GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Senior forward Ellis Rickwood was named the NCHC Forward of the Month for January, as announced by the league office on Wednesday.
 
Rickwood helped lead third-ranked North Dakota to six wins in eight tries over the month, while racking up a team-best 13 points over those eight contests. He sat second among all league skaters with his 13 points and notched points in six of UND's eight tilts, including a trio of multi-point outings. Overall, Rickwood scored four goals and dished out nine assists in the month, with six of those nine helpers being primary assists.
 
The Brantford, Ontario, native opened the new year with a five-point weekend in a sweep over Mercyhurst, highlighted by matching his career high of four points (1G, 3A) in Saturday's finale. He opened the scoring the following Friday night against Colorado College before doing so again in an eventual 5-0 shutout win over Denver the next weekend. Rickwood closed out his torrid month with a six-point weekend in the sweep over Arizona State in Tempe to earn NCHC Forward of the Week honors. In the series opener against the Sun Devils, he tallied his second four-point night of the month (1G, 3A) before dishing out two more assists in Saturday's comeback win.
 
Rickwood was also dominant in the faceoff dot, finishing the month 88-59 for a 59.9 percent clip to rank fourth among all skaters in the NCHC while also finishing with a plus-5 rating over January.
 
This season, Rickwood sits third on the Fighting Hawks with 24 points in 21 games, with his 18 assists ranking second on the squad and ninth in the NCHC.
 
North Dakota returns to action this weekend with a road series at No. 10 Minnesota Duluth beginning on Friday night at 7:07 p.m. (CT) from AMSOIL Arena.  
 
For more information on North Dakota hockey, follow on social media @UNDmhockey or visit FightingHawks.com.