UND has three players on the All-College Hockey News Team.
Sophomore forward Shane Pinto and senior defenseman Matt Kiersted make the first team, while senior forward Jordan Kawaguchi is on the second team.
The three helped UND to a 22-6-1 season, and the NCHC regular season and tournament titles.
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Three University of North Dakota players found spots on the All-College Hockey News Teams announced today by the site. Sophomore forward Shane Pinto and senior defenseman Matt Kiersted were on the first team with senior forward Jordan Kawaguchi making the second team.
The trio helped North Dakota to a 22-6-1 season, a National Collegiate Hockey Conference regular season title for the second season in a row and a league tournament title. UND earned the top seed in the NCAA Tournament, downing AIC, 5-1, before a historic five-overtime 3-2 loss in the Midwest Regional Final to Minnesota Duluth.
Pinto is a Hobey Baker Award finalist after a sophomore season that saw him pick up NCHC Player of the Year, Forward of the Year and Defensive Forward of the Year accolades. In two short seasons, Pinto has scored 31 goals and added 29 assists for 60 points in 61 games played. His 15 goals as a sophomore paced the conference and ranked seventh in the NCAA. He recorded a dozen multi-point games this season, including assisting on both extra attacker goals late in the Midwest Regional final, to send the game to extra sessions.
Kiersted was also one of four All-NCHC First Teamers for North Dakota. His senior season was a 22-point year with three goals and 19 assists, the latter tied for second-most in the country among defensemen. His 52 blocked shots were second most in the NCHC and in the top 10 nationally. He finishes his UND career with 77 points on 20 goals and 57 assists. His .619 faceoff win percentage also led the league and was in the top five nationally.
Kawaguchi is on the All-CHN team for the second straight year after a Hobey Baker Hat Trick finalist junior season in 2019-20. This year, the Abbotsford, B.C., native led the Fighting Hawks in scoring for the third consecutive year, the first UND player to do that since Greg Johnson did so from 1991-93. He recorded ten goals and 26 assists this season, fourth-most points in all of NCAA D1. He had a flair for the dramatic, scoring a school-record five overtime goals, including two this season. He posted nine points in five playoff games for North Dakota this year.
All-CHN First Team
F Cole Caufield, So., Wisconsin
F Shane Pinto, So., North Dakota
F Matt Boldy, So., Boston College
D Matt Kiersted, Sr., North Dakota
D David Farrance, Sr., Boston University
G Jack LaFontaine, Sr., Minnesota
All-CHN Second Team
F Sampo Ranta, Jr., Minnesota
F Jordan Kawaguchi, Sr., North Dakota
F Odeen Tufto, Sr., Quinnipiac
F Brandon Kruse, Sr., Bowling Green
D Drew Helleson, So., Boston College
D Marc Del Gaizo, Jr., Massachusetts
G Dryden McKay, Jr., Minnesota State
All-CHN Rookie Team
F Thomas Bordeleau, Michigan
F Matty Beniers, Michigan
F Veeti Miettinen, St. Cloud State
D Owen Power, Michigan
D Jake Livingstone, Minnesota State
G Ludvig Persson, Miami
(CHN release)
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