Hockey: Cadet named to All-American team

  • Published
  • By Dave Toller
  • Associate Director, Athletic Media Relations
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFNEWS) --  A U.S. Air Force Academy cadet was named to the Lowe's Senior CLASS All-American first-team announced at the 2007 Frozen Four April 7 in St. Louis. 

Senior Billy Devoney is a four-year letterman who has missed just one game in his four-year career and was chosen as the team captain by his teammates. 

A defenseman, he had five goals and 10 assists in 40 games this season and has a 3.01 grade point average.

Notre Dame goaltender David Brown was the first-ever recipient of the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award for hockey, which was selected by a nationwide vote of coaches, media and fans. The trophy presentation was made during the national championship game.
Earlier this year, Lowe's announced the addition of men's hockey and three other NCAA sports to the award program that originally was launched in 2001 with basketball. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award has grown into the nation's premier tribute to college seniors. The award identifies personal qualities that define a complete student athlete, with criteria including excellence in the classroom, character and community, as well as competition in sports.

Devoney has been on the dean's list four times for academic excellence, the commandant's list five times for military excellence and the superintendent's list twice for excelling in academics, military and athletics in the same semester. 

Joining Devoney and Brown on the All-Senior All-America First-Team are Kirk MacDonald of Rensselaer, Matt Anderson of Massachusetts and Jeff Jakaitis of Lake Superior State. The second team consists of Michel Léveillé of Maine, Nate Raduns of St. Cloud State, Ryan Mahrle of Western Michigan, Curtis Fraser of Alaska-Fairbanks and Glenn Fisher of Denver. 

In addition to his academic and athletic accomplishments, Devoney was the assistant program director for FalconSat III, which is an academy sponsored program to launch satellites in conjunction with the Air Force Research Lab to experiment in space.

In the summer of 2006, Devoney was selected to be part of a cadet contingent deployed to Qatar for four weeks to experience the operational Air Force. He spent two weeks with the 379th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron conducting on- and off-base patrols and working entry control points around the base. He also spent time with the operations support squadron intelligence flight, assisting with planning missions in Iraq and Afghanistan for F-16 Fighting Falcons, F-15 Eagles and B-1B Lancers in support of the Army troops on the ground. Following graduation, he will enter the Air Force as a second lieutenant working in the intelligence field.

Devoney has also been active in the community. He has spoken at several local schools about the benefits of staying in school and about playing sports. He has also volunteered time with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation all four years, assisting with the annual Walk for the Cure and the spring gala. He has also visited numerous clinics and hospitals in the Colorado Springs and Denver areas during the holiday season, delivering toys that were generated through the team's annual toy drive.

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