Gophers senior Jack LaFontaine was named Big Ten Goaltender of the Year, while teammates Sampo Ranta and Jackson LaCombe joined him on the All-Big Ten first team in honors announced by the conference on Tuesday.
Gophers' Jack LaFontaine named Big Ten Goaltender of the Year
Joining LaFontaine on the All-Big Ten first team were teammates Sampo Ranta and Jackson LaCombe. Wisconsin's Cole Caufield was the unanimous choice as Player of the Year.
March 16, 2021 at 7:04PM
Regular-season champion Wisconsin landed three honors. Sophomore forward Cole Caufield was a unanimous selection as Big Ten Player of the Year and was the league's scoring champion with 27 goals and 21 assists, while Tony Granato was named as Coach of the Year. Michigan sophomore defenseman Cam York was selected Defensive Player of the Year, and Wolverines forward Thomas Bordeleau was named Freshman of the Year. The awards were based on the voting of coaches and media members.
LaFontaine also was a player of the year finalist, while Gophers defenseman Brock Faber (defensive player of the year, freshman of the year) and Bob Motzko (coach of the year) also were individual awards finalists.
LaFontaine leads the nation with 20 wins, ranks second with five shutouts, ranks third with a 1.65 goals-against average and is tied for third with a .937 save percentage.
The Gophers face Wisconsin at 7 p.m. Tuesday (BTN) in the Big Ten tournament championship game in South Bend, Ind.
Here are the All-Big Ten teams (unanimous selections in ALL CAPS):
FIRST TEAM
Sampo Ranta, F, Gophers
COLE CAUFIELD, F, WISCONSIN
Dylan Holloway, F, Wisconsin
Cam York, D, Michigan
Jackson LaCombe, D, Gophers
Jack LaFontaine, G, Gophers
SECOND TEAM
Thomas Bordeleau, F, Michigan
Alex Steeves, F, Notre Dame
Linus Weissbach, F, Wisconsin
Owen Power, D, Michigan
Spencer Stastney, D, Notre Dame
Strauss Mann, G, Michigan
HONORABLE MENTION
Matty Beniers, F, Michigan
Kent Johnson, F, Michigan
Ben Meyers, F, Gophers
Scott Reedy, F, Gophers
Sammy Walker, F, Gophers
Alex Limoges, F, Penn State
Ty Pelton-Byce, F, Wisconsin
Nick Blankenburg, D, Michigan
Dennis Cesana, D, Michigan State
Brock Faber, D, Gophers
Ryan Johnson, D, Minnesota
Ty Emberson, D, Wisconsin
Drew DeRidder, G, Michigan State
ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Matty Beniers, F, Michigan
THOMAS BORDELEAU, F, MICHIGAN
Kent Johnson, F, Michigan
OWEN POWER, D, MICHIGAN
Brock Faber, D, Gophers
Cameron Rowe, G, Wisconsin
PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
COLE CAUFIELD, F, WISCONSIN
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR (Defenseman or Forward):
Cam York, D, Michigan
GOALTENDER OF THE YEAR:
Jack LaFontaine, G, Gophers
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR:
Thomas Bordeleau, F, Michigan
COACH OF THE YEAR:
Tony Granato, Wisconsin
SCORING CHAMPION:
Cole Caufield, F, Wisconsin
BIG TEN SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD HONOREES:
Jack Becker, Michigan; Tommy Miller, Michigan State; Cullen Munson, Gophers; Matt Hellickson, Notre Dame; Austin Pooley, Ohio State; Oskar Autio, Penn State; Brock Caufield, Wisconsin.
The Wild have been the surprise of the league as their high-scoring winger makes a shambles of team scoring records.
