Russell Hons

North Dakota claims pair of honors at 2022-23 NCHC Awards Celebration

3/16/2023 6:05:00 PM | By: Alec Stocker Johnson, FightingHawks.com

ST. PAUL, Minn. – A pair of North Dakota student-athletes were honored on Thursday evening at the annual NCHC Awards Celebration from the St. Paul Event Center.

Freshman forward Jackson Blake was named NCHC Rookie of the Year while senior defenseman Ethan Frisch earned NCHC Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year to headline the banquet.

Blake led all NCHC rookies in conference-only scoring with 29 points, tying for second among all players in 24 NCHC games. It's the third-most points by a freshman in conference play in NCHC history. Blake scored 10 goals and added 19 assists, which were second-most in conference play this year and first among freshmen. The Carolina Hurricanes draft pick was a two-time NCHC Rookie of the Month this year and finished the regular season with 40 points (15g/25a) in 35 games. The 40 points rank second among NCHC rookies and fourth among all NCHC players.

The freshman is the third player at North Dakota to win NCHC Rookie of the Year, joining Brock Boeser in 2015-16 and Shane Pinto in 2019-20. Blake has registered 13 multi-point games this season, is only the 14th rookie at North Dakota since 1999-00 to have at least 15 goals in his first season and the sixth freshman with 40-plus points since the turn of the century.

Frisch earned the league's most prestigious academic award, becoming the second UND player to be selected for the honor (Nick Mattson – 2015). The defenseman is a four-time NCHC All-Academic Team, NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete and three-time AHCA All-America Scholar during his career while also contributing nearly 40 hours of community service to multiple local events and charities.

On the ice, the marketing major has appeared in 125 games with 19 goals and 28 assists for 46 points. In those 125 contests, Frisch has only been whistled for 26 penalties and is a plus-23 rating. The Moorhead, Minn., native currently paces the NCHC with 67 blocked shots this season and has 127 blocks over the last two years.

North Dakota hits the ice for the NCHC Frozen Faceoff Semifinal against No. 7 St. Cloud State on Friday night at 7:37 p.m. from the Xcel Energy Center.

For more information on North Dakota hockey, follow on social media @UNDmhockey or visit FightingHawks.com.

ALL-TIME UND NCHC INDIVIDUAL AWARD WINNERS

COACH OF THE YEAR

2014-15 Dave Hakstol

2015-16 Brad Berry

2019-20 Brad Berry

2020-21 Brad Berry

2021-22 Brad Berry

SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

2014-15 Nick Mattson

2022-23 Ethan Frisch

DEFENSIVE DEFENSEMAN OF THE YEAR