COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – With the calendar turned to December, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) announced its Players of the Month for November on Wednesday, with three teams represented:

• Player – Aidan Thompson, Denver, Jr., forward
• Goaltender – Kaidan Mbereko, Colorado College, Jr.
• Rookie – Sacha Boisvert, North Dakota, forward

These are the first career NCHC monthly honors for Thompson and Boisvert, while Mbereko gloves his sixth career NCHC Goalie of the Month award, but first this season. Denver takes home its second straight NCHC Player of the Month honor after Jack Devine won it for October.
 
All three NCHC monthly honorees – Thompson, Mbereko and Boisvert – are now eligible for Hockey Commissioners’ Association (HCA) November National Player, Goaltender and Rookie of the Month, respectively. HCA national monthly honors are scheduled to be announced on Thursday, Dec. 5.
 
PLAYER OF THE MONTH
Aidan Thompson, Denver
Junior Forward
Fort Collins, Colo.
 
Thompson has been on a tear to start the season and continued that into November, tallying at least a point in all eight games he played last month and scoring a goal in five of them. The Chicago Blackhawks draft pick led the NCHC with 11 points in November, while his 1.38 points per game also led the conference. Thompson scored six goals to tie for the NCHC lead in November, while dishing out five assists, which was sixth in the NCHC during the month. He’s currently riding a career-long 14-game point streak to start the season, which is Denver’s longest point streak since Bobby Brink had a 14-game run from Dec. 31, 2021-Feb. 19, 2022.
 
Thompson recorded four points (2g/2a) in a sweep at Yale to open November, including two goals and an assist in a 5-1 win in the series finale on Nov. 2. The DU assistant captain was named NCHC Forward of the Week for his efforts, including the game-winning goal and a career-high 11 shots on goal on Nov. 2. In a sweep of Lindenwood on Nov. 8-9, Thompson tallied a goal and an assist. A weekend later, he came up big in a sweep at then-No. 9 North Dakota with a goal each night and three points in the series, including two in a 5-2 win on Nov. 15. Thompson then closed out November with an assist and a goal against Arizona State on Nov. 22-23, respectively.
 
Thompson, who helped DU to a 6-2 record last month, finished the month with 45 shots on goal, tying for the NCHC lead in November. He posted a +2 plus/minus with three power play goals and one game-winning goal last month. On the season, Thompson sits second in the NCHC and NCAA with 22 points (10g/12a) in 14 games this year, while his 10 goals trail only teammate Sam Harris’ 11 in the NCHC and tie for third nationally.
 
GOALTENDER OF THE MONTH
Kaidan Mbereko, Colorado College
Junior Goaltender
Aspen, Colo.
 
Mbereko logged a heavy workload in November, starting all eight Colorado College games, while backstopping the Tigers to a 5-2-1 record. He was one of only two goalies in the NCHC to play in eight games last month, while he led the conference with 224 saves, 45 more than any other NCHC netminder. Mbereko averaged 28.00 saves per game, which was third in the NCHC during the month, while ranking in the top four in the conference with both a .941 save percentage and a 1.71 goals-against average in November.
 
Mbereko made at least 25 saves in seven of his eight starts and stopped 27 or more shots in six of his eight outings. The undrafted free agent compiled 52 saves in a sweep of rival Air Force to open November, while allowing only three goals to earn NCHC Goaltender of the Week honors. Mbereko made a season-high 41 saves in a 3-1 win over Arizona State on Nov. 9, before stopping 36 shots in a 3-2 overtime loss at then-No. 13 Western Michigan the following Friday. He finished the series at WMU with 27 saves in a 1-1 overtime tie on Nov. 16, while making four more stops to help CC win the shootout. Mbereko then closed his month with a 27-save shutout on Nov. 23 against then-No. 11 St. Cloud State, with every save needed in a 1-0 overtime win.
 
Mbereko’s five wins in November tied for the NCHC lead, while he was one of only five NCHC goalies to log a shutout last month. The junior has started all 12 CC games this season, posting a 9-2-1 record with two shutouts, tying for the NCHC lead. Mbereko carries a .940 save percentage, which ranks third in the NCHC and seventh nationally, and a 1.56 GAA, which is second in the NCHC and fifth in the NCAA, into December.
 
ROOKIE OF THE MONTH
Sacha Boisvert, North Dakota
Freshman Forward
Trois-Rivières, Quebec
 
Boisvert picked up his scoring pace in November, doubling his output from October. The Chicago Blackhawks draft pick totaled eight points this past month, including five goals, in 10 games, after notching only four points in his first month at UND. Boisvert led all NCHC rookies in points (10) and goals (5) in November, with his five goals tied for fourth among all NCHC skaters. He notched a pair of multi-point outings last month and had a point in six games during the month, including three assists.
 
Boisvert opened November by earning NCHC Rookie of the Week after a three-point weekend at then-No. 9 Cornell. He assisted on UND’s lone goal in Friday’s opener, then tallied a goal and an assist in the finale on Nov. 2. Boisvert started a four-game goal-scoring streak on Nov. 16 against Denver that continued through a sweep of Robert Morris and was punctuated on Nov. 29 at Bemidji State. Three of the four goals either tied the game or put North Dakota in front. Boisvert compiled three points in the sweep of the Colonials on Nov. 22-23, which earned him his second Rookie of the Week honor. In the series with RMU, the Canadian assisted on the overtime game-winner Friday and scored his first career game-winning goal on Saturday in a 1-0 victory.
 
Boisvert ended the month with a +1 plus/minus and fired 29 shots on goal, which led all rookies and was sixth in the NCHC during November. He also blocked three shots during the month. On the season, Boisvert is tied for the team lead with 12 points (6g/6a) and has a team-best six goals in 15 games.
 
OTHER NOMINEES:
 
Player of the Month
Jake Livanavage, North Dakota, So., D
Anthony Menghini, Minnesota Duluth, So., F
Sam Stange, Omaha, Gr., F
Tim Washe, Western Michigan, Gr., F
 
Goaltender of the Month
Matt Davis, Denver, Sr.
Simon Latkoczy, Omaha, Jr.
Cameron Rowe, Western Michigan, Gr.
Hampton Slukynsky, Western Michigan, Fr.
 
Rookie of the Month
Austin Burnevik, St. Cloud State, forward
James Reeder, Denver, forward
Jayson Shaugabay, Minnesota Duluth, forward
Hampton Slukynsky, Western Michigan, goaltender