NCHC Players of the Month Archive

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – With the 2021-22 season complete, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) announced its final monthly awards of the campaign on Tuesday, as national champion Denver garnered two honors for March/April and Minnesota Duluth captured the third. Denver sophomore defenseman Mike Benning earned NCHC Player of the Month for March/April, while his teammate, forward Carter Mazur, was selected NCHC Rookie of the Month. Minnesota Duluth junior netminder Ryan Fanti gloved Goaltender of the Month for the final month and a half of the season.

Mazur took home NCHC Rookie of the Month for the third time this season (November/December), while Fanti earned his honor for the second time (November). This is Benning’s first career NCHC monthly award, though he’s the second blue liner to claim NCHC Player of the Month this year (St. Cloud State’s Nick Perbix in January).

Player of the Month

Mike Benning, Denver
Sophomore Defenseman
St. Albert, Alta.

Benning led all NCHC skaters in scoring in March and April, totaling 11 points and doling out an NCHC-best nine assists over the final month and a half of the season. The Florida Panthers draft pick also scored two goals, including the game-winner in the National Championship game, to help lead Denver to the 2022 NCAA title, while being named Most Outstanding Player at the Frozen Four. The Second-Team All-NCHC selection had a point in seven of his final nine games this year, including four multi-point games, all coming in the NCHC Quarterfinals and the Frozen Four. Benning was +9 in March and April, leading all NCHC skaters in plus/minus during those months. He also blocked nine shots, including seven in the NCAA Tournament.

Benning opened March with an assist in each victory over rival Colorado College to close the regular season March 4-5, as he helped DU clinch its first Penrose Cup since 2017. The following weekend he chipped in four points to lead the Pioneers to a sweep of Miami in the NCHC Quarterfinals, including a goal and an assist in the series-clincher on March 12.

Benning then compiled five points during Denver’s NCAA Tournament run, including the primary assist on DU’s second goal in a 3-2 win over UMass Lowell on March 24 to open the tournament. He dished out two more assists in DU’s 3-2 Frozen Four win over Michigan last Thursday in Boston, with the first a primary helper on the Pioneers second goal and the other on the overtime game-winner. Benning capped his season with two more points in the National Championship. He set up DU’s first goal to tie the game with a blast that caused a rebound, before scoring the game-winner in the third period to break a 1-1 tie with a rocket as Denver went on to top Minnesota State, 5-1, on Saturday, April 9. Benning earned Frozen Four All-Tournament Team honors along with Most Outstanding Player accolades.

Benning finished the season second nationally among defensemen with 38 points in 41 games, while his 15 goals were also second among NCAA blue liners. He chipped in 23 assists and was +32 on the season, tying for fourth nationally.

Benning is now eligible for Hockey Commissioners’ Association (HCA) National Player of the Month, which will be announced on Thursday.

Goaltender of the Month

Ryan Fanti, Minnesota Duluth
Junior Goaltender
Thunder Bay, Ont.

Fanti was nearly unbeatable in March, posting a 6-2-0 record with an NCHC-best .951 save percentage during his final month of the season. Now a member of the Edmonton Oilers organization after signing as a free agent, he posted a 1.36 goals-against average, which was second in the NCHC in March and April. Fanti racked up 215 saves in eight starts to average 26.88 saves per game, both tops in the conference during the final month of the season. He topped the 30-save mark three times in March and logged three straight shutouts to lead UMD to the Frozen Faceoff championship.

Fanti opened March combining for 45 saves in a split with St. Cloud State to wrap up the regular season, allowing two goals each night. He then faced the Huskies again the following weekend in St. Cloud in the NCHC Quarterfinals and backstopped UMD to a road sweep, including 38 saves in an overtime victory March 12, his second-most stops of the season.

Fanti really heated up at the NCHC Frozen Faceoff, blanking both Denver and Western Michigan on back-to-back nights March 18-19 to earn Frozen Faceoff Most Outstanding Player honors. The NCHC Goaltender of the Year made 30 saves in the semifinal shutout of DU, the nation’s top-scoring team, before turning aside all 25 shots he faced from the Broncos in the Championship Game.

Fanti continued his shutout streak in the NCAA Tournament, compiling 28 saves to whitewash Michigan Tech in the West Region semifinals on March 24. His shutout streak was finally snapped at 224:41, which is the third-longest in NCHC history, in a 2-1 regional final loss to eventual national champion Denver. Fanti stopped 32 shots in his final game as a Bulldog and was named to the NCAA All-West Region Team.

Fanti finished the season with a 20-11-4 record and a .929 save percentage, which was tops in the NCHC and eighth nationally. He also compiled a 1.83 GAA, which ranked fifth in the NCAA, and racked up seven shutouts, tying for fourth in the country this year and second in NCHC single-season history.

Fanti is now eligible for Hockey Commissioners’ Association (HCA) National Goaltender of the Month, which will be announced on Thursday.

ROOKIE OF THE MONTH

Carter Mazur, Denver
Freshman Forward
Jackson, Mich.

Mazur led all NCHC rookies in March and April with seven points in nine games, helping Denver win both the Penrose Cup as NCHC regular-season champions and the NCAA National Championship. The Detroit Red Wings prospect scored two goals in March and added five assists over the final month and a half of the season. The NCHC Rookie of the Year had points in five of his final nine games, with a pair of multi-point outings. Mazur was +5 in March and April and fired 23 shots on goal to wrap up the season.

Mazur opened March with a goal in a shutout win over rival Colorado College on March 4. He then chipped in three points in a sweep of Miami in the NCHC Quarterfinals with an assist each night and a goal in the series-clincher on March 12. Perhaps his biggest play of the month was his primary assist on the game-winning goal to beat UMass Lowell, 3-2, late in the third period of DU’s NCAA Tournament opener on March 24.

Mazur, a member of the NCHC and College Hockey News All-Rookie Teams, then dished out a pair of primary assists in the National Championship Game against Minnesota State on April 9. His first helper set up a one-timer to make it a 3-1 game in the third period, while he sealed the national title with an assist on DU’s final goal, an empty-netter, to make it a 5-1 game.

Mazur finishes his first collegiate season second nationally among freshmen with 38 points in 41 games, scoring 14 goals and adding 24 assists. His 14 tallies were fifth in the NCAA among freshmen and tops among NCHC rookies.

Mazur is now eligible for Hockey Commissioners’ Association (HCA) National Rookie of the Month, which will be announced on Thursday.

OTHER NOMINEES:

Player of the Month
Koby Bender, Sr., F, UMD

Goaltender of the Month
Magnus Chrona, Jr., Denver

Rookie of the Month
None

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