GRAND FORKS, N.D.(UND Athletics) — Three North Dakota players have been named American Hockey Coaches Association All-America status announced live on NHL Network Friday evening. Sophomore Hobey Baker Award Hat Trick finalist Shane Pinto was a first team honoree while seniors Jordan Kawaguchi and Matt Kiersted were both listed on the west’s second team. All three players have signed and begun their professional careers since the season’s end.
The trio are the first multiple All-America winners in the same season since 2015-16 NCAA national team that saw four UND players earn the honor (Brock Boeser, Drake Caggiula, Cam Johnson, Troy Stecher).
In two short seasons, Pinto scored 31 goals and added 29 assists for 60 points in 61 games played for the Fighting Hawks. His 15 goals this past season as a sophomore paced the conference and ranked seventh in the NCAA. He recorded a dozen multi-point games this season, including assisting on both extra attacker goals late in the Midwest Regional final, to send the game to extra sessions. His .619 faceoff win percentage also led the league and was in the top five nationally. He owns the second and third-best season faceoff win percentages in school history and his 61.2 career win percent is a new school record.
The Franklin Square, N.Y., native made history by picking up the NCHC Player of the Year unanimously (the first to do so) as well as the Forward of the Year and Defensive Forward of the Year, the first to win both of those awards in the same season.
He won the league’s scoring title with 28 points and 15 goals in the regular season. He also paced the conference in power play goals (7), faceoff win percentage (.620), multi-point games (11) and multi-goal games.
Originally drafted at the top of the second round by the Ottawa Senators in 2019, Pinto recently signed with the club to start his professional career and is set to make his debut in the coming days.
Kawaguchi, who was an ACHA All-America First Team member last year and a Hobey Baker Hat Trick Award finalist, led North Dakota in scoring again this season. He becomes the first UND player to earn All-America honors in two seasons since Chay Genoway did so in both 2008-09 and 2010-11 and just the 13th in school history to win all-America in multiple seasons.
The Abbotsford, B.C., product led the Fighting Hawks in scoring for the third consecutive year, the first UND player to do that since Greg Johnson did so from 1991-93. He recorded ten goals and 26 assists this season, fourth-most points in all of NCAA D1. The team’s captain had a flair for the dramatic, scoring a school-record five overtime goals, including two this season. He posted nine points in five playoff games for North Dakota this year.
He signed a free agent deal with the Dallas Stars organization following the season and has already scored his first professional goal for the AHL’s Texas Stars.
Kiersted was an All-NCHC First Teamer this past season as North Dakota won back-to-back NCHC regular season titles and its first-ever NCHC Frozen Faceoff crown. A two-time assistant captain, the Elk River, Minn., product finished his senior season with 22 points (3-19–22). That assist total tied for second-most in the country among defensemen. His 52 blocked shots were second most in the NCHC and in the top 10 nationally.
Kiersted was a stalwart on the top defensive pairing for North Dakota, helping the Fighting Hawks lead the NCAA in goal margin this season (+57) leading the country in goals for (3.93/game) while ranking fourth in goals against (1.97/gm).
The Elk River, Minn., native signed a free agent deal with the Florida Panthers after his college career ended and he’s already become the 105th UND alum to play in the NHL.
