Northeastern junior forward Adam Gaudette, who currently leads the NCAA in scoring with 56 points and 29 goals, has been named the Hockey Commissioners’ Association National Division I Player of the Month for February.
It is his second consecutive national player of the month honor.
In addition, St. Cloud State goaltender Dávid Hrenák was selected the HCA National Rookie of the Month.
Gaudette finished the month as the Division I points leader for the second straight month, with 17 points in just eight games in February for an NCAA-best 2.12 points per game. He had 10 goals and seven assists while helping the Huskies to a 6-1-1 record and its first Beanpot championship since 1988.
Gaudette also became Hockey East’s 2017-18 scoring champion, racking up 20 goals and 15 assists for 35 points in league play. He recorded multi-point nights in seven of the eight games he played, including four three-point efforts and a hat trick in the Beanpot title game.
The Vancouver Canucks draftee recorded at least a point in all but one game in which he appeared and finished the month on a seven-game goal streak. He led all Hockey East players in goals (10), points (17), goals per game (1.25), points per game (2.12), and hat tricks (1). He blocked six shots during the month and accrued just four penalty minutes. He also added three power-play goals and six power-play points.
Gaudette, a Braintree, Mass., native, currently leads the Hockey East in nearly every category, including goals (29), points 56), goals per game (0.85), points per game (1.65), power-play assists (16), power-play points (27), game-winning goals (4), and hat tricks (2). His goals, points, points per game, power-play points and hat tricks also lead, or tie for the lead, among all NCAA players to date.
St. Cloud State went undefeated in February, with Hrenák starting five games and posting a 4-0-1 record in net. His .900 win percentage in the month was tops among NCAA freshmen and fourth among all NCAA goalies. His .935 save percentage and 1.58 GAA in February both ranked in the top six in the country among freshmen netminders. Hrenák racked up 115 saves in his five starts with one shutout, allowing more than two goals in a game only once in February.
Hrenák recorded his third shutout of the season Feb. 10, stopping all 30 shots fired at him in a 4-0 win at Miami, which earned him NCHC Rookie of the Week honors. Hrenák played in his second straight series finale on Feb. 17, giving up only two goals while turning aside 20 shots in a 4-2 win at Western Michigan. For only the second time all season, the Slovak started both games of a series to close February. In the opener Feb. 23 against Denver, he gave up only one goal while making 25 saves in a 1-1 tie. The next night, he again stopped 25 shots in a 4-2 victory, which clinched the Penrose Cup for the Huskies as NCHC regular-season champions.
Hrenák garnered his second NCHC Rookie of the Week honor in February for his efforts against the Pioneers.
On the season, Hrenák is now 11-4-2 with a 1.94 GAA, which is second in the NCHC, while his .928 save percentage is tops in the conference.
