COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – With the calendar turning to 2014 on Wednesday, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) has named Western Michigan junior forward Justin Kovacs the 2013 December NCHC Player of the Month and North Dakota freshman forward Luke Johnson the 2013 December NCHC Rookie of the Month.

NCHC December Player of the Month
Justin Kovacs
Western Michigan
Junior Forward
Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.

Kovacs, the second straight Bronco to claim the award (Shane Berschbach in November), tied for the NCHC lead with six points during December, including tying teammate Josh Pitt for the most goals by a NCHC player in December, scoring four in six games. The four goals also tied for third nationally in December. The winger averaged a point per game during the final month of 2013, while helping WMU post a 3-3-0 record, which included its first Great Lakes Invitational title since 1986.

Kovacs tallied at least a point in each of his final five games during December. After being held scoreless Dec. 6 against North Dakota, he scored his first goal of the month on the power play the next night in the series finale. In the Broncos’ final NCHC series of 2013, Kovacs totaled three points in a split at Minnesota Duluth Dec. 13-14. On Friday, he tallied a goal and an assist to lead WMU to a 5-3 win, its first road win of the year, while garnering second star of the game honors. The next night, he helped the Broncos rally from a 3-0 hole, scoring a goal (unassisted) in a third straight game in a 4-3 loss.

At the Great Lakes Invitational, Kovacs collected GLI All-Tournament Team accolades after a two-point tournament. On Dec. 27, he dished out an assist in a 3-2 overtime win against No. 3 Michigan in WMU’s first ever outdoor game and capped the month with the game-winning goal in overtime against Michigan Tech the next night in the championship game to lift the Broncos to the title. Kovacs completed December with a +2 rating, 14 shots on goal and two blocked shots.

Kovacs is now a candidate for Hockey Commissioners’ Association National Player of the Month, which will be announced Friday. Other nominees for December NCHC Player of the Month were Minnesota Duluth junior forward Justin Crandall, Miami junior forward Austin Czarnik and North Dakota sophomore goaltender Zane Gothberg.

NCHC December Rookie of the Month
Luke Johnson
North Dakota
Freshman Forward
Grand Forks, N.D.

Johnson tied for the scoring lead among all NCHC players with six points in December, tallying three goals and three assists in just four games, averaging 1.50 points per contest. His six points were two more than any other NCHC rookie during the month and tied for second nationally among newcomers. His three goals (all on the power play) tied for the most by a NCHC rookie in December and fourth nationally among rookies. Johnson’s four power play points was first among all rookies nationally in the month and helped lead UND to a 4-0-0 record in December.

Johnson had a hand in three of UND’s four game-winning goals in December. The lone game he didn’t factor on the game-winner, he scored two power play goals in a 3-2 win at Western Michigan Dec. 6. It was his first career multi-goal and multi-point game while he earned No. 2 star honors. The next night, he helped North Dakota complete the sweep with two assists, including assisting on the game-winner in another 3-2 victory. The next weekend, the Chicago Blackhawks prospect scored the game-winning goal on the power play in a 4-1 win over Northern Michigan Dec. 13 to earn first star of the game. Johnson then assisted on the game-winner the next night to complete the sweep and finished December with a +2 rating.

Johnson is now a candidate for Hockey Commissioners’ Association National Rookie of the Month, which will be announced Friday. The other nominee for December NCHC Rookie of the Month was Denver freshman forward Trevor Moore.

Previous NCHC Monthly Award Winners
Riley Barber, Miami – October NCHC Player of the Month
Kyle Osterberg, Minnesota Duluth – October NCHC Rookie of the Month
Shane Berschbach, Western Michigan – November NCHC Player of the Month
Jake Guentzel, Nebraska Omaha – November NCHC Rookie of the Month

--NCHCHockey--