on the East All-America first team was Boston University senior Matt Gilroy, who was also the recipient of the Hobey Baker Memorial Award. Gilroy, a three-time All-American defenseman, will guide the Terriers into tonight’s NCAA Division I tournament championship matchup with Miami (Ohio). The game starts at 7 p.m., and will be broadcast live on ESPN.

Colgate forward David McIntyre also represented the ECAC Hockey League on the East’s first team. Vermont’s Viktor Stalberg and Boston University’s Colin Wilson made the squad as forwards. Northeastern goalie Brad Thiessen rounded out the first team.

Miskovic, a native of River Forest, Ill., garnered first-team All-ECAC Hockey League honors last month. He led all Division I defenseman with 16 goals and finished with a career-high 25 points this past season. Princeton goalie Zane Kalemba and Yale forward Mark Arcobello was named to the East’s second team.

A complete list of the 24 All-Americans can be found on the AHCA Web site. I hope Miskovic was in attendance for the ceremony, which was held in the venue where he may play next season. He signed a one-year contract with the Washington Capitals on March 25.

Miskovic, who was SLU’s Most Valuable Player in 2008-09, is the 31st player to nab All-America honors in the program’s history and the 18th All-American under Marsh. Of the 31 individual All-Americans, Miskovic is the 11th defensemen.

COMING UP: Keep an eye out for a look at St. Lawrence’s incoming recruiting class. Prospects officially sign early next week, and I’ll be putting a piece together for the Times. Be sure to check back.

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