UND Hockey Ranked #4 in Polls

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The University of North Dakota remained ranked No. 4 in both the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine national men’s hockey polls, which were released on Monday afternoon.

The Fighting Hawks are coming off of a sweep of National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) rival Denver, winning 5-1 on Friday and 4-0 on Saturday. That sweep gave UND sole possession of first place in the NCHC heading into next weekend’s series at No. 17 Minnesota Duluth.

Defending national champion Providence remained atop both polls, with Quinnipiac ranked No. 2 and Boston College No. 3 in both.

UND’s series at Minnesota Duluth will be its final action prior to the Christmas break. The Fighting Hawks will return to action Jan. 1-2 when they host Alabama-Huntsville.

USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll

Rk.      School (First place votes)       Record           Pts.         PR

1.         Providence (39)                               11-0-3            986            1

2.         Quinnipiac (10)                                15-0-2            951            3

3.         Boston College                               13-1-1            898            2

4.         North Dakota (1)                       14-2-2           867            4

5.         Omaha                                              12-3-1            771            6

6.         St. Cloud State                                12-4-0            742            7

7.         Harvard                                              6-1-3            669            8

8.         Massachusetts-Lowell                    10-3-4            629            5

9.         Michigan                                            8-2-3            555          12

10.       Cornell                                               8-1-2            514          15

11.       Denver                                               7-5-2            459            9

12.       Boston University                             8-5-3            455          11

13.       St. Lawrence                                      9-4-2            363          13

14.       Bowling Green                                   9-3-5            325          14

15.       Yale                                                    5-4-2            300          10

16.       Penn State                                        10-2-3            276          19

17.       Minnesota Duluth                              7-5-3            252          17

18.       Notre Dame                                       8-4-4            182          20

19.       Merrimack                                          6-4-4            141          16

20.       Minnesota State                                8-6-4              60         NR

Others receiving votes: Michigan Tech 46, Robert Morris 23, Rensselaer 21, Holy Cross 7, Alaska Anchorage 4, Michigan State 4.

USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll

Rk.      School (1^st 1 votes)                   Record           Pts.         PR

1.         Providence (20)                               11-0-3            496            1

2.         Quinnipiac (14)                                15-0-2            486            2

3.         Boston College                               13-1-1            426            3

4.         North Dakota                              14-2-2           418            4

5.         Omaha                                              12-3-1            347            6

6.         St. Cloud State                                12-4-0            343            7

7.         Harvard                                              6-1-3            284            8

8.         Massachusetts-Lowell                    10-3-4            246            5

9.         Michigan                                            8-2-3            210          11

10.       Cornell                                               8-1-2            200          14

11.       Boston University                             8-5-3            148          12

12.       Denver                                               7-5-2            145            9

13.       St. Lawrence                                      9-4-2              94          13

14.       Bowling Green                                   9-3-5              67          15

15.       Yale                                                    5-4-2              59          10

Others receiving votes: Penn State 44, Minnesota Duluth 42, Notre Dame 11, Rensselaer 10, Robert Morris 3.

UND's Johnson receives second straight NCHC honor, third of season

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – University of North Dakota sophomore Cam Johnson has been named National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) for the second consecutive week and for the third time this season, the conference office announced on Monday.

Johnson stopped 40 of 41 shots in North Dakota’s sweep of Denver last weekend, earning his first career home win on Friday and his first collegiate shutout on Saturday. The Troy, Mich., native stopped 22 of 23 shots in Friday’s 5-1 victory and followed that performance with an 18-save shutout in Saturday’s 4-0 win.

Johnson did not allow a goal in the final 98 minutes, 38 seconds of the series and helped UND’s penalty kill go a perfect 10 for 10 on the weekend.

Johnson has now won four straight starts since returning from injury and is 5-0-1 on the season with a NCHC-leading 1.53 goals against average and a .934 save percentage.

The Fighting Hawks close out the first half of the season on Friday and Saturday at 17^th-ranked Minnesota Duluth.

UND's Schmaltz, Boeser named to U.S. preliminary roster for World Juniors

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – University of North Dakota forwards Nick Schmaltz and Brock Boeser were among the 29 players named to the preliminary roster for the 2016 U.S. National Junior Team, announced today by USA Hockey.

The duo will attend training camp Dec. 14-18 at Boston University in Boston followed by an additional camp in Vierumaki, Finland, from Dec. 19-24. The final 23-man roster is expected to be named by Dec. 24. Team USA will compete in the 2016 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship, Dec. 26-Jan. 5, in Helsinki, Finland.

Schmaltz played for Team USA at the 2015 World Junior Championship, appearing in all five games. In 18 games this season for UND, the sophomore from Verona, Wis., has three goals and 21 assists for 24 points and leads the nation with a plus-28 rating. His 21 assists also lead the nation and his 24 points rank fourth in the national scoring race. 

Boeser, a freshman from Burnsville, Minn., leads the nation’s freshmen with 11 goals and ranks second with 19 points. He also possesses significant international experience, having captained Team USA to a bronze medal at the 2014-15 Ivan Hlinka Tournament and leading the team in scoring en route to a silver medal at the same tournament in 2013-14. Boeser also helped Team USA to gold medal at the 2013-14 Five Nations Tournament.

Gophers Murphy Named B1G Freshman of the Week

After a pair of double-double performances this past week, Minnesota forward Jordan Murphy has been recognized by the Big Ten Conference as its Freshman of the Week. It is his first weekly honor, and the second of the season for the Gophers after senior Joey King was named the Co-Player of the Week on Nov. 16.

Murphy began the week with a dominating performance in the win over Clemson, tallying 24 points and 10 rebounds along with two blocks, two steals and an assist against the Tigers. He became the first Gopher freshman since Kris Humphries in 2003-04 to post a double-double, along with scoring the highest point total by a Minnesota freshman since Andre Hollins in 2012.

The San Antonio, Texas native followed that up with another double-double, scoring 19 points and 17 rebounds along with three assists and two steals in the double-overtime loss to South Dakota. In that game, Murphy tipped in the game-tying basket at the end of regulation to force the first extra period.

He finished the week shooting 55.6 percent from the field (15-27), and extended his double-figure scoring streak to three games. Murphy ranks fourth among conference freshman in scoring (10.5 ppg) and third in rebounding (7.5 rpg).

Murphy is the first freshman of the week for the Gophers since Nate Mason earned the honor last season on Dec. 22, and just the third in program history.

The Gophers return to the court Tuesday, hosting South Dakota State at 7 p.m.

NDSU's Teschuk Named Summit League Women's XC Athlete of the Year

ELMHURST, Ill. – North Dakota State's Erin Teschuk was named Summit League Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Year for the second consecutive season. The honor is voted upon by the league's eight head coaches.

Teschuk is the first repeat winner since 2005 and just the third female to claim multiple awards during her career. The junior won her second straight Summit League Championship in October and followed with the league's first NCAA Regional title when she placed first at Lawrence, Kan., last month. Teschuk recorded the league's second-best all-time NCAA Championship finish by placing 26th and earning All-American honors for the first time in her career.

The native of Winnipeg, Manitoba, was also named to the academic all-league squad after collecting Summit League Championship MVP and first team all-league honors to headline the 2015 awards.

2015 SUMMIT LEAGUE WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY AWARDS

Athlete of the Year
Erin Teschuk, North Dakota State

First Team All-League
Erin Teschuk, North Dakota State
Amber Eichkorn, South Dakota
Brittany Brownotter, North Dakota State
Kelsey Barrett, South Dakota
Samantha Anderson, South Dakota State
Rachel King, South Dakota State
Taylor Janssen, North Dakota State

Second Team All-League
Katie Wetzstein, South Dakota
Emily Donnay, South Dakota State
Zoey Johnson, IUPUI
Nicole Schmidt, South Dakota
Kirsten Anderson, South Dakota State
Megan Billington, South Dakota
Halie Mechels, South Dakota State

Championship MVP
Erin Teschuk, North Dakota State

Newcomer of the Championship
Rachel King, South Dakota State

Coach of the Year
Dan Fitzsimmons, South Dakota

Academic All-League
Kelsey Barrett, South Dakota
Amber Eichkorn, South Dakota
Zoey Johnson, IUPUI
Erin Teschuk, North Dakota State
Katie Wetzstein, South Dakota

Timberwolves Karl-Anthony Towns Named Western Conference Rookie of the Month

Minneapolis/St. Paul – The NBA today named Minnesota Timberwolves forward/center Karl-Anthony Towns as its Kia NBA Western Conference Rookie of the Month for November. Towns is the seventh Timberwolves player to win Kia NBA Rookie of the Month honors, joining Andrew Wiggins (November, December 2014, January, February, April 2015), Gorgui Dieng (March 2014), Ricky Rubio (January 2012), Kevin Love (March 2009), Randy Foye (December 2006) and Stephon Marbury (January 1997).

Towns led all rookies in rebounding (9.4 rpg), blocked shots (2.18 bpg), field goal percentage (52.6%) and free throw accuracy (86.7%). He was second among rookies, and first among Western Conference rookies, in scoring with 14.4 ppg. Among all players, Towns ranked 7th in blocks and 13th in rebounding through November.

The first overall selection in the 2015 NBA Draft, the 7-0 Towns registered eight double-doubles, starting with a 14-point/12-rebound effort in the Oct. 28 victory at the L.A. Lakers, making him the first Wolves player to accomplish that feat in his NBA debut. He followed that up by posting season highs of 28 points and 14 rebounds in the Oct. 30 win at Denver, making him the youngest player in NBA history to notch double-doubles in his first two games of his career. Towns had 17 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks in Minnesota’s overtime win at Chicago on Nov. 7, and 17 points, 12 boards and three blocks in a win Nov. 9 at Atlanta. Towns poured in 21 points and added 12 rebounds and a season-high six blocks in an overtime loss at Orlando on Nov. 18, becoming the seventh player in team history to record a 20+ points/10+ rebounds/5+ blocks outing.

NDSU Football Leads League With Five on MVFC All-Newcomer Team

ST. LOUIS - North Dakota State had a league-high five players selected to the Missouri Valley Football Conference All-Newcomer Team on Tuesday, Dec. 1, by a vote of the league's head coaches, sports information directors and media.

Running back Bruce Anderson, kicker Cam Pedersen, wide receiver Darrius Shepherd, quarterback Easton Stick, and safety Robbie Grimsley were five of the 20 freshmen named to the 24-man team.  It's the most newcomers NDSU has had selected to the team in eight years in the league.

Anderson, from Ruskin, Fla., played in all 11 games rushing 66 times for 409 yards and one touchdown while averaging 6.2 yards per carry.  He is averaging 28.9 yards on 10 kickoff returns including three returns totaling 95 yards to help the Bison to a come-from-behind win at Youngstown State.  He had 171 all-purpose yards in that game.

Pedersen, a walk-on from Eau Claire, Wis., leads the Bison in scoring with 68 points.  He made 8 of 11 field goals including a long of 49 yards and has converted 44 of 45 PAT kicks.  Pedersen was the MVFC Special Teams Player of the Week once and his field goal percentage (.727) ranks fourth among FCS freshman kickers this year.

Shepherd, from Blue Springs, Mo., is NDSU's second leading receiver with 31 catches for 461 yards and five touchdowns.  He played in all 11 games with an average of 41.9 yards per game.  Shepherd made a season-high six catches against North Dakota and starred in the comeback win over Northern Iowa with three catches for 61 yards and two TDs.

Stick, from Omaha, Neb., has accounted for 15 touchdowns in his first five starts while going 5-0 and leading the Bison to wins over two Top 25 teams on the road.  He is 57 of 95 passing for 826 yards and 11 touchdowns and is the team's second leading rusher with 423 yards on 62 carries for an average of 6.8 yards.

Grimsley, from Hutchinson, Minn., has played in all 11 games including six starts at safety.  He is NDSU's third leading tackler with 45 stops including 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.0 sack.  Grimsley has one interception, four pass breakups, two quarterback hurries and one forced fumble.

North Dakota State (9-2) won a share of its fifth straight conference championship with a 7-1 league record and earned the No. 3 seed for the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.  The Bison host Montana (8-4) in a second round game at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5.