Men's Ice Hockey 2/4/2015 4:45:00 AM By NCHC

SCSU’s Brodzinski, DU’s LaLeggia Selected NCHC Co-Players of the Month for January

Omaha’s Peterson tabbed NCHC Rookie of the Month for January

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – With the 2014-15 season already into February, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) announced its monthly award winners for January on Tuesday. After both had impressive months, St. Cloud State junior forward Jonny Brodzinski and Denver senior defenseman Joey LaLeggia have been named NCHC Co-Players of the Month for January, while Omaha freshman forward Avery Peterson garnered NCHC Rookie of the Month for January.

NCHC CO-PLAYER OF THE MONTH
Jonny Brodzinski
St. Cloud State
Junior Forward
Blaine, Minn.

Brodzinski nearly doubled his season total for goals and points in January while leading the Huskies to a 6-4-0 record during the month. The Los Angeles Kings prospect compiled 13 points on seven goals and six assists in 10 games, while scoring three power play goals, one game-winner and posting a plus-2 rating. Brodzinski’s 13 points led the NCHC during the month, while his seven goals tied for the conference lead and tied for fifth nationally in January. He ranked second in the NCHC with his 1.30 points per game during the month. The 6-foot-1 forward recorded four multi-point games in January, including a pair of multi-goal games, while he tallied at least one point in seven of his 10 games.

Brodzinski began January on a four-game point streak. He tallied a goal and an assist to start his month in a split with then No. 15/14 Quinnipiac Jan. 2-3, while he notched three points to lead SCSU to a sweep of then No. 6/5 Miami. Brodzinski assisted on the game-winning goal in both games against the RedHawks, while also adding a goal in the finale Jan. 10 for a two-point outing. After being held scoreless in a series at Denver, the Hobey Baker Award candidate bounced back with a goal and an assist in a 7-0 shutout of Western Michigan Jan. 23. Brodzinski saved his best weekend for the end of the month, compiling six points in a sweep at Colorado College Jan. 30-31. He scored two goals and handed out an assist both nights against the Tigers, tallying the game-winner in the series finale as he was named both NCHC Offensive Player of the Week and NCAA Second Star of the Week for his efforts. Three of his four goals at CC came on the power play.

Brodzinski fired 32 shots on goal in January (3.20 shots per game) while also blocking four shots. He also recorded his 100th career point in the win over CC Jan. 31 and now leads the NCAA with 10 power play goals on the season. On the season, Brodzinski has 17 goals and 11 assists for 28 points after entering January with 10 goals, five assists and 15 points. Brodzinski is now a candidate for Hockey Commissioners’ Association (HCA) National Player of the Month for January, which will be announced Wednesday.

NCHC CO-PLAYER OF THE MONTH
Joey LaLeggia
Denver
Senior Defenseman
Burnaby, B.C.

Like Brodzinski, LaLeggia nearly doubled his season point total in January and more than doubled his assists after recording three goals, seven assists and 10 points in the first month of 2015. Two of his goals were game-winners, tying for the NCHC lead and leading all NCAA defensemen in January, and two came on the power play. He logged a plus-3 rating in 10 games to lead the Pioneers to a 5-4-1 record in January. The Edmonton Oilers prospect tied for third in the NCHC during the month with his 10 points, which was tied for first among defensemen in the conference and second nationally among defensemen. His seven assists tied for second in the NCHC during the month and was tops among NCHC blue liners.

LaLeggia notched a point in seven of his 10 games, including three multi-point outings. He dished out an assist in each of his first three games in January with one each against Dartmouth and Brown at the Ledyard Classic Jan. 2-3. The 5-foot-10 two-way player then handed out a pair of helpers in a loss at then No. 12/13 Omaha Jan. 9. The following weekend, LaLeggia recorded a power play goal and an assist in back-to-back games to lead the Pioneers to a sweep of St. Cloud State Jan. 16-17, including scoring the game-winning goal in the opener Jan. 16, which earned him NCHC Defenseman of the Week honors. The Hobey Baker Award candidate then assisted on the game-winning goal Jan. 23 in a 3-1 win at then No. 9/9 Miami. He capped his month by scoring the game-winning goal in a 3-2 win over then No. 7/7 Minnesota Duluth Jan. 30.

LaLeggia put 35 shots on goal in January (3.50 shots per game), which led all NCHC blue liners and was third overall in the conference during the month. He also blocked four shots during the month, while helping limit opponents to 2.30 goals per game in January and anchored a DU penalty kill that operated at 91.3 percent (21 of 23), tops in the NCHC during January. LaLeggia now has nine goals, 13 assists and 22 points on the season after entering January with six goals, six assists and 12 points.

Other nominees for January NCHC Player of the Month included Western Michigan junior forward Colton Hargrove and North Dakota junior goaltender Zane McIntyre.

NCHC ROOKIE OF THE MONTH
Avery Peterson
Omaha
Freshman Forward
Grand Rapids, Minn.

Peterson led the Mavericks in scoring in January and ranked third in the NCHC among rookies with eight points in six games, leading Omaha to a 4-2-0 record during the month. Of his eight points, five were goals and three were assists with the five goals tying for the NCHC lead among freshmen and tying for fourth nationally among all rookies in January. His 1.33 points per game during the month ranked third nationally among freshmen and led all NCHC players. Peterson tallied one game-winning goal and one power play goal while posting a plus-2 rating in the first month of 2015.

Of his six games, Peterson notched a goal in four of them and had a pair of three-point games, tying a career high for points. The Minnesota Wild prospect started January strong with a goal and two assists in a 5-4 win over then No. 10/10 Denver Jan. 9. He then compiled four points in a split at Colorado College, scoring a power play goal in a loss Jan. 16, before recording his second three-point game of the month the next night with two goals, including the game-winner, and an assist. The 6-foot-3 forward capped his month with another goal Jan. 30 in a 3-2 overtime win over then No. 1/1 North Dakota. Peterson earned back-to-back NCHC Rookie of the Month honors following his weekends against Denver and Colorado College.

Peterson put 17 shots on goal during January (2.83 shots per game). On the season, he is tied for fourth in NCHC rookie scoring with 10 goals and nine assists for 19 points.

Peterson is now a candidate for Hockey Commissioners’ Association (HCA) National Rookie of the Month for January, which will be announced Wednesday. Other nominees for NCHC Rookie of the Month in January included Denver freshman goaltender Tanner Jaillet and St. Cloud State freshman forward Patrick Russell.

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