COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – After setting records and winning tournament titles last month, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) named Omaha senior forward Austin Ortega as the NCHC Player of the Month for December and Western Michigan freshman goaltender Ben Blacker as the NCHC Rookie of the Month to close 2016. This is Ortega’s second career NCHC monthly award, also earning Player of the Month in December of 2014, while it is Blacker’s first NCHC monthly honor.
NCHC PLAYER OF THE MONTH
Austin Ortega
Omaha
Senior Forward
Escondido, Calif.
Ortega guided Omaha to a 4-1-1 record in December, leading the NCHC with both five goals and 10 points during the month, while his five assists tied for second in the conference. His five goals tied for ninth nationally during December as well. Ortega’s 1.67 points per game ranked second in the NCHC last month, while he tallied a point in five of his six December games, including two multi-point outings. He was twice named NCHC Offensive Player of the Week during the month, as well.
Ortega started December with a five point weekend at Wisconsin Dec. 2-3 to earn his first NCHC weekly honor. After an assist in a tie Dec. 2, Ortega exploded for a career-high four points the next night in a 7-3 victory over the Badgers, including recording his first career hat trick, while posting a plus-3 rating. The following weekend, he handed out the primary assist on Omaha’s first goal in a 3-1 win at St. Cloud State Dec. 9. The California native’s only game without a point in December came the next night at SCSU.
Ortega then wrapped up 2016 with a four-point showing in a sweep of Lake Superior State Dec. 30-31, collecting his second NCHC Offensive Player of the Week award. In the series opener, he tallied the game-winning goal, which was his 23rd career game-winner, tying him for the NCAA career game-winning goals record. He also posted a plus-3 rating in the 4-1 victory. Ortega then closed out December with a three-point outing against the Lakers, scoring a goal while adding two assists, including on the game-winner, in a 5-3 comeback win.
In addition to his points, Ortega also led all NCHC players in December with a plus-7 rating and 27 shots on goal. This season, Ortega leads the NCHC in overall scoring with 27 points and is tied for the NCHC lead with 14 goals.
Ortega is now a candidate for Hockey Commissioners’ Association (HCA) National Player of the Month for December, which will be announced Wednesday. Other nominees for NCHC Player of the Month included Miami sophomore forward Josh Melnick and North Dakota junior forward Austin Poganski.
NCHC ROOKIE OF THE MONTH
Ben Blacker
Western Michigan
Freshman Goaltender
Oakville, Ont.
Blacker played in four games for Western Michigan in December, starting three of them in net, as he won all three to post a 3-0-0 record during the month. He led all NCAA goalies with a 0.82 goals-against average during the month, conceding only three goals in the four games and never more than one goal in a game. His .969 save percentage in over 218 minutes of action also led the NCAA in December, while he earned a pair of NCHC weekly awards during the month.
After missing WMU’s opening series in December while still recovering from an illness, Blacker saw his first action since Oct. 14 when he entered in relief Dec. 9 at No. 8 North Dakota. He made 11 saves over the final 26 minutes while giving up only a power play goal. He then earned his first start since Oct. 7 the following night at UND, compiling a career-high 32 saves, again allowing only one goal in a 3-1 victory – only WMU’s second-ever win over North Dakota. The Oakville, Ont. native was named Third Star of the Game Dec. 10 and picked up NCHC Goaltender of the Week honors as well for his efforts.
Blacker started both games for WMU at the Great Lakes Invitational in Detroit Dec. 29-30, leading the Broncos to their third ever GLI title. In the semifinals Dec. 29, he totaled 29 saves in a 4-1 win over in-state rival Michigan State with MSU’s lone goal coming on the man advantage. Blacker then capped December by pitching his first collegiate shutout in the GLI championship game, stopping all 23 shots Michigan Tech sent his way, allowing WMU to score in overtime to win the MacInnes Cup, 1-0. Blacker was named to the GLI All-Tournament Team and garnered NCHC Rookie of the Week, as well as NCAA Third Star of the Week, to close 2016.
Blacker finished December with 95 saves on 98 shots while only one of the three goals he allowed came even strength. On the season, Blacker is 5-0-0 with a 1.65 goals-against average and a .939 save percentage.
Blacker is now a candidate for Hockey Commissioners’ Association (HCA) National Rookie of the Month for December, which will be announced Wednesday. Other nominees for NCHC Rookie of the Month included Colorado College goalie Alex Leclerc and Miami forward Carson Meyer.
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