BLOOMINGTON -- Bemidji State men’s hockey defenseman Elias Rosén has been named Western Collegiate Hockey Association Co-Defensive Player of the Year, while BSU goaltender Zach Driscoll was selected WCHA Student-Athlete of the Year, the league announced Thursday when it revealed its 2020-21 award winners.
Until Thursday, no Beaver had previously won either WCHA award.
Michael Bitzer had been the program’s lone player to win a major WCHA individual award. He earned WCHA Rookie of the Year in 2014-15 and WCHA Player of the Year in 2016-17.
Rosén shares Co-Defensive Player of the Year honors with Bowling Green junior blueliner Will Cullen.
A sophomore from Mora, Sweden, Rosén leads all Bemidji State defensemen with 12 points (4g-8a) despite missing four games due to injury. His nine points (2g-7a) in league play rank first among all WCHA blueliners. Rosén, a member of the nation’s leading penalty kill at 92.9% (65-of-70), was selected All-WCHA First Team on Wednesday.
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Driscoll, a senior from Apple Valley, graduated with a business administration degree in the spring of 2020 and carried a 3.85 undergraduate GPA. He is currently enrolled as a full-time graduate student pursuing a Master of Business Administration degree and carries a 4.0 graduate GPA. Driscoll is also a two-time WCHA Scholar Athlete and a two-time Academic All-WCHA selection, as well as a two-time AHCA Division I Krampade All-American Scholar selection.
Driscoll owns a 12-8-3 record with a .922 save percentage and a 2.30 goals against average. He was selected All-WCHA Third Team on Wednesday.
Minnesota State captured the other WCHA awards Thursday. Junior forward Julian Napravnik earned Offensive Player of the Year, junior Dryden McKay was named Goaltender of the Year, freshman defenseman Akito Hirose was selected Rookie of the Year and Mike Hastings was honored as Coach of the Year.
Voting for WCHA awards and all-league teams is done by the league’s head coaches.
BSU (13-8-3, 8-5-1 WCHA) will begin postseason play this weekend at home against Michigan Tech in the best-of-three WCHA quarterfinals. The series will open at 7:07 p.m. Friday, with a 6:07 p.m. puck drop Saturday and, if needed, a 5:07 p.m. contest Sunday.
