Northeastern junior forward Dylan Sikura has been named the Hockey Commissioners’ Association National Division I Player of the Month for January, while the National Rookie of the Month for January is Boston University’s Clayton Keller.
Sikura helped the Huskies end the first month of 2017 on a five-game unbeaten streak and leading the nation over the month with a total of 15 points. He scored six goals and chipped in with nine assists in his team’s eight outings. He paced the NCAA in multiple offensive categories, including points per game (1.88) and power-play assists (5) and points (8). He also led all of Hockey East with three power-play tallies, two game-winning goals and one hat trick. His three-goal outing came on Jan. 27 at Massachusetts-Lowell when he recorded a natural hat trick, completing the feat with just 16.2 seconds left to lift the Huskies to a 4-3 victory over the River Hawks. He ended the month riding a five-game multi-point streak, helping his team to a 4-0-1 record to close the month.
Sikura has factored in on each of the Huskies’ last five game-winning goals, scoring three and setting up the decisive tally in two other contests. He ended the month riding a five-game point streak, racking up 13 points on five goals and eight assists to propel him into a tie for the NCAA overall scoring lead with 44 points on the season. He currently leads the NCAA in power-play assists (17) and points (25).
The Aurora, Ont., native was named the Warrior Hockey East Player of the Week in consecutive weeks to close the month of January after racking up six points (four goals, two assists) across the final two weekends. On Feb. 2, Sikura was named Warrior Hockey East Player of the Month for his efforts.
Last month, Keller paced all Division I freshmen with two game-winning goals and 39 shots on goal in just eight games, helping his team to a 7-2-0 record and the top ranking in the NCAA. Keller ranked second among all first-year skaters in the NCAA with 11 points, five goals, and six assists, while also making his presence known on special teams units, scoring one power-play marker, adding three assists with the man advantage and also scoring a short-handed tally.
Keller led all Hockey East freshmen in nearly every offensive category during January. His five goals, six assists, 11 points, 0.62 goals per game, 1.38 points per game, four power-play points, and one short-handed goal were all tops in the conference among rookies.
The native of Swansea, Ill., also extended his point streak to 13 games with at least one point in each January contest, including three multi-point outings. He has now recorded at least a point in all but two of the games in which he has appeared for the Terriers, despite missing seven games due to injury and one outing while he was with the U.S. National Junior Team, helping Team USA to a gold medal at the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championship.
