COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Western Michigan sophomore Ronnie Attard has been named the National Collegiate Hockey Conference Offensive Defenseman of the Year.
 
The award is voted on by the league's head coaches and select media members from each school's market.
 
Attard, a First Team All-NCHC selection, led the league in points by a defenseman with 22 on eight goals and 14 assists. The Philadelphia Flyers' draft pick is also tied second nationally for points by a defenseman this season. The White Lake, Mich., native was named Bauer NCHC Defenseman of the Week a league-high three times this season, including twice during the final three weeks of play.
 
He's the first WMU player in program history to win the award.
 
Senior forward Paul Washe was also named runner-up for the NCHC Best Defensive Forward. Washe was second in the conference and sixth in the nation with 296 faceoff wins and had a .561 faceoff win percentage on the season. Washe also led the broncos with two short-handed goals on the season and finished with a team-high plus minus of +7.