Adrian College’s Spodniak Named Player of the Year as NCHA Releases All-League Honors and Awards
The Northern Collegiate Hockey Association Men’s Conference announced its 2022-23 season award winners today, including Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Freshman of the Year, the All-Conference Team, and the All-Freshmen Team.
The 2022-23 Player of the Year is Matus Spodniak, a senior forward at Adrian College. The Kosice, Slovakia, native not only paced the conference in scoring but currently leads the NCAA Division III level in total points (28G/27A-55 points), points-per-game (1.96), and goals (28), while also sitting tied for third in assists (27) and tied for ninth in game-winning goals (4).
“Matus has had a career year - absolutely one of the best I’ve seen during my time as a coach,” Adrian College head coach Adam Krug said. “When it comes to his speed, shot, and strength, when any two of those three are on, I’ve never seen anything like it. Matus has the ability to take over a game at any moment. And there have been many. He has a knack for scoring in bunches and at big moments. It’s been a pleasure to be around him every day, it’s hard not to be a fan sometimes when he’s on the ice.”
Spodniak made his mark in NCHA action, rising to the top of all of the offensive leaderboards. In league play, Spodniak put together an 14-19-33 statline that gave him the top point, goal, and assist numbers league-wide this winter.
“It’s great to see a person like Matus get this recognition,” Krug said. “The growth he’s shown during his time here, too, has been tremendous. He works so hard: on the ice, in the weight room, and in the classroom. He’s undoubtedly one of the best people I’ve ever been around. This past December he graduated with a 3.75 GPA, which is remarkable to me, given that English is his second language. His graduation being posted on social media caused some speculation that his time in college hockey was done and he garnered quite a bit of pro hockey attention, including several ECHL opportunities. To his credit, he stayed, and is pursuing a master’s degree. We are receiving calls daily from ECHL teams and a few AHL organizations have shown interest. I just hope we can keep this run going and I can continue to coach Matus just a little bit longer.”
The league coaches also voted for Freshman of the Year, resulting in MSOE’s Gramm McCormack earning the distinction. The newcomer put together an impressive campaign, finishing 13th in overall points (12G-18A-30 in 27 games), while compiling 18 points (8-10-18) in league play.
The 2022-23 Coach of the Year is Adrian’s Adam Krug, marking three straight seasons he has now earned the distinction and five times in his career. He has led the Bulldogs to another impressive campaign, currently sitting at 22-4-2 overall and ranked No. 3 in the USCHO.com National Top-15 poll this week. The Bulldogs went 13-4-1 in NCHA play to claim the Peters Cup Championship for the ninth straight season (and 15th time in the past 16 years) to extend an amazing streak. Krug claimed career victory No. 200 Feb. 17 and is now 202-44-13 for a winning percentage of .805, giving him the highest winning percentage of any active head coach across all NCAA divisions.
Spodniak is joined on the NCHA All-Conference Team by teammates Sam Ruffin and Chase Spencer. Ruffin is a repeat selection after posting 21 points (6G/15A) in league play and 33 (11-22) overall, good for sixth in the league. Spencer is a first-time honoree, helping lead the defense to a 2.39 goals-against average while also posting 22 points overall (4G/18) on the offensive side of the ice.
Runner-up Aurora University was well-represented after a very successful season, sitting 19-7-2 overall and 13-3-2 in NCHA action while being ranked in the Top 15 nationally for essentially the entire season (currently No. 8). Veterans Adam Keyes and Jack Jaunich were each named to the squad – the third time Keyes receives postseason accolades in his AU career. They are joined by the freshman duo of Jaden Condotta on defense and Kolby Thornton in goal.
Jaunich (15-21-36 overall) and Keyes (13-21-34 overall) led a potent offense, with Keyes finishing second in league play in points (28) and assists (16), while Jaunich was third in points (26) and second in goals (13). Condotta was second in league games in points by defensemen (5-9-14), posting 15 points (6G/9A) in 28 games overall. Thornton was very good as a freshman too, ranking second in the league with an overall .920 save percentage, going 8-2-1 in conference action. In addition, the Spartans also had a pair of members on the NCHA All-Freshmen Team in Condotta and Hassan Akl.
Third-seed St. Norbert had a pair of all-league players in Michael McCheseny on offense and Brendan Mark on defense. McChesney finished fourth in NCHA play in points, accumulating 34 on 11 goals and 14 assists.
Garrett Hallford helped lead Trine to a fourth-place finish and a current record of 18-9-1, resulting in the team being ranked in the USCHO.com national poll for the first time in program history last week. Hallford netted 23 points in league play (11G/12A), part of an overall ledger of 31 points (18-13). Teammate Kyle Kozma added all-freshman status after a successful debut season in goal, posting overall stats which included a 2.17 goals-against average (3rd in NCHA) and .915 save percentage.
Lake Forest College’s Matteas Derraugh rounds out the all-league selections at defense, while Marian University’s Colby Muise caps a season in which he was named Defensive Player of the Week a league-best four times with NCHA All-League accolades. Forester newcomer Colin Bella and Sabre newcomer Noah Pickart were selected to the All-Freshman squad, with MSOE’s Freshman of the Year McCormack rounding out that squad.
2022-23 Men’s NCHA All-Conference Team (alphabetical)
Forward: Garrett Hallford (Sr./ McKinney, Texas), Trine University
*2019 All-Freshman / *2019 Freshman of the Year
Forward: Jack Jaunich (Sr./ White Bear Lake, Minn.), Aurora University
Forward: Adam Keyes (Sr./ London, Ontario), Aurora University
*2021 All-League | *2020 All-League
Forward: Michael McCheseny (Sr./ Dickinson, N.D.), St. Norbert College
Forward: Sam Ruffin (Gr./ Westfield, Ind.), Adrian College
*2022 All-League
Forward: Matus Spodniak (Sr./ Kosice, Slovakia), Adrian College
Defense: Jaden Condotta (Fr./ Georgetown, Ontario), Aurora University
Defense: Matteas Derraugh (So./ Ithaca, N.Y.), Lake Forest College
*2022 All-Freshman
Defense: Brendan Mark (Sr./ Grand Rapids, Minn.), St. Norbert College
Defense: Chase Spencer (Jr./ Georgetown, Ontario), Adrian College
Goalie: Colby Muise (Sr./ Yarmouth, N.S.), Marian University
Goalie: Kolby Thornton (Fr./ Winnipeg, Manitoba), Aurora University
All-Freshman Team
F: Hassan Akl (Chestermere, Alberta), Aurora University
F: Colin Bella (Norwalk, Conn.), Lake Forest College
F: Gramm McCormack (Grand Rapids, Mich.), MSOE
D: Jaden Condotta (Georgetown, Ontario), Aurora University
D: Noah Pickart (Fond du Lac, Wis.), Marian University
G: Kyle Kozma (Vaughan, Ontario), Trine University
NCHA Player of the Year: Matus Spodniak, Adrian College
NCHA Freshman of the Year: Gramm McCormack, MSOE
NCHA Coach of the Year: Adam Krug, Adrian College