EDINA, Minn. - The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) has selected Lake Superior State freshman forward Max Humitz as the league's Rookie of the Month and nominee for the Hockey Commissioner's Association Rookie of the Month honors.
Humitz led the WCHA in goals by a freshman (5) and total points by a freshman (9) while helping the Lakers claim a 3-2-3 overall record in the month of January. He also led the league in power-play goals with four and tied for second in overall goals and points for the month.
Nationally, Humitz tied for third in both goals and points by a freshman during the opening month of 2017. His four power-play tallies also marked the national lead among freshmen skaters.
In helping the Lakers (11-13-4, 8-10-4 WCHA) move into a tie for fifth place in the conference standings this month, Humitz recorded a pair of multi-point games. His first was a three-point night with two goals and one assist in a loss at Northern Michigan (Jan. 7) and the second came with a goal and an assist during a 4-1 series-sweeping victory over Alabama-Huntsville (Jan. 21).
During the eight-game stretch for the Lakers in January, Humitz recorded at least one point in six contests.
Humitz has one WCHA Rookie of the Week nod to his credit this season after scoring both LSSU goals during a pair of 1-1 ties against NMU (Jan. 13-14). He also added eight shots on goal and three blocked shots on the weekend.
On the season, the Livonia, Mich., native leads WCHA rookies with 12 goals, matching Boston University's Clayton Keller for the third-most nationally. He also ranks sixth nationally among freshman by averaging 0.43 goals-per-game.
The honor marks the second WCHA monthly award received by an LSSU player this season. Sophomore forward Mitch Hults was previously named WCHA Player of the Month for October.
Also receiving a nod for January honors from the league office, junior forward J.T. Henke was selected as an honorable mention for the WCHA Player of the Month award. A native of Trenton, Mich., Henke led the WCHA and tied for 12th nationally with 10 points, scoring three goals and tallying a league-high seven assists.