NCHC March/April Monthly Award Winners (PDF)

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – With the 2014-15 season complete, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) announced its final monthly honors for the season on Tuesday with Miami senior forward Blake Coleman capturing NCHC Player of the Month for March/April, while North Dakota freshman defenseman/forward Tucker Poolman was named NCHC Rookie of the Month for March/April. 

NCHC PLAYER OF THE MONTH
Blake Coleman
Miami
Senior Forward
Plano, Texas

Coleman capped his collegiate career in dominant fashion, recording 13 points in his final seven games as a RedHawk, while helping Miami go 5-3-0 in March, including capturing the NCHC Tournament title by winning the NCHC Frozen Faceoff. His 13 points tied for the NCHC lead in March/April with teammate Austin Czarnik while his 1.86 points per game were tops among all NCHC players and third nationally, as were his 13 points during the month. Of those 13 points, eight were goals, which were again tops in the conference during the month as he averaged 1.14 goals per game, while the eight markers tied for second in the NCAA during March and April.

Coleman tallied a point in his final six games at Miami, including four multi-point games and two multi-goal outings. The New Jersey Devils prospect recorded two game-winning goals and one of his eight tallies on the power play, while putting 20 shots on goal. Coleman finished March and April with a plus-1 rating while winning 56.6 percent of the faceoffs he took (60 of 106) and blocking four shots.

Miami’s alternate captain opened March by closing the regular season with a goal against then top-ranked North Dakota. After putting five shots on goal but being held scoreless in a series-opening loss March 6, Coleman completed the regular season with a goal against UND the next night in a 6-3 win while he was named the game’s third star. The Plano, Texas, native caught fire in the postseason, racking up eight points in Miami’s three-game quarterfinal series win over Western Michigan. Coleman began the quarterfinal series with a career-high four points on a pair of goals and primary assists, including tallying the game-winning goal in a 5-3 win March 13. He notched a goal and an assist in a 7-5 loss the next night and again tallied a goal and an assist in a 4-0 shutout of WMU March 15 to seal the series win.

After leading Miami to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff, Coleman continued his tear with four more points in Minneapolis. In Miami’s 6-3 semifinal win over Denver on March 20, he had the lone assist on Miami’s third goal to put the RedHawks up 3-1. He then saved his best for last, recording his second career hat trick and first of the season in the NCHC championship game, tallying all three Miami goals, including the game-winner in the second period to break a 2-2 tie, as the RedHawks won their first NCHC Tournament title with a 3-2 win over St. Cloud State March 21. Coleman was named Most Outstanding Player of the NCHC Frozen Faceoff and was named to the All-Tournament Team. The bruising center finished his senior season with career bests of 37 points, 20 goals and 17 assists while also topping the century mark with over 100 career points, doing so during the WMU quarterfinal series, as he finished with 107 career points.

Coleman is now a candidate for the Hockey Commissioners’ Association (HCA) National Player of the Month for March/April, which will be announced Thursday. The other nominees for March/April NCHC Player of the Month were Denver sophomore forward Trevor Moore, Omaha sophomore forward Jake Guentzel and North Dakota sophomore forward Luke Johnson. 

NCHC ROOKIE OF THE MONTH
Tucker Poolman
North Dakota
Freshman Defenseman/Forward
East Grand Forks, Minn.

Poolman finished his rookie campaign strong with six points over the final month and a half of the season while playing in all nine UND games in March and April as North Dakota went 5-4-0 while clinching the Penrose Cup as NCHC regular-season champions and making a return trip to the NCAA Frozen Four. Of his six points, two were goals with one on the power play, while he handed out four assists. His six points, which tied for fourth nationally among rookies in March/April, and four assists led all NCHC rookies during March and April while his two goals tied for second among conference newcomers. The Winnipeg Jets draft pick recorded a point in six of his nine games in March and April, including ending the season on a five-game point streak.

Poolman alternated between his natural defenseman position and forward down the stretch, playing forward at even strength and defenseman on special teams. Despite being held scoreless at Miami to close the regular season March 6-7, he helped UND clinch the NCHC regular-season crown with a 2-1 win on March 6. He opened postseason play by tallying the final goal in a 5-1 win over Colorado College on March 13 as North Dakota swept the Tigers in the best-of-three quarterfinal series. Poolman then chipped in an assist in both games at the NCHC Frozen Faceoff assisting on the first goal of the game both nights. He handed out the primary assist on UND’s lone goal in a semifinal loss to St. Cloud State March 20, while he tallied another helper on UND’s lone goal in a loss to Denver the next day in the third-place game.

Poolman saved his best for the NCAA Tournament, notching a point in all three games. The East Grand Forks, Minn., native scored the first goal of the tournament for UND, striking on the power play in a 4-1 win over Quinnipiac March 27 when he also posted a career-best plus-3 rating. The next night Poolman dished out the primary assist on the tying goal in another 4-1 win as UND topped St. Cloud State to win the NCAA West Regional and advance to its second straight Frozen Four. In the national semifinal on April 9, he had another primary assist, setting up a power play goal in the second period, which was North Dakota’s first goal of the game in an eventual 5-3 loss to Boston University.

Poolman blocked four shots in March and April while putting 15 shots on goal. He finished the season with eight goals, 10 assists and 18 points, which were second among NCHC rookie blue liners. He is now a candidate for HCA National Rookie of the Month for March/April, which will be announced Thursday. The other nominees for March/April NCHC Rookie of the Month were Miami defenseman Louie Belpedio and Denver goaltender Tanner Jaillet. The HCA combines March and April for its final monthly honor as only three games (the Frozen Four) are played in April.

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