KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Western Michigan freshman defenseman Joona Väisänen was named the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) Rookie of the Month, the league announced this afternoon. 

The Finnish blue liner finished the month with eight points on two goals and six assists. He had three multi-point efforts and was named NCHC Defenseman of the Week twice in the month. He has at least one point in five of his last seven games. 

After earning a series win at Colorado College, Väisänen spearheaded a sweep of St. Cloud State by collecting two assists in the series. He followed that up by scoring two goals and dishing out an assist in a series sweep over Omaha. His second goal of the series was an overtime winner. 

Following that, he produced an assist at Arizona State, helping the Broncos split a series in Tempe. Finally, this past weekend, the Pittsburgh Penguins draft pick dished out two assists in a win over North Dakota. That included a helper on the Penrose Cup clinching goal for the Broncos. 

On the season, Väisänen is up to 21 points on three goals and 18 assists. Along with that, he is +14 and has 27 blocked shots. Two of his three goals this season are game winners. 

Väisänen and the Broncos are back in action this weekend at Miami for the final series of the regular season. Puck drop for Friday's series opener at Goggin Ice Center is set for 7 PM.