Five NCHA Players Tabbed All-American; Spodniak is NCAA Player of the Year

NCAA Division III men’s head coaches recognized the top 31 hockey players in their division by selecting them as CCM Hockey/AHCA All-Americans for 2022-23.

In addition, the ACHA also selected the Sid Watson Award winner, which is voted on by the nation's Division III head coaches and presented to the best player at the NCAA Men's Division III level. The 2023 winner is Matus Spodniak of Adrian College. Spodniak, the 2022-23 NCHA Player of the Year, becomes the third player to earn the honor in NCHA history, joining Peter Bates (St. Norbert College) in 2022 and David Jacobsen (St. Norbert) back in 2014.

It is a diverse group coming from 21 schools, 12 states, and three Canadian provinces, as well as four players from outside North America. Four schools lead the way with three selections each. They are Adrian College, Curry College, the College of St. Scholastica and Utica University. There are three graduate students, 12 seniors, 12 juniors, three sophomores and a lone freshman.

The Bulldogs earned three All-Americans including Matus Spodniak and Chase Spencer on First Team, and Sam Ruffin on Second Team. Rounding out the NCHA honorees included Lake Forest College’s Matteas Derraugh on the First Team and Aurora University’s Jack Jaunich, named a Second-Team All-American.

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.

Spodniak played in 30 games this season and led the Bulldogs to a 24-4-2 record on the year along with the NCHA Regular Season Championship and Harris Cup Championship. Spodniak is the country's leading scorer with 56 points on the season on 29 goals and 27 assists. Spodniak netted the game winning goal in overtime against UW-Stevens Point in the NCAA Quarterfinals to send the Bulldogs to Boston for the Frozen Four.
 
Spodniak ranks second in the country in power play goals with 12. Five of his goals are game winning goals with three of them coming in overtime. He's also recorded four hat tricks this season along with 17 blocked shots. Spodniak was named to the NCHA All-Conference Team earlier this season and was also named the NCHA Player of the Year setting him up to win his All-American Award and the Sid Watson Award.
 
Also representing Adrian on First Team All-American is defenseman Chase Spencer. Spencer also played in 30 games this season where he finished with four goals and 19 assists. He totaled 63 shots on the year with a +/- of +23. Three of his four goals came on the power play while also blocking 17 shots this year. Spencer earned one of the defensive spots on the NCHA All-Conference Team.
 
Landing himself on Second Team All-American for the second time in his career and second consecutive season is Sam Ruffin. Ruffin has played in 23 games with his season being cut short due to injury early in the Harris Cup Playoffs. Ruffin still managed to total 33 points on the season as the team's captain on 11 goals and 22 assists. He took 66 shots this season scoring four power play goals, a shorthanded goal, and four game winners. Ruffin was a member of the NCHA All-Conference Team this season and was a 2021-22 All-American.

Matteas Derraugh led the Foresters with 14 assists and a +16 plus/minus rating on the season. The sophomore defenseman also scored six goals and ranked third on the squad in points. In addition, he led all Northern Collegiate Hockey Association defenseman with 15 points on 5 goals and 10 assists during league play.

Derraugh recorded at least one point in 12 of 23 appearances this season and posted a negative plus/minus rating just three times. He is Lake Forest's first All-American since Mark DerManulian in 2020 and the first Forester to earn First Team All-American honors since Jack Lewis in 2017.

AU senior Jack Jaunich was named a Second-Team All-American after he helped lead a potent AU offense, finishing with 36 points on 15 goals and 21 assists on the season. Afew weeks ago he was recognized by the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association as an All-Conference member in his final collegiate season on the ice. Jaunich finishes a tremendous career with 96 points on 39 goals and 57 assists. 15 of his goals in his career came on the power play while six went for game-winning goals.

-Information in this release courtesy of each school's Sports Information Office as well as the ACHA official release.