COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – After both led their respective teams to near-perfect records over the past month, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) has announced that Western Michigan sophomore forward Matheson Iacopelli has been selected as the NCHC Player of the Month for November, while Minnesota Duluth freshman forward Joey Anderson garnered NCHC Rookie of the Month for November. This is the first career NCHC monthly honor for either player.
NCHC PLAYER OF THE MONTH
Matheson Iacopelli
Western Michigan
Sophomore Forward
Brownstown, Mich.
Iacopelli continued his impressive sophomore campaign with an 11-point month while leading the Broncos to a 4-1-1 mark in November. He tied for the NCHC scoring lead and tied for sixth nationally in points during the month, while his seven goals shared the NCAA lead in November. Iacopelli’s 1.17 goals per game led the entire NCAA this past month with his 1.83 points per game leading the NCHC and tying for fifth nationally in November. The Chicago Blackhawks prospect tallied multiple points in five of his six games during the month, with at least one goal in four of the games.
Iacopelli scored in all four WMU wins during November, opening with a five-point weekend in a home sweep of Miami. To begin the month, he tied a career high with three points on two goals and an assist in a 6-3 victory Nov. 4, while the next night he added two more goals, including the game-winner, to complete the sweep of the RedHawks. Iacopelli was named First Star of the Game both nights and garnered the first of his two NCHC Offensive Player of the Week honors during the month.
The next weekend, Iacopelli tallied a goal and an assist in WMU’s 4-3 upset at No. 1 Minnesota Duluth on Nov. 11. He then concluded his month with four points against Air Force, dishing out two assists in a tie Nov. 18, before scoring two goals, including the game-winner, in a 4-1 victory a night later. Iacopelli was named the game’s First Star Nov. 19 and picked up NCHC Offensive Player of the Week honors once again.
Iacopelli finished November with an NCHC-best 34 shots on goal, while logging a plus-4 rating. Of his seven goals during the month, two were game-winners, while one came on the power play. The 6-foot-2 forward now has 12 goals on the season, which leads the NCHC and ties for second nationally, to go along with four assists this season.
Iacopelli is now a candidate for Hockey Commissioners’ Association (HCA) National Player of the Month for November, which will be announced later this week. Other nominees for NCHC Player of the Month included Denver senior defenseman Will Butcher, North Dakota sophomore forward Shane Gersich, Minnesota Duluth senior forward Alex Iafallo and Omaha junior forward David Pope.
NCHC ROOKIE OF THE MONTH
Joey Anderson
Minnesota Duluth
Freshman Forward
Roseville, Minn.
After notching only assists in October, Anderson exploded for four goals and eight points in November, both of which tied for the NCHC rookie lead during the month. His 1.33 points per game and 0.67 assists per game led NCHC freshmen by himself in November while his 0.67 goals per game tied for the conference rookie lead. He also ranked in the top five nationally among freshmen in both points per game and goals per game this past month. Anderson notched a point in four of his six games to help UMD post a 5-1-0 record in November, including three multi-point outings.
Anderson opened November with five points in a road sweep of St. Cloud State, tying a career high with three points in a 5-3 win Nov. 4. In that game, he scored his first two collegiate goals, including the game-winning goal, and had a plus-3 rating to earn First Star of the Game. The next night he added another goal and an assist to help the Bulldogs finish the sweep and was named NCHC Rookie of the Week for his efforts.
The following weekend, Anderson continued his goal-scoring streak with another two-point outing in UMD’s lone loss of the month, tallying a goal and an assist Nov. 11 against Western Michigan to earn Second Star of the Game. The New Jersey Devils draft pick then wrapped up his month with an assist in a 6-4 win at Omaha Nov. 18.
Anderson finished November with a plus-5 rating, which tied for the NCHC lead among rookies, as he did not post a negative rating in any of his six games. The 6-foot right winger also put 16 shots on goal with his .250 shooting percentage tops among NCHC freshmen in the month. Six of his eight points came on the road in November, while Anderson now has 15 points on the season with four goals and 11 assists.
Anderson is now a candidate for Hockey Commissioners’ Association (HCA) National Rookie of the Month for November, which will be announced later this week. Other nominees for NCHC Rookie of the Month included Denver freshman forward Henrik Borgström, North Dakota freshman forward Tyson Jost and Omaha freshman forward Teemu Pulkkinen.
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