Berry, 3 UND players honored by NCHC

The University of North Dakota hockey program was once again well represented at the 2022 NCHC Awards on Thursday night, as announced by the league office at the Science Musuem of Minnesota.

Headlined by four winners of major awards, North Dakota once again captured multiple accolades as the team became the first team in league history to win three straight Penrose Cup titles.

Head Coach Brad Berry highlighted the ceremony, taking home his third straight Herb Brooks NCHC Coach of the Year Award. Berry, currently in his seventh year at the helm of the North Dakota hockey program, currently boasts the fourth-best winning percentage in program history and is now a four-time winner of the award. Navigating the most newcomers on a North Dakota roster since 1973, Berry helped the Fighting Hawks finish in a tie for first and capture an unprecedented third straight regular season title.

Graduate transfer forward Connor Ford was named the league’s top defensive forward, marking the second straight year a UND player has taken home that honor. He appeared in 23 of the team’s 24 conference games, finishing second on the team with 20 points during those contests. The graduate student led the team and finished tied for fourth in the NCHC with 17 assists, closing the regular season with five helpers over the final four games. A master in the dot, Ford led the league with 359 wins during league action and paced the nation with 538 overall victories and a 62.6 winning percentage.

Junior defenseman Ethan Frisch earned the NCHC Defensive Defenseman of the Year honor after a standout season along the blueline. The Moorhead, Minn., native logged over 23 minutes per game during conference play, including a stretch of four straight games over 26 minutes during the month of February. The junior logged seven goals and three assists in 21 league games, finishing in a tie for third on the team with those seven tallies. Frisch also paced the Fighting Hawks with 37 blocked shots in NCHC action, including a career-high six in a win over Colorado College. This marks the third straight year that UND has produced the winner of this award.

Senior captain Mark Senden was honored by the league as the NCHC Sportsmanship Award winner, becoming the second player from NoDak to win the award. The Medina, Minn., native has nearly 50 hours of community service over his career, volunteering his time towards multiple Special Olympics outings, food drives, spreading awareness for suicide through TEARS (Together we Educate About the Realities of Suicide), promoting safe driving through the “Vision Zero” campaign and supporting local military families during the holiday season through the “Best Christmas Ever” foundation. On the ice, Senden has appeared in 129 games for the green and white and has only been whistled for 30 minor penalties. The senior sits as one of the nation’s active leaders in plus/minus at +32 and the team is 39-7-1 when he records a point over his career. He has captained his junior team, Fargo, to a USHL title and his high school program, Wayzata, to a Class AA title in Minnesota before helping the Fighting Hawks become the first team in NCHC history to win three straight Penrose Cups.

(UND Athletics)