Men's Hockey 3/19/2015 7:15:00 PM Jayson Hajdu, UND Athletic Media Relations

Hakstol, three players nab NCHC individual awards

MINNEAPOLIS – University of North Dakota head coach Dave Hakstol and three of his players won National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) individual awards tonight at the league's annual awards banquet in downtown Minneapolis.

Hakstol was named NCHC Coach of the Year, junior Zane McIntyre the NCHC Goaltender of the Year, senior Mark MacMillan the NCHC Defensive Forward of the Year and senior defenseman Nick Mattson the NCHC Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Hakstol received the NCHC's Herb Brooks Coach of the Year Award after leading North Dakota to a 27-7-3 overall record and the Penrose Cup as NCHC regular-season champion. He has now led UND to 20-plus wins in all 11 of his seasons behind the bench of his alma mater and has reached the 25-win plateau for the eighth time.

Hakstol's squad enters the NCHC Frozen Faceoff ranked No. 1 in both national men's hockey polls and No. in the PairWise rankings. His previous conference coach of the year honor came in 2008-09 when he was named WCHA Coach of the Year.

McIntyre, a finalist for the both the Hobey Baker Award and the Mike Richter Award, has appeared in all 37 games for UND this season, going 27-7-3 with a 1.97 goals against average and a school-record-tying .932 save percentage. His 27 wins are tied for the national lead and are tied for the third-most in UND single-season history.

McIntyre, a native of Thief River Falls, Minn., also ranks among the top 10 nationally in appearances, starts (36), minutes played (2195:58), winning percentage (.770), saves (989), goals against average and save percentage.

MacMillan tied for the conference goal-scoring lead with 13 and was named to the All-NCHC First Team despite missing the final two games of the regular season due to injury. A native of Penticton, British Columbia, MacMillan was UND's No. 1 center on the NCHC's top penalty-killing unit (84.2 percent) and he tied for the NCHC lead with two short-handed goals during league play. He also leads UND in faceoff wins (308) and faceoff percentage (.572).

Mattson, a native of Chanhassen, Minn., is a management major with a 3.922 cumulative grade-point average. He is a national finalist for the Senior CLASS Award and was named a CoSIDA Academic All-American in 2013-14. He was also the men's hockey recipient for the 2013-14 NCAA Elite 89 Award, given annually to the player with the best grade-point average at the NCAA Frozen Four.

In 28 games this season, Mattson ranks third among NCHC defensemen in points per game (0.71) and is tied for fifth in points (20).

For more NCHC awards information, visit www.nchchockey.com.

UND will face St. Cloud State on Friday afternoon in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff semifinals at Target Center. The puck drops at 4:08 p.m. Central.

2014-15 NCHC Award Winners:

· Herb Brooks Coach of the Year – Dave Hakstol, North Dakota

· Player of the Year – Joey LaLeggia, Denver

· Rookie of the Year – Danton Heinen, Denver

· Forward of the Year – Trevor Moore, Denver

· Defenseman of the Year – Joey LaLeggia, Denver

· Goaltender of the Year – Zane McIntyre, North Dakota

· Offensive Defenseman of the Year – Joey LaLeggia, Denver

· Defensive Forward of the Year – Mark MacMillan, North Dakota