COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – With the first month of the 2026-27 season in the books, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) announced its October Players of the Month on Wednesday. Three different teams are represented among the NCHC’s first monthly award winners this season with two Broncos, one Bulldog and one Tiger:

• Forward – William Whitelaw, Western Michigan, Sr.
• Defenseman – Ty Hanson, Minnesota Duluth, Jr.
• Goaltender – Jackson Unger, Colorado College, So.
• Rookie – Adam Benák, Western Michigan, forward

These are the first career NCHC monthly awards for Whitelaw, Unger and Benák, while Hanson earned his second career NCHC monthly honor. Hanson was tabbed NCHC Defenseman of the Month last October, as well, to start the 2025-26 campaign.
 
All four honorees are now eligible for Hockey Commissioners Association (HCA) national monthly awards, which are scheduled to be announced on Friday.
 
FORWARD OF THE MONTH
William Whitelaw, Western Michigan
Senior Forward
Rosemount, Minn.
 
Whitelaw started his senior season on fire, racking up 14 points in seven games in October. The 14 points tie for the NCHC lead and are tops among NCHC forwards, while ranking third nationally in October scoring. His 2.00 points per game lead the NCHC and are sixth in the NCAA. The Columbus Blue Jackets prospect scored seven goals and added seven assists last month, with the seven goals tops among NCHC forwards and tied for fifth nationally among all skaters. Whitelaw recorded points in all seven games in October, including four multi-point games.
 
Whitelaw opened the season with three points in a sweep of Ferris State on Oct. 8-9, tallying a goal in both games. After a three-assist weekend in a sweep of Notre Dame, the WMU assistant captain potted the game-tying goal short-handed at No. 1 Michigan on Oct. 23, before WMU fell at the buzzer, 3-2. Whitelaw then capped the month by tying an NCHC record with four goals in a 10-2 win over Long Island on Oct. 29, including the game-winner and his first career hat trick. He also had an assist for a career-high five points, while dishing out two more helpers in the LIU series finale. That seven-point weekend earned him NCHC Forward of the Week honors.
 
Whitelaw posted a +11 plus/minus in October, which was second in the NCHC and tops among NCHC forwards. He fired 33 shots on goal last month, including 10 on Oct. 9 against Ferris State, while helping lead the No. 5 Broncos to a 6-1-0 record in October.
 
DEFENSEMAN OF THE MONTH
Ty Hanson, Minnesota Duluth
Junior Defenseman
Hermantown, Minn.
 
Hanson was a force all over the ice in October, leading the No. 6 Bulldogs to a 6-2-2 record. The UMD co-captain tallied 14 points to tie for the NCHC lead and pace all NCHC and NCAA blueliners in October scoring. His eight goals last month led all NCHC skaters and tied for second nationally, and were three more than any other NCAA defensemen. The eight goals were also the most ever by an NCHC blueliner in a single month. Hanson handed out six assists, as well, while recording a point in nine of 10 October games, including four multi-point games.
 
Hanson was named NCHC Defenseman of the Week three times in October out of five weeks. He earned his first weekly honor of the season after opening weekend when he tallied a goal and four points in a sweep of Long Island on Oct. 2-3. Hanson notched his first multi-goal game of the season in a 7-1 win over rival Minnesota on Oct. 16, landing him his second weekly honor. He scored three goals, including a game-winner, and totaled four points a week later in a sweep of Bemidji State to claim his final weekly honor of the month. Hanson wrapped up October with another game-winning goal and an assist in a split at No. 11 Colorado College.
 
Hanson finished the month averaging 1.40 points per game in October, which was second in the NCHC among defensemen and fourth among all skaters. Of his eight goals, three came on the power play and two were game-winners. Hanson blocked nine shots in October and posted a +9 plus/minus, which was third among NCHC rearguards. He also did not commit a single penalty the entire month of October.
 
GOALTENDER OF THE MONTH
Jackson Unger, Colorado College
Sophomore Goaltender
Calgary, Alberta
 
Unger was rock solid in net for No. 11 Colorado College throughout October, backstopping the Tigers to a 6-2-0 record while starting all eight games. He posted a .953 save percentage last month, which ranked second in the NCHC and third nationally among goalies with at least three games played. Unger compiled a 1.38 goals-against average, which was fifth in the NCHC (second among goalies with at least four games played), while his six wins tied for the NCHC lead. He racked up 224 saves in October, by far the most in the NCHC and sixth nationally, averaging 28 saves per game.
 
Unger started the season in perfect fashion, logging a 32-save shutout of then-No. 10 UMass on Oct. 2, before stopping 22 more shots a night later in a 6-1 win. That earned him NCHC Goalie of the Week honors. Two weeks later, Unger totaled 64 saves and allowed only four goals in a split at then-No. 17 UConn. On Oct. 24, he made a career-high 35 saves to shut out crosstown rival Air Force and secure the Pikes Peak Trophy. Unger then wrapped up October with 47 saves in a split with No. 6 Minnesota Duluth to start NCHC play.
 
Unger posted two shutouts in October, the first time a CC goalie had two shutouts in the first six games of a season since Richard Bachman in 2008. The two whitewashes tie for second in the NCHC and nationally.
 
ROOKIE OF THE MONTH
Adam Benák, Western Michigan
Freshman Forward
Plzen, Czechia
 
Benák started his college career with a bang, compiling 13 points in seven games in October to help No. 5 Western Michigan begin the season 6-1-0. The Minnesota Wild draft pick scored three goals and handed out 10 assists in his first month of college hockey. The 13 points and 10 assists were both tops among all NCAA freshmen in October, with the 10 assists second among all NCHC skaters. Benák averaged 1.86 points per game, which ranked second among all NCHC skaters last month. He recorded four multi-point games in October, most among NCAA rookies, and tallied a point in five of seven games.
 
Benák collected his first four career points with four assists in a 5-1 win over Ferris State on Oct. 9, which earned him NCHC Rookie of the Week honors. He repeated as Rookie of the Week the next weekend when he scored a goal both nights, including his first career goal on Oct. 16, and added an assist in a sweep of Notre Dame. Benák then wrapped up his month with six points (1g/5a) in a dominating sweep of Long Island, notching three points both nights.
 
Benák fired 17 shots on goal in October and was strong in the faceoff circle, going 41-34 on draws. The center also posted a +10 plus/minus last month, which led all NCHC freshmen.
 
OTHER NOMINEES:
 
Forward of the Month
Jack Beck, Arizona State
Matteo Giampa, Miami
Jayson Shaugabay, Minnesota Duluth
 
Defenseman of the Month
Daxon Rudolph, Denver
Joona Väisänen, Western Michigan
Jonas Woo, Arizona State
 
Goaltender of the Month
Carl Axelsson, Minnesota Duluth
Matteo Drobac, Miami
Will Ingemann, St. Thomas
Quentin Miller, Western Michigan
Samuel Urban, Arizona State
 
Rookie of the Month
Carl Axelsson, G, Minnesota Duluth
Matouš Kucharcík, F, Miami
Daxon Rudolph, D, Denver
Jonas Woo, D, Arizona State