GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- Senior captain
Mark Senden has been named one of the six finalists for the 2022 Derek Hines Unsung Hero Award, as announced by the Hockey Commissioners Association (HCA) earlier this week.
The award was established by the HCA in honor of former Army player Derek Hines, who was a "consummate team player and team builder." Hines played at Army from 1999-2003 and was a four-year letter-winner as well as a co-captain his senior season. He was killed in the line of duty on Sept. 1, 2005 in Afghanistan.
Senden has been a leader on-and-off the ice for the Fighting Hawks, serving as an assistant captain as a junior before donning the "C" this season. He earned the team's unsung hero award following his sophomore season and most recently was named a finalist for the NCHC Sportsmanship Award, which will be presented next Thursday.
The Medina, Minn., native has nearly 50 hours of community service over his career, volunteering his time towards multiple Special Olympics outings, food drives, spreading awareness for suicide through TEARS (Together we Educate About the Realities of Suicide), promoting safe driving through the "Vision Zero" campaign and supporting local military families during the holiday season through the "Best Christmas Ever" foundation.
On the ice, Senden has appeared in 127 games for the green and white and has only been whistled for 30 minor penalties. The senior sits as one of the nation's active leaders in plus/minus at +31 and the team is 39-7-1 when he records a point over his career. He has captained his junior team, Fargo, to a USHL title and his high school program, Wayzata, to a Class AA title in Minnesota before helping the Fighting Hawks become the first team in NCHC history to win three straight Penrose Cups.
The HCA coordinates the award, with nominations from each of the six Division I men's hockey conferences. The selection committee, made up of the six conference media contacts, Lt. Steve Hines, Derek's father, and Army West Point head coach Brian Riley, votes on the winner "who displays exemplary sportsmanship, is supremely competitive, intelligent and extraordinarily conditioned with an unmatched work ethic."
The award will be presented on Friday, April 8, during the "Friday Night at the Frozen Four" festivities in Boston, MA.
Finalists for the 2022 Derek Hines Unsung Hero Award
Atlantic Hockey
Ethan Roswell, SR D, Bentley
(Paradise Valley, AZ)
Big Ten
Jake Pivonka, SR F, Notre Dame
(Naperville, IL)
CCHA
Wyatt Aamodt, SR D, Minnesota State
(Hermantown, MN)
ECAC Hockey
Linden Marshall, SR G, RPI
(Prince Rupert, BC)
Hockey East
Jordan Seyfert, SR F, Merrimack
(Annville, PA)
NCHC
Mark Senden, SR F, North Dakota
(Medina, MN)
