At the end of the hockey season, the team, coaches and staff, and Cornell Hockey Association members gather to celebrate the year and honor the graduating senior class. Awards are given based on votes of the team. Here is a list of those awards, some background and an expanded history.
- The Wendell and Francelia Earle Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement
- An annual award endowed in perpetuity by the Earle Family, honors Wendell, Cornell Professor and team advisor, who frequently hosted Cornell Hockey players and their families. The award recipients are the team members from each class who have achieved the highest cumulative grade point average. Introduced and presented by the Earle Family.
- The Bill Doran Sportsmanship Award
- Presented to the Cornell player combining all the best attributes that mean sportsmanship, both on and off the ice, as well as being an excellent competitive player
- Doran helped Coach Dick Bertrand recruit more than a dozen members to Cornell most of whom were Canadian and predominantly from the Toronto area. Those included Wayne Stokes and the brothers Dick and Bill Weber. Doran’s son, Mike ’67, played on the Cornell 1967 national championship team.
- The Joe DeLibero-Stan Tsapis Award
- Presented to the player who most nearly exemplifies the skilled efficiency, unselfish dedication, and hard-nosed competitive applications that distinguishes him as representative of Joe DiLibero’s and Stan Tsapis’ uniqueness.
- DeLibero was a long-time trainer for football, hockey and crew, and worked with many coaches and student-athletes. He was a good trainer and both players and coaches had the utmost confidence in him. Joe was everyone’s friend, and everyone was his friend. He left an indelible mark on the students. He appreciated dedicated hard-nosed athletes and told the loafers and the slackers and who he called the ‘soft-ones’ in no uncertain terms what he thought of them!
- Stan Tsapis played defensive guard on the football team (All-IVY 1952-53). He earned his undergraduate and Law degrees from Cornell, practiced law in Ithaca, and married an Ithaca College graduate (Marilyn “Mickey” Greenglass ’57) who was a well-known, successful travel agent in town. They hosted many Cornell hockey players when that was permitted by the NCAA. Mr. Tsapis was an active member of the Cornell Hockey Boosters (now the Cornell Hockey Association) and friend and supporter of Coach Bertrand.
- The Cornell Hockey Association Award
- Presented to the player whose contribution to the team is not apparent in the box scores. His efforts are more clearly measured in enthusiasm, dedication, desire, and unselfish willingness to give to the team an extra ounce of energy.
- The Sam Woodside Award
- Presented to the senior player who has most improved in overall playing ability and has exhibited team leadership with his play during his career.
- Woodside covered Cornell sports for five decades, first as a sports-writer for the Syracuse Post-Standard, the Rochester Democrat and Chronical in the 1930s, and then as an announcer for radio station WHCU from 1940 until he retired in 1973. He was the play-by-play announcer for Cornell football, basketball, and hockey games. He also provided on-the-spot coverage of crew races, He was inducted into the Cornell Sports Hall of Fame in 1984.
- The Mark Weiss Memorial Award
- Presented to the player who most exemplified from his rookie year through his senior year the same kind of determination and passion that the outstanding young athlete, Mark Weiss, had for life and hockey.
- Weiss, at 19 years-old died in an automobile accident in his hometown of Haileybury, Ontario, would have been a Junior on the hockey team. Mark was probably to most-liked kid on the team. He loved life and lived it to the fullest, varsity coach Dick Bertrand said of Weiss. His #8 jersey was supposed to be retired though many players have worn number eight with distinction since.
- The Ironman Award
- Presented to the team member who, in spite of being bruised, broken, spliced, or otherwise hurt, most demonstrated the will and determination to overcome injury and contribute to the team.
- The Ironman award was established by Burt and Helen Cooley, long-time members of the Cornell Hockey Association, in recognition of Mike Schafer when he was a defenseman. They believed he exemplified the qualities of an “Ironman” during his playing years.
- The Crimson Cup Award
- Presented to the player whose contribution to the team was outstanding during the season series against Harvard.
- The Greg Ratushny Award
- Presented to the freshman player who best exhibits enthusiasm for both the team and Cornell University, camaraderie with teammates and fellow students, and promise for the future.
- Greg Natushny was involved in an ultimately fatal car accident in the summer of 1992, before he could matriculate at Cornell. He died in 1996. He had a disarming smile, infectious joie de vivre and warmth for, not only his friends, but everyone he met. He also demonstrated a strong sense of purpose, good judgement and enthusiasm for his school, sports teams, and other communities to which he belonged. His older sister, Kim, and brother, Dan both played on the Cornell varsity hockey teams.
- Nicky Bawlf Award
- Presented to the Most Valuable Player as judged by his peers
- Bawlf was born in Winnipeg coming to Cornell in 1920 after earning fame in several sports at Ottawa College and thereafter in amateur and professional sports alike. As an athlete he was one of the fasted hockey skaters anywhere, was known to have drop-kicked field goals of over 50 yards in football, and was a standout in lacrosse, soccer, track and baseball. At Cornell, he coached soccer and hockey from 1920 until his death at age 63 in 1947 in Ithaca. He was inducted into the Cornell Sports Hall of Fame in 1980.
- Shutouts … Short-handed Goals … Hat Tricks