UND Athletics
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – After winning the program’s sixth Penrose Cup as the conference’s regular season champions, North Dakota placed six student-athletes on the NCHC’s all-league teams as announced by the conference on Wednesday afternoon.
Jackson Blake headlined the group for UND, earning a unanimous selection to the All-NCHC First Team after a record-breaking sophomore campaign. Blake set the NCHC single-season scoring record with 37 points in conference play, breaking the previous mark of 35 held by UND’s Brock Boeser (2015-16) and Denver’s Bobby Brink (2021-22). He had nine more points than any other forward in NCHC play. The Carolina Hurricanes draft pick led the NCHC with 26 assists in 24 NCHC games, while potting 11 goals, which tied for seventh, including three game-winners. Overall, Blake leads all NCHC players with 52 points, scoring 19 goals and adding 33 assists in 36 games. His 52 points tie for third nationally.
Senior goaltender Ludvig Persson earned a spot on the All-NCHC Second Team between the pipes in his first season at North Dakota, starting 23 of the team’s 24 NCHC games and posting a 14-8-1 record. Persson paced the NCHC in both wins (14) and shutouts (3) during league action, while also ranking second in the nation with five total clean sheets. His 2.73 GAA was third in conference play, while he posted an .898 save percentage. Overall, Persson is 21-10-2 in 33 starts this year, with the 21 wins tops in the NCHC. He carries a .906 save percentage on the season, tying for fourth in the NCHC, while his 2.47 GAA is third.
Four other Fighting Hawks were named to the All-NCHC Honorable Mention squad, with forwards Cameron Berg and Riese Gaber joining defensemen Jake Livanavage and Garrett Pyke with honors.
Voting was conducted by the eight head coaches at each institution and eight media members, one covering each member school. Coaches and media voted for six forwards, four defensemen and two goaltenders, awarding first-team votes for six players (three forwards, two defensemen and one goaltender) and second-team votes for the other six selections. Three points were awarded for a first-team vote while one point was awarded for a second-team vote, with the most points at each position earning the honors. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own players, making 15 first-place votes the maximum a player can receive.
The NCHC will announce its individual award finalists on Thursday. Individual award winners will be revealed at the NCHC Awards Celebration in Saint Paul, Minn. on Thursday, March 21 on the eve of the 2024 NCHC Frozen Faceoff.
2023-24 First-Team All-NCHC
F: *Jackson Blake, So., North Dakota – 45 points (15 first-team votes) – unanimous
F: Noah Laba, So., Colorado College – 39 (12)
F: Jack Devine, Jr., Denver – 38 (12)
D: Zeev Buium, Fr., Denver – 45 (15) – unanimous
D: Dylan Anhorn, 5th, St. Cloud State – 35 (10)
G: *Kaidan Mbereko, So., Colorado College – 45 (15) – unanimous
2023-24 Second-Team All-NCHC
F: ^Massimo Rizzo, Jr., Denver – 21 (4)
F: Luke Grainger, Sr., Western Michigan – 15 (3)
F: Ben Steeves, So., Minnesota Duluth – 13 (2)
D: Shai Buium, Jr., Denver – 17 (3)
D: *Jack Peart, Jr., St. Cloud State – 7 (2)
G: %Ludvig Persson, Sr., North Dakota – 8 (1)
2023-24 Honorable Mention All-NCHC
F: Cameron Berg, Jr., North Dakota – 11
F: Sam Colangelo, Sr., Western Michigan – 3
F: *Riese Gaber, Sr., North Dakota – 3
D: Sean Behrens, Jr., Denver – 7
D: Jake Livanavage, Fr., North Dakota – 5 (1)
D: Garrett Pyke, 5th, North Dakota – 5 (1)
G: Simon Latkoczy, So., Omaha – 4
^ 2022-23 First-Team All-NCHC
* 2022-23 Second-Team All-NCHC
% 2020-21 Second-Team All-NCHC
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