GORHAM, Maine – Graduate student Tyler Gardiner (Watertown, Mass.), senior Tanner McClure (Buxton, Maine/Bonny Eagle) and junior Cole Ouellette (Lewiston, Maine) of the University of Southern Maine Huskies' men's ice hockey team have earned College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honors.
 
To be eligible for the accolade, student-athletes must be a starter or an important reserve with at least a 3.50 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale), must have participated in at least 50 percent of the team's games, must be at least a sophomore academically and athletically, and must have been at their current institution for one full academic year.  Graduate students must have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher as both an undergrad and graduate student-athlete.
 
Gardiner, a forward, is currently pursuing his Master's degree in Leadership Studies after graduating with an undergraduate degree in Athletic Training in 2022. Gardiner earned a 4.00 grade point average during the 2022-23 academic year. A forward, Gardiner played in 23 games and logged six points off of three goals and three assists. Gardiner has been named to the New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) All-Academic Team three times during his career and was an American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) "Krampade" All-American Scholar in 2019-20. He is also a four-time William B. Wise Scholar Athlete. Besides playing hockey Gardiner is a member of the Huskies' men's tennis team and earned Little East Conference All-Academic honors in 2022 in addition to making the LEC Academic Honor Roll twice. In addition to his athletic and academic accomplishments, Gardiner has been an active part of the USM community thought his time on campus and won the Contribution to Campus Life Award and the Residential Life Above and Beyond Award this past spring at the 2023 USM Student Government Association (SGA) Student Leadership Awards Gala.
 
McClure, a forward who recently earned his degree in Sports Management, has been a leader at USM both on and off the ice. Last month McClure was awarded the Roland Wirths Memorial Award and the Mike Beveridge Humanitarian Award at the Huskies' Athletic Department's annual honors banquet. He also co-founded the USM chapter of Best Buddies, an international organization that focuses on inclusion with the goal of pairing individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) with an individual without IDD to make a 1-on-1 friendship. McClure is a three-time William B. Wise Scholar Athlete and a two-time member of the NEHC All-Academic Team. This past winter McClure scored three goals, had an assist and blocked 16 shots.
 
Ouellette, who also earned Academic All-District honors this spring for men's tennis, was one of the top producers for Huskies last season. His 13 points were third on the team and the most among defensemen while his 11 assists placed him second on the squad. Ouellette was named to the 2021-22 NEHC All-Academic Team and is a two-time William B. Wise Scholar-Athlete. Like Gardiner, he also has earned academic accolades as a member of the Huskies' men's tennis team with a Spring 2022 LEC All-Academic Team nod and five appearances on the LEC Academic Honor Roll. His best game of the season came in a 4-3 win over Elmira College where he scored a goal and assisted on two others in a performance that got him a spot on the NEHC's weekly honor roll.
 
As Academic All-District honorees, each student-athlete is eligible for the Academic All-America ballot through the At-Large program. Voting for the Academic All-America program continues through June, and the Academic All-America team for at-large male student-athletes will be announced on June 21. Members of College Sports Communicators are eligible to vote. College Sports Communicators began the distinguished Academic All-America® program in 1952, and since then, has honored more than 38,000 deserving student-athletes from numerous sports across all divisions with these elite Academic All-America® scholar-athlete honors.  Currently, CSC sponsors Academic All-America® programs for men's soccer, women's soccer, football, volleyball, men's basketball, women's basketball, men's swimming & diving, women's swimming & diving, men's tennis, women's tennis, baseball, softball and men's and women's track and field/cross country. Many other sports are eligible through the At-Large program, including USM sponsored sports field hockey, golf, ice hockey, lacrosse, and wrestling.