Men's Ice Hockey | July 02, 2018
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Eight members of Western Michigan Hockey's 2017-18 freshmen class have been named National Collegiate Hockey Conference Academic All-Conference, while five of them have earned NCHC Distinguished Scholar Athlete honors.
Austin Cain (3.82), Cam Orchard (3.52), Josh Passolt (3.85), Austin Rueschhoff (3.08), Lukas Samuelsson (3.18), Brett Van Os (3.96), and Paul Washe (3.76) all earned Academic All-Conference honors, while Cain, Orchard, Van Os and Washe were named Distinguished Scholars.
To be eligible for the NCHC Academic All-Conference Team, a student-athlete must compile a 3.0 cumulative grade-point average (or better) and have completed a full academic year at their current institution. Similarly, for NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athletes, a student-athlete must attain a 3.5 cumulative GPA or better with a full year of academic studies. Freshmen and first-year transfers were not eligible when the honors were first announced in February as they had not completed a full academic year, but with the 2017-18 academic calendar complete, the newcomers are now eligible to earn NCHC academic honors. Athletic success and playing time are not criteria for these awards.
The Broncos finished the year with 24 total Academic All-Conference, the most in the NCHC. WMU also led the conference in Distinguished Scholar Athletes with 12. View the February NCHC Academic All-Conference release here.
