WCHA All-Conference Teams Announced

The Men’s League of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association is proud to recognize the 24 student-athletes represented on the 2019-20 All-WCHA Teams, along with its 161 All-Academic Team honorees.

“We’ve had another thrilling season in the WCHA and our student-athletes have again shown that the talent and skill level of the WCHA is among the very best in college hockey,” WCHA President and Men’s League Commissioner Bill Robertson said. “With eight schools represented on our All-WCHA teams and all 10 institutions well-represented on the All-Academic Team, today again demonstrates the commitment to academic and athletic excellence that is one of the hallmarks of our league and our member institutions. Congratulations to all of our All-WCHA honorees for their success as students and athletes this season.”

The four teams that advanced to the semifinal round of the 2020 WCHA Playoffs were well-represented with 16 selections to the All-WCHA Teams from Minnesota State (seven), Bemidji State (six), Bowling Green (two) and Michigan Tech (one).

The three All-WCHA First Team forwards are now finalists for the 2019-20 WCHA Offensive Player of the Year, the two All-WCHA First Team defensemen are candidates for the Defensive Player of the Year and the six players on the All-Rookie Team are eligible for Rookie of the Year. Those honors will be announced Tuesday, March 17.

2019-20 All-WCHA First Team

The All-WCHA First Team features a pair of four-time All-WCHA honorees in Minnesota State forward Marc Michaelis and Bowling Green defenseman Alec Rauhauser. Michaelis was a first team All-WCHA selection as sophomore and junior and a WCHA All-Rookie honoree in 2016-17. Rauhauser earned second team honors a season ago, first team honors in 2017-18 and joined Michaelis on the All-Rookie team in 2016-17.

Joining Michaelis at forward on the first team are Bemidji State’s Adam Brady and Alaska’s Steven Jandric. Brady has tallied a career-high 19 goals this season, including 15 in league play, to earn All-WCHA honors for the first time in his career. Jandric finished third in scoring in WCHA play with 30 points on 12 goals and 18 assists. Joining Rauhauser on the first team blueline is Minnesota State’s Connor Mackey. Mackey led the WCHA in plus/minus in league play at +19 and registered 19 points on five goals and 14 assists against WCHA foes.

WCHA goaltending champion Dryden McKay gets the first team nod in net. McKay enters this weekend’s WCHA semifinals as the NCAA leader in wins (30), goals against average (1.31), save percentage (.942) and shutouts (10). He broke his one-year-old WCHA league-play GAA record (1.35) with a 1.17 mark this season.

2019-20 All-WCHA Second Team

Northern Michigan’s Griffin Loughran, Minnesota State’s Parker Tuomie and Lake Superior State’s Max Humitz man the front line on the All-WCHA Second Team. Loughran was the WCHA scoring champion this season as a sophomore, tallying 32 points on 20 goals and 12 assists. Tuomie finished fourth in league-play scoring with 29 points (11g-18a). Humitz ends his career as the WCHA’s No. 2 post-realignment goal-scorer with 64 career tallies.

Bemidji State’s Tommy Muck and Northern Michigan’s Philip Beaulieu patrol the All-WCHA Second Team blueline. Muck has posted a career-high 20 points this season on four goals and 16 assists, with 15 of the points (3g-12a) coming since Jan. 4. Beaulieu earns his third career All-WCHA honor this season after finishing as the No. 3 scorer among defensemen in league play with 20 points (6g-14a).

Bemijdi State’s Zach Driscoll is the second team netminder. The Apple Valley, Minn., native posted a 1.48 GAA in league play, the fourth-best league average in WCHA history.

2019-20 All-WCHA Third Team

Bowling Green’s Connor Ford, Bemidji State’s Owen Sillinger and Northern Michigan’s Darien Craighead make up the All-WCHA Third Team forward line. Ford earned his first All-WCHA nod this season after leading all Falcon forwards in league-play scoring with 34 points on 12 goals and 22 assists. Sillinger, a WCHA All-Rookie selection in 2018-19, finished seventh in league play scoring this season with 27 points (9-18) and currently shares the BSU scoring lead in all games with a career-high 34 points (14g-20a). Craighead ends his NMU career as the No. 8 WCHA post-realignment scorer with 110 career points.

Bemidji State’s Elias Rosén and Minnesota State’s Ian Scheid earn the All-WCHA Third Team nod at defenseman. Rosėn is the lone freshman on the league’s first, second and third teams this season after leading all rookies in league play scoring with 22 points on four goals and 18 assists. Scheid, who is being honored for the fourth time in his career, is tied for second among all active NCAA players with 158 career games played.

Michigan Tech’s Matt Jurusik is the All-WCHA third team goaltender. Jurusik finished third in save percentage in league play this season with a .921 mark and was 12-8-2 in net with one shutout for the Huskies against WCHA foes.

2019-20 WCHA All-Rookie Team

This year’s WCHA All-Rookie Team features three forwards who are among the top-10 nationally in rookie scoring. Minnesota State’s Lucas Sowder leads all WCHA newcomers with 31 points on six goals and 25 assists in 31 games this season. The Trinity, Fla., native also chipped in three game-winning goals to the Maverick cause this season. His MSU teammate, Nathan Smith, joins Sowder at forward with 27 points (9g-18a) in 35 games. Lake Superior State’s Louis Boudon rounds out the forward corps. His 27 points (6g-21a) ties him for eighth nationally with Smith and one other in freshman scoring.

The All-Rookie defenseman corps features Bemidji State’s Elias Rosén and Ferris State Jake Willets. Rosén is currently tied for first nationally in scoring among all freshmen blueliners with 24 points (5g-19a). Willets finished third in WCHA rookie scoring in league play behind Rosén and Boudon with 19 points on three goals and 16 assists.

Northern Michigan’s John Hawthorne gets the call in net for the All-Rookie team. Hawthorne was part of the two-man Wildcat goaltender rotation this season, winning five games (four in league play) for the league’s No. 3 team. He made hi regular season collegiate debut a memorable one, crafting a 2-0 shutout of Michigan State on Oct. 12.

About the 2019-20 All-WCHA Teams

WCHA Men’s League member team head coaches vote for the All-WCHA teams. Points for All-WCHA Teams are awarded on a five-point (First Team), three-point (Second Team) and one-point (Third Team) basis, while the WCHA All-Rookie Team is determined by total votes received. Coaches are not permitted to vote for their own players.

2018-19 All-WCHA Teams
First
Team
Name Pos. Class School Hometown
Marc Michaelis$%@ F Sr. Minnesota
State
Mannheim,
Germany
Adam Brady F Sr. Bemidji State Delhi, Ont.
Steven Jandric=! F Jr. Alaska Prince
George, B.C.
Connor Mackey=! D Jr. Minnesota
State
Tower Lakes,
Ill.
Alec Rauhauser+%@ D Sr. Bowling Green Bismarck,
N.D.
Dryden McKay+^ G So. Minnesota
State
Downers
Grove, Ill.
Second
Team
Name Pos. Class School Hometown
Griffin Loughran F So. Northern
Michigan
West Seneca,
N.Y.
Parker Tuomie+ F Sr. Minnesota
State
Bremerhaven,
Germany
Max Humitz= F Sr. Lake Superior
State
Livonia,
Mich.
Tommy Muck D Sr. Bemidji State Inver Grove
Heights, Minn.
Philip Beaulieu$# D Sr. Northern
Michigan
Duluth, Minn.
Zach Driscoll G Jr. Bemidji State Apple Valley,
Minn.
Third
Team
Name Pos. Class School Hometown
Connor Ford F Jr. Bowling Green Pittsburgh,
Pa.
Owen Sillinger^ F So. Bemidji State Regina, Sask.
Darien Craighead& F Sr. Northern
Michigan
Surrey, B.C.
Elias Rosén D Fr. Bemidji State Mora, Sweden
Ian Scheid=&@ D Sr. Minnesota
State
Coon Rapids,
Minn.
Matt Jurusik G Sr. Michigan Tech La Grange,
Ill.
WCHA
All-Rookie Team
Name Pos. Class School Hometown
Lucas Sowder F Fr. Minnesota
State
Trinity, Fla.
Louis Boudon F Fr. Lake Superior
State
Grenoble,
France
Nathan Smith F Fr. Minnesota
State
Hudson, Fla.
Elias Rosén D Fr. Bemidji State Mora, Sweden
Jake Willets D Fr. Ferris State Erie, Mich.
John Hawthorne G Fr. Northern
Michigan
Chemainus,
B.C.
$ - denotes 2018-19 All-WCHA First Team