Players of the Month Archive

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – After starting the 2020 calendar year strong, three players from three different teams earned National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) monthly honors for January, including two for the second time this season. North Dakota junior forward Jordan Kawaguchi garnered NCHC Player of the Month for the first month of the new year and second time this season, while Denver forward Bobby Brink brought in Rookie of the Month for a second time. Minnesota Duluth senior netminder Hunter Shepard gloved NCHC Goaltender of the Month for January.

Kawaguchi won his first career NCHC monthly honor for this past November, while Brink was the first NCHC Rookie of the Month this season (October). This is Shepard’s first monthly honor of the season, but fifth of his career, including fourth Goaltender of the Month. He was a three-time NCHC Goalie of the Month last year and Player of the Month for February of 2018 (prior to Goalie of the Month being awarded).

Player of the Month

Jordan Kawaguchi, North Dakota
Junior Forward
Abbotsford, B.C.
 
Kawaguchi continued his Hobey Baker-worthy campaign in January, leading the conference and ranking second nationally with 14 points in nine games, while leading North Dakota to a 6-2-1 record to start the new year. His 14 points were three more than any other NCHC player during the month, while his six goals tied for the conference lead and his eight assists tied for third in January. Kawaguchi registered a point in eight of nine games in the month, including five multi-point outings.
 
Kawaguchi opened January on a seven-game point streak, including a pair of points both nights in a home sweep of Alabama-Huntsville to start the new year on Jan. 3-4. He scored three goals in the series, including the game-winner in Saturday’s finale. The following weekend the assistant captain handed out an assist each night in a split with Omaha. Kawaguchi then tacked on five points in a tie and win at Miami on Jan. 17-18, including a goal each night. The undrafted free agent tallied two points in the series opener at Minnesota Duluth Jan. 24, before being held pointless for the only time all month in the finale. He capped his month with an assist on the game-winning goal in a 1-0 win over Colorado College.
 
Kawaguchi averaged 1.56 points per game in January to lead the NCHC, while he fired 23 shots on goal in the month. Eight of his points came on the power play, tops in the country, including two goals and six assists. He finished with an even plus/minus and blocked two shots in January, as well. On the season, Kawaguchi leads the NCHC and ranks second nationally with 41 points on 15 goals and 26 assists, including an NCAA-best five game-winning goals and a +19 plus/minus.
 
Kawaguchi is now eligible for Hockey Commissioners’ Association (HCA) National Player of the Month, which will be announced later this week. Other nominees for NCHC January Player of the Month included Western Michigan senior forward Wade Allison and Denver junior defenseman Ian Mitchell.

Goaltender of the Month

Hunter Shepard, Minnesota Duluth
Senior Goaltender
Cohasset, Minn.
 
Shepard sustained his strong senior campaign playing every second in net for Minnesota Duluth in January, backstopping UMD to a 3-3-1 record. He led the NCHC with 209 saves in the month, while ranking second with a .921 save percentage. In seven starts during the month, three of which came against top-five opponents, he compiled a 2.57 goals-against average, which was third in the NCHC. The UMD co-captain also broke the NCAA record for consecutive starts with his 105th straight start on Jan. 25.
 
Shepard compiled 30 or more saves in four of his seven games in January. He opened the month combining for 76 games in a win and tie against Western Michigan, including a career-high-tying 41 saves in the Jan. 11 tie, as he was tabbed NCHC Goaltender of the Week. The following weekend he surrendered only three goals total in two losses at St. Cloud State, while racking up 44 saves. Shepard totaled 50 saves in a split with then-No. 2 North Dakota on Jan. 24-25, breaking the NCAA consecutive starts record, while he made 39 more saves, the fourth-most saves of his career, to close out the month in a 3-2 win at then-No. 4 Denver on Jan. 31.
 
Shepard upped his season save percentage by five points in January, improving from .906 on Dec. 31 to .911 after the Jan. 31 win at Denver. He’s now at a .913 save percentage on the season, which is second in the NCHC, after another win Feb. 1 at DU. Shepard also now carries a 2.31 GAA on the season and is 15-9-2 overall on the year, with two shutouts.
 
Shepard is now eligible for Hockey Commissioners’ Association (HCA) National Goaltender of the Month, which will be announced later this week. Other nominees for NCHC January Goalie of the Month included Denver freshman Magnus Chrona and North Dakota junior Peter Thome.

Rookie of the Month

Bobby Brink, Denver
Freshman Forward
Minnetonka, Minn.
 
Brink built on his breakout freshman season by leading NCHC rookies with both six assists and nine points in January. His 1.12 points per game also led all NCHC newcomers in the month, while he potted three goals for the Pioneers. Brink fired 21 shots on goal in January, tying for the NCHC freshman lead, as did his +5 plus/minus. The Philadelphia Flyers draft pick tallied a point in seven of the eight games in he played in January, including two multi-point outings, while helping Denver to a 5-1-2 record in those games.
 
After missing DU’s first game in January while returning from the World Junior Championship, Brink scored a goal in his first game back from the Czech Republic, a 4-3 win over then-No. 9 UMass on Jan. 4 in the series finale. He then chipped in three assists in a sweep of St. Cloud State the following weekend, including one on the game-winner Jan. 11. After being held pointless for the only time all month Jan. 17 at Omaha, he responded with a hand in both DU goals in a 2-2 tie the next night, scoring the tying goal in the closing seconds of regulation. Brink handed out an assist both nights in a sweep at Miami Jan. 24-25, while finishing January with a highlight-reel goal in a 3-2 loss to then-No. 10 Minnesota Duluth on Jan. 31.
 
Brink tallied five of his points on the power play, the most among NCHC rookies in January, including four assists. He also blocked three shots in the month. On the season, Brink leads all NCHC freshmen with both 13 assists and 23 points in 27 games, and has put 75 shots on goal, tops among NCHC rookies.
 
Brink is now eligible for Hockey Commissioners’ Association (HCA) National Rookie of the Month, which will be announced later this week. Other nominees for NCHC January Rookie of the Month included Miami forward Chase Pletzke and North Dakota forward Shane Pinto.