For their outstanding performances throughout the postseason, three WCHA players have swept the Hockey Commissioners Association national player of the month awards for March.
Ohio State’s Sophie Jaques has earned national player of the month honors, while Minnesota Duluth’s Emma Soderberg is goaltender of the month, and Minnesota’s Ella Huber has been named national rookie of the month.
Through Ohio State’s five games played in March, Jaques registered five points by three goals and two assists. Leading the Buckeyes to their first national championship title in program history, Jaques skated to a plus-6 rating on the ice while the squad went 5-0 in March.
As a blueliner, Jaques tallied nine blocked shots and 29 shots on goal and had a two-goal performance in the WCHA championship after scoring the game-tying and overtime game-winning goal, where her efforts led to her being named the WCHA Final Faceoff’s most outstanding player. She also found two points on the power play, coming off of five power-play shots on goal, and had a two-point performance in the NCAA quarterfinals against then-No. 7 Quinnipiac to earn a bid to the Frozen Four.
After starting four of Minnesota Duluth’s five games in the month of March, Soderberg posted a 1.08 goals-against average and .967 save percentage through 277:38 of action. Recording 146 saves with just five goals against, Soderberg went 3-1-0 through her four starts while two of the five goals allowed were power-play tallies.
Behind a career-high of 46 saves in the Frozen Four semifinal game against then-No. 3 Northeastern, Soderberg’s performance in the double-overtime win led the Bulldogs to their first national championship appearance since 2010. Soderberg also earned a shutout, her sixth of the season, in the first-round game against Harvard behind 27 saves.
Huber and her Minnesota squad played in the three games in the month of March, where she scored one goal. Her 11 shots on goal led all WCHA freshmen, while she added three blocked shots in three games played. Skating to a plus-1 rating on the ice, Huber scored Minnesota’s second goal in the WCHA championship, while she went on to tally three shots on goal in the NCAA quarterfinal against then-No. 8 Minnesota Duluth.
