The Hockey Commissioners Association announced Thursday its women’s national players of the month for January.
Wisconsin senior forward Daryl Watts is the player of the month, while Clarkson freshman goalie Michelle Pasiechnyk is the rookie of the month and Northeastern senior goalie Aerin Frankel garners top goalie honors.
Recording 18 points is a good season for some players, but Watts did that in January alone. Watts led the NCAA with 10 goals and 18 points in January, compiling these numbers in just eight games, good for 2.25 points per game. She had at least one point in each game and half of the games were against highly-ranked Minnesota and Ohio State.
Paciechnyk started six of Clarkson’s eight games, allowing just six goals and stopping 171 of 177 shots, good for a save percentage of .966. In a showdown with No. 5 Colgate, she was at her stingy best as Clarkson swept on the road by virtue of 2-0 and 2-1 wins. Her 42 saves in a 3-1 win at Quinnipiac was a season best.
Frankel was nearly perfect in January, recording six shutouts in her nine starts and stopping 193 of 197 shots (.980). She went 8-0-1 with a 0.48 GAA, establishing school records for career wins and shutouts along the way. She is two shutouts shy of the Hockey East career mark.
