The Hockey Commissioners Association announced Wednesday it has selected Omaha forward Taylor Ward as the player of the month, Army West Point’s Gavin Abric as goaltender of the month and Ohio State netminder Jakub Dobeš rookie of the month for October 2021.
Ward scored 10 goals in October, leading the nation in that category. He registered a point in all eight games the Mavericks played during the first month of the season, tallying seven goals and four assists in his last three games, including a hat trick against Long Island.
The Kelowna, B.C., native posted consecutive four-point nights in Omaha’s final series of October. His eight power-play goals are also atop the national chart, and his 16 overall points rank second nationally.
Ward’s play during October helped the No. 9/7 Mavericks to a 7-1 start, one of the best in program history. Omaha has won seven straight games, one shy of the school record set in the 2001-02 season.
Abric allowed only 10 goals in six October outings and posted a 1.67 GAA. The Hayward, Wisc., native also stopped 198 of 208 shots for a save percentage of .952, topping Atlantic Hockey in all three categories. Abric’s save percentage and GAA were good for fourth and 11th nationally, respectively, for the month.
He made an immediate impact for the Black Knights in his first career start at RIT on Oct. 9, leading Army to a shootout win – which included three shootout saves – in the 2-2 tie. Abric recorded his first career win and shutout on Oct. 22 with a 36-save performance against AIC, one night after setting an AHA season high for saves with 43 stops against the Yellow Jackets.
Dobeš had compiled a 4-1-0 mark in five games along with a 0.86 GAA and .964 save percentage.
The native of Ostrava, Czech Republic also pitched a 32-save shutout Oct. 16 against UConn.
Overall, the Montreal Canadiens prospect has stopped 106 of 110 shots fired his way.
