BLOOMINGTON, Minn. | The Western Collegiate Hockey Association announced its all-conference honorees for the 2017-18 season on Thursday afternoon, and The University of Alabama in Huntsville was represented by senior Josh Kestner as an All-WCHA Second Team selection.
 
A Huntsville native, Kestner is the UAH hockey program's first-ever All-WCHA Second Team honoree and the second All-WCHA selection for the Chargers, with teammate Kurt Gosselin garnering an All-WCHA Third Team distinction last season.
 
Kestner had one of the most successful offensive seasons for the Chargers in the program's modern Division I era in 2017-18, as the senior ends the campaign with a league-high 24 goals which matches the era's single season record set by Bruce Mulherin in 2004-05.
 
The forward additionally assisted on eight goals giving him 32 points this season for a total of 68 points (44g-24a) in his four-year career to rank tied for 13th in the team's modern Division I era. Moreover, Kestner moves into sixth in the program's Division I history with 44 career goals thanks to his 24 career-high tallies this season.
 
Kestner dominated in WCHA play with a league-leading 19 goals against conference opponents including four multi-goal performances in the regular season. In the WCHA playoffs against No. 19 Northern Michigan, Kestner provided two goals in game two of the series to force a third contest and also scored one goal in the series finale.
 
The Chargers as a team experienced the program's strongest season since joining the WCHA for the 2013-14 campaign, as the squad finished as the seventh seed with a WCHA record of 10-16-2 for 33 league points while finishing with an overall record of 12-23-2 which is the highest win total for UAH since 2009-10.

Additionally, a total of 151 student-athletes, representing all 10 WCHA Men's League member institutions, including 16 UAH student-athletes have earned distinction as members of the 2017-18 WCHA All-Academic Team. To earn recognition as a member of the WCHA All-Academic Team, student-athletes must have completed one year of eligibility at their present institution prior to the current academic year, have a grade-point average of at least 3.0 (4.0 scale) for the previous two semesters or three quarters, or may qualify if overall GPA is at least 3.0 for all terms at the present institution.
 
UAH WCHA All-Academic Team Honorees
Austin Beaulieu (So., F, Coral Springs, Fla.); Richard Buri (Sr., D, Nitra, Slovakia); Cody Champagne (Sr., D, Brookfield, Conn.); Hans Gorowsky (Jr., F, Lino Lakes, Minn.); Kurt Gosselin (Jr., D, Brighton, Mich.); Connor James (So., D, Wainwright, Alberta); Josh Kestner (Sr., F, Huntsville, Ala.); Cam Knight (Jr., D, North Reading, Mass.); Max McHugh (Sr., F, Seattle, Wash.); Brandon Parker (Sr., D, Fairbault, Minn.); Sean Rappleyea (So., D, Sayreville, NJ); Teddy Rotenberger (Fr., D, Huntsville, Ala.); Brandon Salerno (So., F, Toronto, Ontario); John Teets (Jr., D, Fairbanks, Alaska); Jordan Uhleski (Sr., G, Flint, Mich.); Adam Wilcox (Jr., F, Alpharetta, Ga.)