Senior CLASS Award Finalists
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Two National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) student-athletes have been chosen as finalists for the prestigious Senior CLASS Award, as Colorado College senior forward Mason Bergh and St. Cloud State senior defenseman Jimmy Schuldt are among only 10 NCAA men’s ice hockey players nationally up for the award, Premier Sports Management announced on Friday.
An acronym for?Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School?®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.?
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition.
Bergh (Eden Prairie, Minn.) boasts a 3.84 overall grade-point average while majoring in economics. The two-time team captain has earned Academic All-Conference and Distinguished Scholar-Athlete honors from the NCHC in each of his three seasons so far. He has also been named to the Dean’s List at CC in each of his seven semesters at the school, and last season won the Paul Markovich Award, which is given to the top student-athlete in the CC hockey program. In the community, Bergh supports the local Children’s Hospital, volunteering at the 2018 Children’s Hospital Colorado Climb for Courage, which raised money to build Southern Colorado’s only comprehensive children’s hospital. On the ice, Bergh earned Honorable Mention All-NCHC honors last season after ranking fifth in the conference with eight 18 goals. He is CC’s active career scoring leader with 94 points (41g, 53a) in 137 career games, including five goals and 17 points in 29 games so far this season.
Schuldt (Minnetonka, Minn.) carries a cumulative GPA north of 3.7 and is a three-time NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete and three-time Academic All-NCHC selection, like Bergh. The finance major has participated in several events in the St. Cloud community, including the local Special Olympics floor hockey team, the 2017 Special Olympics Polar Plunge, Big Brothers Big Sisters at Madison Elementary School and reading books at Talahi Elementary. Schuldt is SCSU’s first-ever three-time team captain and has racked up several accolades in his career, including being a 2018 Hobey Baker Award Top-10 Finalist and an AHCA First-Team All-American last year. Schuldt, who has played in 145 consecutive games, never missing one in his career, was also First-Team All-NCHC in 2017-18. For his career, the 2019 Hobey Baker Award nominee has 108 points on 36 goals and 72 assists, setting school records for both career goals and points by a defenseman. Included in those 108 career points are eight goals and 25 points in 28 games so far this season, as Schuldt leads all NCHC blue liners in scoring, while he is a two-time NCHC Defenseman of the Week this year.
The 10 finalists were chosen by national media from the list of candidates announced in the fall, which also included North Dakota’s Nick Jones. The NCHC’s two finalists tied with the Big Ten, while Atlantic Hockey and ECAC Hockey each have three finalists.
Nationwide fan voting begins immediately to help select the winner, and fans are encouraged to submit votes online at the Senior CLASS Award website through April 8. Fan votes will be combined with those of the media and Division I head coaches to determine the winner, who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.
The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2019 NCAA Men’s Frozen Four® on Friday, April 12 in Buffalo, N.Y.
The Senior CLASS Award is handed out annually in a variety of both men’s and women’s NCAA-sponsored sports. The award is managed by Premier Sports Management.
To see the full list and read more about each of the 10 finalists, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.
2019 Senior CLASS Award Finalists
- Chase Berger, Penn State
- Mason Bergh, Colorado College
- Erik Brown, RIT
- Kyle Haak, Air Force
- Tanner Jago, Bentley
- Sasha Larocque, Ohio State
- Chase Priskie, Quinnipiac
- Jimmy Schuldt, St. Cloud State
- Josh Teves, Princeton
- Max Veronneau, Princeton
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