Past NCHC Annual Award Winners

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - While the winners won’t be announced until next Thursday night, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) unveiled the finalists for 11 of its individual awards for the 2021-22 season on Thursday. The winners will be revealed at the annual NCHC Awards Celebration, which returns this season after a two-year hiatus, on the eve of the 2022 NCHC Frozen Faceoff on Thursday, March 17 at the Science Museum of Minnesota in Saint Paul.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

• Ronnie Attard, Jr., D, Western Michigan – Attard was named First-Team All-NCHC for the second straight season after tallying 21 points in 24 NCHC games, with his eight goals tying for tops among defensemen. The Philadelphia Flyers prospect became the first NCHC blue liner ever with a pair of hat tricks in one season.
• Bobby Brink, Jr., F, Denver – Brink was a unanimous First-Team All-NCHC pick after tying the NCHC record for points in conference play with 35, 10 more than any other player this season, including 26 assists, which was also tops in the NCHC. Also a Flyers draft pick, Brink leads the NCAA with 53 points this season.
• Ethen Frank, Gr., F, Western Michigan – Frank led the NCHC with 16 goals and four game-winning goals in conference play en route to First-Team All-NCHC honors. The undrafted free agent compiled 23 points in 23 NCHC games and leads the NCAA with 25 goals overall this season.
• Riese Gaber, So., F, North Dakota – Gaber racked up 23 points (9g/14a) in only 19 NCHC games, with his 1.21 points per game third in conference play and his 0.47 goals per game fifth. The undrafted free agent was named First-Team All-NCHC this season and has 35 points in 30 games overall this year.

HERB BROOKS COACH OF THE YEAR

• Brad Berry, North Dakota – The winner of the award the past two seasons, Berry led UND to a third straight Penrose Cup as regular-season co-champions, despite adding 14 new players to the roster this year and being picked third in the NCHC Preseason Poll.
• David Carle, Denver – Carle led Denver to a turnaround season, as the Pioneers won only their second Penrose Cup as regular-season co-champions, after placing fifth a season ago in the NCHC.
• Pat Ferschweiler, Western Michigan – In his first season as bench boss for the Broncos, Ferschweiler led WMU to new heights as Western Michigan tied its best finish in NCHC play placing third and earned its highest national ranking in program history.

SENIOR SCHOLAR-ATHLETE AWARD

• Derek Daschke, D, Miami – Daschke served as captain for the RedHawks this season, leading the team with 27 points, and has 84 points in 131 career games. The supply chain and operations management major is a three-time NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete and carries a 3.54 grade-point average.
• Connor Ford, F, North Dakota – Ford is in his first season at UND where he carries a 3.81 GPA while working on his master’s degree in business administration. The transfer from Bowling Green is second in scoring for the Fighting Hawks this season with 27 points and earned Honorable Mention All-NCHC honors.
• Drew Worrad, F, Western Michigan – Worrad earned Second-Team All-NCHC honors this season after tallying a career-high 40 points, which ties for second in the NCHC, including 25 points in NCHC play. The accountancy major boasts a 3.90 GPA and is a four-time NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

• Carter Mazur, F, Denver – Mazur, a Detroit Red Wings draft pick, was a near unanimous All-NCHC Rookie Team selection after leading all NCHC rookies with 24 points and 10 goals in conference play, while his 32 points overall tie for tops among NCHC freshmen.
• Massimo Rizzo, F, Denver – Rizzo had 32 points overall, tying with Mazur for tops among all NCHC rookies, while his 20 points in conference play were second. The Carolina Hurricanes draft pick earned NCHC All-Rookie Team honors after leading freshmen with 17 assists in NCHC play.
• Max Sasson, F, Western Michigan – Sasson was a two-time Rookie of the Week, tallying 18 points (7g/11a) in 31 games, with 16 of those points and six of those goals coming in 22 conference games, with the 16 points tying for fourth among rookies.

GOALTENDER OF THE YEAR

• Magnus Chrona, Jr., Denver – Chrona collected Honorable Mention All-NCHC honors this season after going 16-6-0 in 22 NCHC games and ranking second with a 2.16 goals-against average, while posting a .907 save percentage. The Tampa Bay Lightning draft pick logged an NCHC-best six shutouts on the season.
• Zach Driscoll, Sr., North Dakota – Driscoll led the NCHC with a .919 save percentage in conference play en route to Second-Team All-NCHC honors. The four-time Goaltender of the Week went 15-4-1 in 20 starts, with his 2.17 GAA third in conference play.
• Ryan Fanti, Jr., Minnesota Duluth – Fanti was named First-Team All-NCHC, leading the NCHC in all games with both a .921 save percentage and a 1.97 GAA, including three shutouts. The Richter Award semifinalist was second in conference-only save percentage at .918, but still tops with a 2.13 GAA in 23 starts.

FORWARD OF THE YEAR

All three finalists for NCHC Forward of the Year are also finalists for NCHC Player of the Year. See Player of the Year bios above for information.

• Bobby Brink, Jr., Denver
• Ethen Frank, Gr., Western Michigan
• Riese Gaber, So., North Dakota

OFFENSIVE DEFENSEMAN OF THE YEAR

• Ronnie Attard, Jr., Western Michigan – A finalist for NCHC Player of the Year, Attard won this award last season. The two-time Defenseman of the Week was named First-Team All-NCHC for the second straight season this year after tallying 21 points in 24 NCHC games, with his eight goals tying for tops among defensemen. The Philadelphia Flyers prospect leads NCHC defensemen in all games with 32 points, which ranks second among all NCAA blue liners.
• Mike Benning, So., Denver – Benning garnered Second-Team All-NCHC honors after tying for second among blue liners with 21 points in 24 NCHC games, with his eight goals tying for first in the league. The Florida Panthers draft pick has 13 goals overall this season, which ranks third nationally among defensemen and first in the NCHC.
• Nick Perbix, Sr., St. Cloud State – Perbix landed on the All-NCHC First Team after racking up 22 points in only 18 NCHC games to lead all blue liners. The U.S. Olympian and Tampa Bay Lightning draft pick has 28 points in 28 games overall this season, including 24 assists, second among NCHC blue liners.

DEFENSIVE DEFENSEMAN OF THE YEAR

• Ethan Frisch, Jr., North Dakota – Frisch helped guide UND to its third-straight Penrose Cup, logging nearly 30 minutes of ice time per game down the stretch as the Fighting Hawks were hit by injuries. He posted a +3 plus/minus in 21 NCHC games, while blocking 37 shots, and blocked 51 shots on the season, eighth in the NCHC.
• Justin Lee, Jr., Denver – Lee helped lead DU to the Penrose Cup, posting a +14 plus/minus in 24 NCHC games, which ranked third among blue liners, while he ranks second among NCHC defensemen with a +21 plus/minus in all games this season. He also blocked 25 shots on the year.
• Jake Sanderson, So., North Dakota – Sanderson was limited to only 10 NCHC games and 21 games overall, posting a +4 plus/minus and blocking 25 shots, missing time due to the Winter Olympics, World Junior Championship and injuries. The Ottawa Senators draft pick earned Second-Team All-NCHC honors this season.

DEFENSIVE FORWARD OF THE YEAR

• Connor Ford, Gr., North Dakota – Ford earned Honorable Mention All-NCHC this season after leading the conference with 537 faceoff wins overall and 359 wins in conference play. His 62.6 win percentage in the center circle led NCHC centers, as well.
• Tanner Laderoute, Sr., Minnesota Duluth – Laderoute played a role in helping UMD only surrender 2.33 goals per game in conference play, second in the NCHC, while he tallied a short-handed goal as part of UMD’s penalty kill that led the conference at 84.9 percent.
• Drew Worrad, Sr., Western Michigan – Worrad collected Second-Team All-NCHC honors, putting up 25 points in NCHC play, but also went 320-265 on faceoffs in conference action, third-best in the NCHC. A Senior Scholar-Athlete Award finalist, as well, Worrad won 54.5 percent of his draws overall this season (433-361).

THREE STARS AWARD

This award is presented to the player who accumulates the most ‘Stars of the Game’ points based on the 3 Stars of the Game chosen in conference games only. The player with the most points, using a 5-3-1 point scale, earns the award. The three players listed below earned the top three ‘Stars of the Game’ point totals in conference play this season.

• Brandon Bussi, Jr., G, Western Michigan
• Magnus Chrona, Jr., G, Denver
• Carter Savoie, So., F, Denver

SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD NOMINEES

• Kevin Fitzgerald, Gr., F, St. Cloud State – Fitzgerald won this award last season and earned Second-Team All-NCHC honors this season. The former walk-on was a Hockey Humanitarian Award nominee this year and committed only nine minor penalties this season and no majors.
• Mark Senden, Sr., F, North Dakota – Senden serves as captain for North Dakota this season after earning UND’s Unsung Hero Award previously. He has never been called for a major penalty in his career and this year helped raise money through an auction for military families that have family members deployed over Christmas.

For most of the awards, finalists were determined based on voting by the conference’s eight head coaches and one media member from each school with the top three vote-getters (plus ties) for each award being named finalists. The Senior Scholar-Athlete Award finalists were voted upon by the conference’s Faculty Athletics Representatives (FARs). Athletic Directors at each NCHC institution had a vote on Herb Brooks Coach of the Year, as well, along with the coaches and media.

The Three Stars Award finalists are based on the highest point totals of ‘Stars of the Game’ points earned during conference games (5 for 1st star, 3 for 2nd star, 1 for 3rd star), while the Sportsmanship Award is selected by conference staff among submitted nominations from member schools.

In addition to these 11 award winners, the NCHC will also announce its Postgraduate Scholarship winner next week and the NCHC Media Excellence Award will also be presented at the NCHC Awards Celebration. The conference recognized its All-Conference Teams Wednesday and its All-Rookie Team on Tuesday, while the NCHC announced its all-academic teams in February.

2021-22 NCHC Individual Award Finalists

Player of the Year
Ronnie Attard, Jr., D, Western Michigan
Bobby Brink, Jr., F, Denver
Ethen Frank, Gr., F, Western Michigan
Riese Gaber, So., F, North Dakota

Herb Brooks Coach of the Year
Brad Berry, North Dakota
David Carle, Denver
Pat Ferschweiler, Western Michigan

Senior Scholar-Athlete Award
Derek Daschke, D, Miami
Connor Ford, F, North Dakota
Drew Worrad, F, Western Michigan

Rookie of the Year
Carter Mazur, F, Denver
Massimo Rizzo, F, Denver
Max Sasson, F, Western Michigan

Goaltender of the Year
Magnus Chrona, Jr., Denver
Zach Driscoll, Sr., North Dakota
Ryan Fanti, Jr., Minnesota Duluth

Forward of the Year
Bobby Brink, Jr., Denver
Ethen Frank, Gr., Western Michigan
Riese Gaber, So., North Dakota

Offensive Defenseman of the Year
Ronnie Attard, Jr., Western Michigan
Mike Benning, So., Denver
Nick Perbix, Sr., St. Cloud State

Defensive Defenseman of the Year
Ethan Frisch, Jr., North Dakota
Justin Lee, Jr., Denver
Jake Sanderson, So., North Dakota

Defensive Forward of the Year
Connor Ford, Gr., North Dakota
Tanner Laderoute, Sr., Minnesota Duluth
Drew Worrad, Sr., Western Michigan

Three Stars Award
Brandon Bussi, Jr., G, Western Michigan
Magnus Chrona, Jr., G, Denver
Carter Savoie, So., F, Denver

Sportsmanship Award Nominees
Kevin Fitzgerald, Gr., F, St. Cloud State
Mark Senden, Sr., F, North Dakota

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