Six NCHA Players Named All-American; Matson Tabbed NCAA Player of the Year
NCAA Division III women’s head coaches recognized the top 24 hockey players in their division by selecting them as CCM Hockey/AHCA All-Americans for 2022-23.
In addition, the ACHA also selected the Laura Hurd Award winner, which is voted on by the nation's Division III head coaches and presented to the best player at the NCAA Women's Division III level. The 2023 winner is Darci Matson of Aurora University. Matson, a Second-Team All-American as a freshman a year ago, becomes the second player to earn the honor in NCHA history, joining Michelle Greeneway (Lake Forest College) back in 2016.
The honorees came from 14 different schools, and 22 of the 24 are from the U.S., with one each from Quebec and Norway. The state of Minnesota, with five players, provided the most All-Americans.
Adrian College led the way with five honorees. Landing First Team All-American honors was goaltender Sophie Goldberg and defenseman Kathryn Truban. The Second Team All-Americans included defenseman Maya Roy and forwards Une Bjelland and Jessica VonRuden. All five Bulldogs were named All-NCHA earlier this season.
The six honorees by the league mark the second-most the NCHA has ever earned (tying last season), with the seven following both the 2013-14 and 2015-16 campaigns setting the standard.
Adrian was followed by Gustavus Adolphus College with three and four schools with a pair. By class, there are two graduates, 14 seniors, five juniors, one sophomore and two freshmen. Five players have been previously recognized.
The CCM/AHCA Hockey All-American Ice Hockey Teams are sponsored by CCM HOCKEY and chosen by members of the American Hockey Coaches Association. CCM is the legendary hockey brand dedicated to the endless pursuit of performance by delivering game-changing, head-to-toe innovative hockey equipment to players worldwide.
The official AHCA release can be found HERE.
In the 2022-23 season, Darci Matson finished with 31 goals and 34 assists for 65 points and surpassed the 100 point plateau in just her second collegiate season. In two seasons, she has compiled 105 points with 54 goals and 51 assists. She is the Division III leader in points, while also leading in points per game with 2.41, assists (34), assists per game (1.26) and is tied as the leader in goals per game (1.15) and is second overall with the 31 goals scored. She was named an AHCA First Team All-American on Thursday as well.
In helping AU to a record of 21-5-1, Matson was the 2022-23 Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) Player of the Year and All-Conference, just one season after earning Freshman of the Year and All-Conference recognition in 2021-22. She also earned AHCA Second Team All-American recognition as a freshman.
Sophie Goldberg was named a Laura Hurd Award Finalist for the NCAA Division III Player of the Year. Goldberg has appeared in 24 games this season for the Bulldogs starting in all of them. She finished the season with a 20-4 record with 11 shutouts. She put together a nation-high .83 goals against average. Goldberg's 11 shutouts ranked second in the country while her save percentage of .955 ranks fourth in the country. She also has the sixth highest winning percentage as a goaltender at .833. She was also named to the Slaats Cup All-Tournament Team and the Slaats Cup MVP.
Kathryn Truban picked up a defensive spot on the All-American First Team. She finished the season with a total of 33 points for Adrian which tied for third on the team. She scored ten goals to go with 23 assists. Truban's 23 assists ranked 14th in NCAA Division III. She scored two power play goals along with three game winners. Truban added 87 shots on the season with a +/- of +31 with ten blocked shots. Truban was also named to the Slaats Cup All-Tournament Team.
On Second Team, Maya Roy picked up a defensive spot for Adrian College. She finished the season with six goals and 21 assists for 27 total points. She recorded 107 shots on the season with a +/- of +33. Three of her goals came on the power play while two were marked as game winners. She also recorded 23 blocked shots on the season ranking second on the team.
Also on Second Team was Une Bjelland in one of the forward positions. Bjelland was second on the team with 46 points on the season with 22 goals and 24 assists. She ranked seventh in the country in points per game, and tied for ninth in goals and assists. She led the team with 166 shots this season with a +/- of +36. She totaled six power play goals, one shorthanded goal, three game winners, an overtime goal and a hat trick. Bjelland was also named to the Slaats Cup All-Tournament Team.
Jessica VonRuden is the final Second Team All-American for the Bulldogs. VonRuden led the team with 48 points on a team-high 28 goals with 20 assists. VonRuden ranked sixth in the country in points per game and fourth in the country in goals. She was second on the team in shots with 144 while leading the team with a +/- of +38. Six of her goals were power play goals, three were shorthanded, five were game winners while recording four hat tricks. All four hat tricks for VonRuden came in four consecutive games.
-Information in this release courtesy of each school's Sports Information Office as well as the ACHA official release.