Northeastern’s Aston-Reese, Wisconsin’s Frederic garner monthly HCA awards

Zach Aston-Reese (NU - 12) - The visiting University of Vermont Catamounts defeated the Northeastern University Huskies 6-2 on Saturday, October 11, 2014, at Matthews Arena in Boston, Massachusetts. (Melissa Wade)
Zach Aston-Reese helped Northeastern to a 5-3-0 record in February (photo: Melissa Wade).

Northeastern senior forward Zach Aston-Reese has been named the Hockey Commissioners’ Association National Division I Player of the Month for February 2017, while the HCA National Rookie of the Month for February is Wisconsin’s Trent Frederic.

Aston-Reese is the second consecutive Husky to earn the distinction after junior forward Dylan Sikura was so honored in January.

Aston-Reese helped his Huskies to a 5-3-0 record in February, good enough to secure home ice in the opening round of the Hockey East tournament. He led the nation with 17 points in just eight games, racking up points at an NCAA-best 2.12 points per game. He scored seven goals and chipped in with 10 assists in his team’s eight outings, including either scoring or assisting on four of his team’s five game-winning goals. Aston-Reese also had multi-point nights on five occasions, including two three-point nights and two four-point nights, with a hat trick and an assist on senior night at Matthews Arena.

25 Feb 17:  Trent Frederic.  (Wisconsin - 34).  The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers host the University of Wisconsin Badgers in a B1G Conference matchup at Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis, MN (Jim Rosvold/University of Minnesota)
Trent Frederic celebrates a goal for Wisconsin against Minnesota in a game Feb. 17 at Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis (Jim Rosvold/University of Minnesota).

Frederic led the nation’s freshmen in points and tied for the lead in goals during the month of February as he registered eight goals and six assists for 14 points. He registered a point in all eight games in the month, tallying five multi-point contests. His eight goals on the month were also tied for second in the nation among all players.

For the season, Frederic is second among all Big Ten players with 1.33 points per game in all contests and tied for second with 11 goals in conference play. He also shares the national lead with five shorthanded points this season.