NCHC All-Conference Teams Release (PDF)
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – After the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) recognized 97 student-athletes for their hard work in the classroom on Tuesday, the NCHC honored its top performers on the ice Wednesday by releasing its 2014-15 NCHC All-Conference and All-Rookie Teams, as selected by NCHC coaches and student-athletes. Penrose Cup champions North Dakota led all teams with five honorees, including two on the All-Conference First Team, while Denver also placed two players on the First Team and had four honorees overall. Seven of eight NCHC teams had at least one player land on the All-Conference or All-Rookie Teams.
Garnering First-Team All-NCHC this season is Denver sophomore Trevor Moore, St. Cloud State junior Jonny Brodzinski and North Dakota senior Mark MacMillan at forward, Denver senior Joey LaLeggia and Colorado College sophomore Jaccob Slavin at defenseman and UND junior Zane McIntyre at goaltender. LaLeggia was the lone repeat selection to the All-Conference First Team, unanimously being selected for the 2014-15 squad (14 first-place votes/42 points) after being chosen for the inaugural All-NCHC First Team last season. McIntyre was second in voting with 32 points and 10 first-place votes, while Moore was the top vote-getter at forward with 26 points and eight first-place votes. Brodzinski was right behind with 25 points and seven first-place votes while MacMillan received six first-place votes and had 22 points. Slavin, an All-NCHC Second Team and All-Rookie Team selection in 2013-14, rounded out first-team voting with 21 points and five first-place votes. Brodzinski and McIntyre were All-Conference Honorable Mention recipients last season while Moore, like Slavin, was on the All-Rookie Team.
Moore captured the NCHC scoring title with 30 points in 23 conference games, while his 13 goals in conference play tied for the NCHC lead. His plus-15 rating in NCHC play also led the conference while two of his goals were game-winners. Brodzinski compiled 23 points in 24 NCHC games, tying with Moore for the NCHC lead with 13 goals, including an NCHC-best seven power play markers and two game-winners. He was the co-NCHC Player of the Month in January. MacMillan racked up 20 points in 22 conference games, also tying for the lead with 13 goals, including two short-handed, while he also had a hat trick and a plus-11 rating in conference play.
On the blue line, LaLeggia led all defensemen with 29 points in 23 conference games on 12 goals and 17 assists, also both tops among NCHC blue liners. The five-time NCHC Defenseman of the Week and two-time NCHC Player of the Month blocked 24 shots and posted a plus-9 rating in NCHC action. Slavin tallied 10 points in 23 NCHC games, including four goals, while he blocked 48 shots, which tied for second in conference play. McIntyre, a four-time NCHC Goaltender of the Week, was one of just two goalies to play all 24 conference games, posting a NCHC-best 16-6-2 record (.708 win percentage), while ranking in the top three in conference play with both a .931 save percentage and a 2.15 goals-against average.
Landing on the All-NCHC Second Team is Denver freshman Danton Heinen, Miami senior Austin Czarnik and UND junior Drake Caggiula at forward, Minnesota Duluth junior Andy Welinski and North Dakota junior Jordan Schmaltz at defenseman and Omaha senior Ryan Massa in goal. Heinen, the lone rookie to earn All-NCHC honors, totaled 22 points in voting, like MacMillan, but had one less first-place vote (5), while Czarnik was right behind with 21 points and four first-place votes. Caggiula also received four first-place votes and earned 17 points. Welinski earned 20 points, including four first-place votes, while Schmaltz was just behind with 19 points, despite five first-place votes. Massa also had 19 points with four first-place votes. Czarnik was a First-Team All-NCHC selection last year while Schmaltz landed on the All-NCHC Second Team for a second straight season.
Heinen, a four-time NCHC Rookie of the Week, led all NCHC rookies and tied for third overall with 26 points in 24 conference games, including nine goals and 17 assists. Czarnik finished with an NCHC-best 22 assists in 24 NCHC games, while tallying four goals, including a hat trick, as he also tallied 26 points. Caggiula, the November NCHC Player of the Month, was among the conference leaders with 13 goals in conference play, including three game-winners, while he totaled 22 points in 24 games. Welinski racked up 12 points, including seven goals, while playing all 24 NCHC games and blocking 25 shots. Schmaltz had similar numbers with 13 points, including 11 assists, and 25 blocks in 24 games. Massa, the NCHC Player of the Month in October, started 20 conference games in net, going 9-7-4 with one shutout, while leading the NCHC with a .933 save percentage and ranking second with a 2.12 GAA.
Six players also earned Honorable Mention, which is made up of the next three highest point totals at forward, next two at defensemen and the third overall point finisher at goaltender. Receiving Honorable Mention All-NCHC is a trio of sophomores at forward in Omaha’s Austin Ortega, Minnesota Duluth’s Dominic Toninato and Omaha’s Jake Guentzel, while Miami junior Matthew Caito and St. Cloud State senior Andrew Prochno are the defensemen and SCSU sophomore goalie Charlie Lindgren rounds out the Honorable Mention All-NCHC Team. Prochno received Honorable Mention last season as well, while Guentzel and Lindgren were on the 2013-14 All-Rookie Team.
Making up the NCHC All-Rookie Team this season is Heinen, SCSU’s Patrick Russell and UND’s Nick Schmaltz at forward, Miami’s Louie Belpedio and Omaha’s Luc Snuggerud on the blue line and UMD’s Kasimir Kaskisuo in goal. Heinen was a unanimous selection to the All-Rookie Team with 14 first-place votes while Russell received 35 points and 11 first-place votes and Schmaltz had 30 points (nine first-place votes). Belpedio was a near unanimous selection, getting 13 first-place votes and 40 points while Snuggerud totaled 22 points, including six first-place votes. Kaskisuo received 12 first-place votes and had 38 points in voting.
In addition to his four Rookie of the Week honors, Heinen was NCHC Rookie of the Month in February and tallied six more points than any other NCHC freshman. His plus-11 rating tied for the NCHC lead among rookies as well, as did his two game-winners. Russell was second in rookie scoring with 10 goals and assists each in 24 conference games, while Schmaltz was right behind with 15 points, including 11 assists in just 20 NCHC games. Belpedio and Snuggerud were the top scoring rookie blue liners as Belpedio notched 10 points with a plus-7 rating while Snuggerud had nine assists as both played all 24 games and blocked 21 shots in conference play. Along with McIntyre, Kaskisuo was the only other NCHC goalie to start all 24 conference games as he went 12-9-3 with a 2.27 GAA and a .918 save percentage.
Each NCHC head coach and one student-athlete from each school voted on the All-Conference and All-Rookie teams. Coaches and student-athletes voted for six forwards, four defensemen and two goaltenders for both All-Conference and All-Rookie voting, awarding first-place votes for six players (three forwards, two defensemen and one goaltender) and second-place votes for the other six selections. A first-place vote was worth three points while a second-place vote was worth one with the highest point totals earning honors. First-place votes were used to break any ties. Coaches and players could not vote for members of their own team.
The NCHC will announce the finalists for its individual specialty awards on Thursday.
First-Team All-Conference
*Trevor Moore, So., F, Denver – 26 points (8 first-place votes)
$Jonny Brodzinski, Jr., F, SCSU – 25 (7)
Mark MacMillan, Sr., F, UND – 22 (6)
^Joey LaLeggia, Sr., D, Denver – 42 (14) (unanimous)
*%Jaccob Slavin, So., D, CC – 21 (5)
$Zane McIntyre, Jr., G, UND – 32 (10)
Second-Team All-Conference
Danton Heinen, Fr., F, Denver – 22 (5)
^Austin Czarnik, Sr., F, Miami – 21 (4)
Drake Caggiula, Jr., F, UND – 17 (4)
Andy Welinski, Jr., D, UMD – 20 (4)
%Jordan Schmaltz, Jr., D, UND – 19 (5)
Ryan Massa, Sr., G, Omaha – 19 (4)
Honorable Mention All-Conference
Austin Ortega, So., F, Omaha – 16 (4)
Dominic Toninato, So., F, UMD – 14 (4)
*Jake Guentzel, So., F, Omaha – 8 (2)
Matthew Caito, Jr., D, Miami – 10 (3)
$Andrew Prochno, Sr., D, SCSU – 4 (0)
*Charlie Lindgren, So., G, SCSU - 6 (1)
All-Rookie Team
Danton Heinen, F, Denver – 42 (14) (unanimous)
Patrick Russell, F, SCSU – 35 (11)
Nick Schmaltz, F, UND – 30 (9)
Louie Belpedio, D, Miami – 40 (13)
Luc Snuggerud, D, Omaha – 22 (6)
Kasimir Kaskisuo, G, UMD – 38 (12)
^ 2013-14 NCHC First-Team All-Conference
% 2013-14 NCHC Second-Team All-Conference
$ 2013-14 NCHC Honorable Mention All-Conference
* 2013-14 NCHC All-Rookie Team
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