Denver’s Borgström chosen NCHC Player of the Year; St. Cloud State’s Motzko tabbed top coach

Henrik Borgström of Denver. Omaha vs. Denver at Magness Arena, 01/27/17. (Candace Horgan)
Denver’s Henrik Borgström captured the NCHC scoring title with 33 points in 24 games (photo: Candace Horgan).

The NCHC unveiled its award winners for the 2017-18 season Thursday night at its annual NCHC awards celebration at the Science Museum of Minnesota.

Denver and Minnesota Duluth took home three awards each, while SCSU picked up two awards, as did Omaha, both of which were academic-related.

2017-18 NCHC Individual Award Winners

Player of the Year – Henrik Borgström, Denver
Herb Brooks Coach of the Year – Bob Motzko, St. Cloud State
Rookie of the Year – Scott Perunovich, Minnesota Duluth
Goalie of the Year – Tanner Jaillet, Denver
Forward of the Year – Henrik Borgström, Denver
Defensive Defenseman of the Year – Will Borgen, St. Cloud State
Offensive Defenseman of the Year – Scott Perunovich, Minnesota Duluth
Defensive Forward of the Year – Rhett Gardner, North Dakota
Senior Scholar-Athlete Award – Tyler Vesel, Omaha
Sportsmanship Award – Karson Kuhlman, Minnesota Duluth
Postgrad Scholarship – Joel Messner, Omaha
Three Stars Award – Nick Halloran, Colorado College
Media Excellence Award – Brad Schlossman, Grand Forks Herald

For most of the awards, winners were determined based on voting by the conference’s head coaches from each team. The Senior Scholar-Athlete and postgrad scholarship winners were determined in a vote by the conference’s faculty athletics representatives, while the NCHC Awards Committee selected the Sportsmanship Award. Athletic directors at each NCHC institution had a vote on the Herb Brooks Coach of the Year, as well.