The NCHA men’s conference has announced the 2021-22 season award winners, including player of the year, coach of the year, freshman of the year, the all-conference team, and the all-freshman team.
The 2021-22 player of the year is Peter Bates, a senior forward at St. Norbert. He not only paced the conference in scoring but currently leads the NCAA Division III level in total points (55), points-per-game (2.04), and goals (27), while also sitting second in assists (28) and game-winning goals (6). In league play, Bates put together an 18-17-35 stat line that gave him the top point and goal numbers league-wide this winter.
“Peter has worked very hard on his game to become a complete 200-foot player,” SNC coach Tim Coghlin said in a statement. “He also led the league in scoring wire to wire. His commitment in the offseason is unmatched by any others in our room.”
This marks the second NCHA Player of the Year honor for Bates in his career, also claiming the award following the 2019-20 campaign (the St. Norbert program did not play last winter). It marks just the third time an NCHA player has earned the top league accolade twice in a career in league history, and the first since Zach Graham (Adrian) did so back in 2012 and 2013. He also earned NCHA Offensive Player of the Week four times this season, the first player with four weekly awards since 2010-11.
“Peter is a man of high character who leads by example daily,” Coghlin said. “We are proud of Peter, and he is very deserving of the honor that comes with the NCHA Player of the Year award.”
The league coaches also voted for freshman of the year, resulting in another Green Knight being honored with Liam Fraser earning the distinction. The newcomer burst onto the scene in a big way, finishing fourth in league play with 29 points (14 goals, 15 assists), while his offensive exploits also sit right behind Bates nationally in both points (45) and goals (22) in overall action.
The 2021-22 coach of the year is Adrian’s Adam Krug, a repeat winner from last season who has now earned the distinction four times in his career. He has led the Bulldogs to an amazing campaign, winning 26 straight contests following a loss in the season opener way back at the end of October.
Adrian has been the No. 1 team in the DCU/USCHO.com national poll since mid-December and has been the unanimous selection each of the past two weeks, as well as six of the last eight polls. Krug led AC to an unblemished 18-0-0 league ledger, earning the Peters Cup for the third consecutive winter. The team sits 26-1-0 overall and led the NCHA in scoring offense (6.89 GPG) and scoring defense (1.96 GPG) by wide margins.
2021-22 NCHA All-Conference Team
F: Peter Bates, St. Norbert, Sr.
F: Peyton Frantti, St. Norbert, Sr.
F: Josh Giacomin, Lake Forest, Sr.
F: Garrett Gintoli, MSOE, Gr.
F: Alessio Luciani, Adrian, Jr.
F: Sam Ruffin, Adrian, Sr.
D: Matt Eller, Adrian, Sr.
D: Kyle Gierman, Lawrence, So.
D: Hunter Payment, Trine, Sr.
D: Brayden Sampson, Aurora, Sr.
G: Josh Boyko, Aurora, Sr.
G: Cameron Gray, Adrian, Sr.
NCHA All-Freshman Team
F: Liam Fraser, St. Norbert
F: Bobby Price, Trine
F: Matt Weber, Aurora
D: Matt Couto, Adrian
D: Matteas Derraugh, Lake Forest
G: Darius Bell, MSOE
