2020-21 Michigan Ice Hockey Awards and Honors
3/11/2021 3:00:00 PM | Ice Hockey
• Six Wolverines Earn CoSIDA Academic All-America Honors (8/6/21)
• Record Number of Wolverines Earn AHCA Academic Honors (7/19/21)
• Six Wolverines Named to CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team (7/8/21)
• Bordeleau, York Named B1G Rookie, Defenseman of Year to Lead U-M Honorees (3/16/21)
Cam York, Thomas Bordeleau, Owen Power, Strauss Mann, Mel Pearson (March 11)
Big Ten Awards Finalists -- Sophomore Cam York was named a finalist for the Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year awards. York leads the league's defensemen in scoring with 18 points on a league-best 15 assists and three assists, and adds a plus-12 rating and 31 blocks. Junior captain Strauss Mann is a finalist Goaltender of the Year, an honor he won last season. A semifinalist for the Mike Richter Award, given to the nation's top tender, Mann is second in the nation in shutouts (four) while owning a 1.95 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage. Thomas Bordeleau and Owen Power are finalists for Freshman of the Year. Bordeleau leads the nation's freshmen in scoring with 29 points (eight goals, 21 assists), while Power leads the nation's freshmen defensemen in scoring. Bordeleau is fifth in the Big Ten in faceoff win percentage and is third in the league in plus/minus at plus-19. Power is third in the Big Ten in points with 16 (three goals, 13 assists), is a plus-19 and adds 38 blocks. Head coach Mel Pearson is a finalist for Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season as the Wolverines have been ranked in the top 10 since Nov. 23. They rank sixth in the nation in scoring defense, ninth in scoring offense and have plus-37 goal differential.
Matty Beniers (March 10)
Big Ten Third Star of the Week -- Freshman Matty Beniers was named the Big Ten Third Star of the Week for the second straight week. Beniers had his first career four-point game in a 5-2 win at No. 3 Minnesota on Friday (March 5). He scored one goal and tallied three assists, including the primary assist on the game-winning goal. He finished the weekend with a +4 and three blocks. » Big Ten Release
Matty Beniers (March 2)
Big Ten Third Star of the Week -- Freshman forward Matty Beniers was named the Big Ten Third Star of the Week after recording his first collegiate hat trick last Friday (Feb. 26) in No. 7 Michigan's 4-1 win over Arizona State. It was the first three-goal game by a Wolverine this season. Beniers leads the team in goals with nine and has collected 10 assists to rank third on the team in scoring (19 points). » Big Ten Release
Strauss Mann (Feb. 26)
Mike Richter Award Finalist -- For the second consecutive season Strauss Mann is a finalist for the Mike Richter Award, presented to the top goalie in NCAA Division I hockey. He is one of nine finalists for this year's award. Mann is third in the nation in shutouts this season with four, after a 6-0 win at Ohio State last weekend. With 10 career shutouts he is now tied for fourth in Michigan history. He sports a .929 save percentage (13th in the nation) and a 1.94 goals-against average (10th in the nation). If he finished with these numbers it would be the third best save percentage for a Wolverine in a single season and the second best GAA. The winner of this year's Mike Richter Award will be announced in April during the NCAA Frozen Four.
Cam York (Feb. 16)
Big Ten Second Star of the Week -- Cam York was named the Big Ten Second Star of the Week after No. 8 Michigan returned to the ice after a two-week pause and split a series with No. 7 Wisconsin. York led the offense with four points, netting three assists in a 5-1 win on Saturday (Feb. 13) and adding another assist in a 3-2 loss on Sunday (Feb. 14). Anchoring the defense, York was crucial to holding the nation's leading scorer, Cole Caufield, pointless throughout the weekend -- the first Big Ten team to do so in a series this season.
Strauss Mann (Feb. 2)
Mike Richter Award Watch List -- Junior Strauss Mann is one of 33 members named to the Mike Richter Award Watch List, the Hockey Commissioners Association (HCA) announced. The Mike Richter Award is presented annually to the top goalie in NCAA Division I hockey. Mann was among five finalists for the honor last season. This season, he has a .927 save percentage (16th nationally), a 2.00 goals-against average (12th nationally) and is third in the nation in shutouts (three). The 2020 Big Ten Goaltender of the Year, Mann owns nine career shutouts, fifth all-time in program history. The list will be pared down to approximately 15 finalists within the next two weeks with the winner announced during the Frozen Four in April. » AHCA Release
Kent Johnson, Owen Power, Cam York (Feb. 1)
Hobey Baker Award Nominees -- Kent Johnson, Owen Power and Cam York are among the initial nominees for the Hobey Baker Award. Johnson is tied for the team lead in scoring with 18 points (six goals, 12 assists) and had a career-best five points in a 9-0 win over Michigan State (Jan. 8) and a four-point game in his collegiate debut. Power leads Michigan's defensemen in scoring with 12 points (2G, 10A) and is on a three-game point scoring streak with six points in the last three games. York has 10 points (3G, 7A) and a plus-10 on-ice rating. The first round of Hobey Baker fan voting will run through March 7. » Vote Here
Nick Blankenburg (Jan. 19)
Big Ten Stars of the Week -- Nick Blankenburg was named the Big Ten Second Star of the Week after leading conference defensemen in scoring with three points. Blankenburg set up the game-winning goal on Friday night (Jan. 15) against Ohio State and had two helpers in Saturday's (Jan. 16) 5-0 shutout of the Buckeyes. In Michigan's sweep, Blankenburg recorded the best on-ice rating in the league at plus-4. » Big Ten release
Kent Johnson (Jan. 13)
Big Ten Stars of the Week -- Freshman forward Kent Johnson was named the Big Ten First Star of the Week after recording a five-point (one goal, four assists) game on Friday night (Jan. 8) against Michigan State. It marked the first time a Wolverine collected five points in a game since JT Compher on March 18, 2016, vs. Penn State. Johnson's 15 points lead the Wolverines and the Big Ten, and he is averaging 1.25 per game. » Big Ten release
Thomas Bordeleau (Nov. 25)
Big Ten Third Star of the Week -- Freshman forward Thomas Bordeleau was named the Big Ten Third Star of the Week after scoring the overtime game winner on Friday (Nov. 20) at then-No. 14-ranked Wisconsin to keep Michigan undefeated. The goal was the top play on Friday night's SportsCenter. In Thursday night's (Nov. 19) game, Bordeleau had three assists in a 5-2 U-M win. He leads all skaters in the nation in scoring with seven points on two goals and five assists, and has had at least one point in all four Michigan games. Additionally, he has factored into three of Wolverine's game winners, scoring two game-winning goals and assisting on another. » Big Ten Release
Strauss Mann, Kent Johnson (Nov. 17)
Big Ten Stars of the Week -- Junior goalie Strauss Mann was named the Big Ten First Star of the Week, while freshman forward Kent Johnson captured Third Star of the Week for their play during the opening week of the season. Mann made 32 saves on 33 shots as Michigan went 2-0 against Arizona State. He collected his seventh career shutout while posting a 0.50 goals-against average and a .970 save percentage. Johnson made his collegiate debut with four assists on Saturday (Nov. 14) and added his first career tally on Sunday (Nov. 15). Through one week, he leads the nation in points per game (2.5). » Big Ten release
Big Ten Preseason Awards and Poll (Nov. 9)
Preseason All-Big Ten -- Michigan junior co-captain and reigning Big Ten Goaltender of the Year Strauss Mann was named to the preseason All-Big Ten first team. With a .939 save percentage and a 1.85 goals-against average last season, Mann was a finalist for the Mike Richter Award, presented to the nation's top goaltender. Mann is joined on the six-man squad by sophomore defenseman Cam York, a finalist for Big Ten Rookie of the Year in 2019-20 after he co-led Michigan rookies in scoring and was fourth overall on the team with 16 points. Fellow sophomore Johnny Beecher was named to the preseason second team after a freshman season that saw him co-lead the Wolverines in scoring with 16 points. Freshman Owen Power was named to the Honorable Mention team. He was the Defenseman of the Year in the United States Hockey League (USHL) last year. Draft eligible in 2021, Power is projected to be one of the top two selections in the 2021 NHL Draft. » Big Ten release
Big Ten Preseason Poll -- In the poll of conference coaches, Michigan was predicted second in the Big Ten in the 2020-21 season. The poll: 1. Minnesota, 2. Michigan, 3. Notre Dame/Ohio State, 5. Wisconsin, 6. Michigan State, 7. Penn State.
