COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – With the calendar turning to January, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) announced its monthly award winners for December on Wednesday. Capturing NCHC Player of the Month for December is Omaha sophomore forward Austin Ortega, while Western Michigan freshman forward Aidan Muir has been chosen NCHC Rookie of the Month for December.
NCHC PLAYER OF THE MONTH
Austin Ortega
Omaha
Sophomore Forward
Escondido, Calif.
Ortega was dominant in December, leading Omaha to a 5-2-1 record while playing in all eight games. He paced the NCHC with nine points during the month, which also tied for the national lead in December, while his seven goals did lead the NCAA for the month. Of his seven goals, four were game-winners, again leading the country for December, while he is also now tied for the NCAA lead with seven game-winning goals this season. Ortega tallied a point in seven of his eight games during the month, including a pair of multi-goal games, while handing out two assists in addition to his goals.
Ortega opened December with an assist in a loss at Miami Dec. 5, but rebounded with a pair of goals, including the first goal and the game-winner, the next night as the Mavs earned a split. He was named first star of the game in the series finale. The next weekend, Ortega led Omaha to a sweep of St. Cloud State, scoring the game-winning goal in both contests. First on Dec. 12, he broke a 2-2 tie with a power play goal in the third period, while the next night he broke a 3-3 tie with a third period goal while earning second star of the game. Ortega was tabbed NCAA Second Star of the Week following the SCSU series.
After having his four-game point streak and three-game goal streak snapped on Dec. 20, Ortega responded with another two-goal outing the next night, scoring twice on the power play in the third period to help UNO erase a deficit and tie Alabama-Huntsville. The Escondido, Calif., native closed his month with another game-winner, scoring in overtime Dec. 30 to lift Omaha to a 2-1 win over New Hampshire, again earning him first star of the game. He then chipped in an assist in a loss to UNH on New Year’s Eve as he was named NCHC Offensive Player of the Week for his outings against UAH and UNH. Ortega put 33 shots on goal in December, which led all NCAA players for the month.
Ortega, who is tied for the NCHC lead with a career-best 22 points this season, is now a candidate for Hockey Commissioners’ Association (HCA) National Player of the Month for December, which will be announced later this week. Other nominees for December NCHC Player of the Month included Denver sophomore goaltender Evan Cowley, Miami senior forward Austin Czarnik, Western Michigan sophomore forward Sheldon Dries, North Dakota junior goaltender Zane McIntyre and Minnesota Duluth sophomore forward Dominic Toninato.
NCHC ROOKIE OF THE MONTH
Aidan Muir
Western Michigan
Freshman Forward
Brampton, Ont.
Muir led the Broncos to a 2-1-1 record in December while totaling four points on three goals and an assist in four contests. One of his goals came on the power play, while he also tallied a game-winner. His three goals tied for the NCAA lead among rookies in December, while his 0.75 goals per game during the month led NCHC freshmen and tied for third nationally among newcomers. Muir’s 1.00 points per game average in December tied for second in the NCHC. The Edmonton Oilers prospect posted a +3 rating during the month while firing 13 shots on goal (3.25 shots per game).
To open the month, Muir dished out an assist on WMU’s second goal in a 3-2 overtime win over Colorado College Dec. 12. After being held pointless the next night, he exploded for three goals at the Three Rivers Classic Dec. 29-30. Muir scored the Broncos’ only goal in a 2-1 loss to No. 14 Colgate in the tournament opener, and then tallied his first career multi-goal game the next afternoon in a win over No. 20 Penn State in the consolation game. His first goal of the game, which turned out to be the game-winner, came on the power play and put WMU up 2-0, while his second goal made the final score 4-1. Muir was named the game’s first star against PSU while he was also selected to the Three Rivers Classic All-Tournament Team.
On the season, Muir has four goals and five assists for nine points as he had just one goal and four assists in his first 13 games as a Bronco prior to December. He also doubled his plus-minus rating in December as he now boasts a +6 rating on the season.
Muir is now a candidate for Hockey Commissioners’ Association (HCA) National Rookie of the Month for December, which will be announced later this week. Other nominees for December NCHC Rookie of the Month included Denver freshman forward Danton Heinen, Omaha freshman forward Jake Randolph and North Dakota freshman forward Nick Schmaltz.
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