It’s the start of a new month and that means we have both weekly and monthly awards to recap in the NCAA. There were seven BCHL alumni who were honoured across college hockey and we highlight them all in this week’s edition of the NCAA Roundup, presented by Johnston Meier Insurance.
CCHA Forward of the Month & Forward of the Week
David Silye – Junior – Minnesota State University (Penticton/Nanaimo)
Silye led all CCHA skaters in goals (8), points (10), goals per game (1.33), points per game (1.67) and shooting percentage (50.0 per cent), while helping Minnesota State to a 3-2-1 month. He was a +2 with 16 shots on goal in eight games for the Mavericks, winning 55.3 per cent of his faceoffs (73 of 132). His month was highlighted by scoring a natural hat trick on Nov. 5 against St. Thomas. Twice earning Forward of the Week honors during the month, he produced a league-best four multi-point games.
The Arnprior, Ont. native played in the BCHL for four seasons from 2016 to 2020. He spent the first two years with Nanaimo before joining Penticton prior to the 2018-19 campaign. In his two years with the Vees, he collected 122 points in 112 games and was named team captain in his final year.
CCHA Goaltender of the Week
Aaron Trotter – Freshman – University of St. Thomas (Prince George Spruce Kings)
Trotter went 2-0-0 with a 0.50 goals-against average and a .978 save percentage last week, helping St. Thomas to its first Division I era sweep. On Friday, he stopped all 23 shots he faced to record the first shutout in Tommies Divison I history. He then had 21 saves in a 2-1 victory on Saturday, losing the bid for his second straight clean sheet with less than eight minutes to play in the third. For the week, he made 44 stops in 120 minutes.
Trotter, from Victoria, B.C., played two seasons in the BCHL from 2020 to 2022. For his junior career, he posted a .919 save percentage, a 2.09 goals-against average, four shutouts and 27 wins in 48 appearances.
Atlantic Hockey Player of the Month
Carter Wilkie (F) – Sophomore – Rochester Institute of Technology (Chilliwack/West Kelowna)
Wilkie led Atlantic Hockey with eight points during a 5-1-0 November for the Tigers, averaging 1.33 points per game. The Calgary, Alta. native was named the Player of the Week in mid-November after totaling five points during RIT’s sweep of Sacred Heart, including a goal, two assists, 13-of-20 faceoff wins and a blocked shot in the 3-1 win on Nov. 12. Wilkie also scored two goals and an assist while winning 14-of-26 faceoffs in a 5-3 win over Princeton on Nov. 25. He tied for the conference lead in goals in the month with four and won 79 faceoffs.
The 22-year-old forward played three seasons in the BCHL, split between the Chilliwack Chiefs and West Kelowna Warriors. Over his career, he notched 87 points in 127 regular-season games.
Atlantic Hockey Rookie of the Month
Max Itagaki (F) – Freshman – Army West Point (Nanaimo Clippers)
Itagaki registered six points in six games in November, collecting points in five of six contests. The Glenview, Ill. native’s five-game scoring run during the month was part of a nine-game point streak that began on Oct. 15 with a pair of assists against RPI. In all, Itagaki posted 11 points during his streak with a goal and 10 assists. He has recorded at least one point in 11 of 13 contests for the Black Knights this season and begins December tied for third in Atlantic Hockey with 11 assists.
The 2002-born forward played the 2021-22 campaign with the Nanaimo Clippers, finishing second on the team with 61 points in 54 games and ending up top-10 in league scoring.
NCHC Rookie of the Month & Rookie of the Week
Ryan McAllister (F) – Freshman – Western Michigan University (Prince George Spruce Kings)
McAllister continued his hot start to his college career, repeating as NCHC Rookie of the Month after leading the conference with both 16 points and 14 assists in seven November games. His 2.29 points-per-game average in the month was also tops among all NCHC players, while his +10 plus/minus rating led the NCHC in November, as well. He recorded five multi-point games, including four three-point games in November, and had at least one point in all seven games this month.
McAllister played 37 games for the Prince George Spruce Kings during the 2019-20 season, putting up five goals, eight assists and 13 points.
NCHC Defenceman of the Week
Jonny Tychonick – Graduate – University of Nebraska-Omaha (Penticton Vees)
Tychonick was a force at both ends of the ice, helping Omaha earn a split at number-one ranked Denver over the weekend. On Friday, the Ottawa Senators draft pick assisted on all three of the Mavericks goals, while helping keep the Pioneers off the scoreboard at home for the first time this season in a 3-0 shutout win. He had secondary assist on the first and third goals and the primary assist on the second tally. A night later, Tychonick dished out another apple on Omaha’s third goal to get UNO within one in an eventual 6-3 loss.
The 22-year-old was a member of the Penticton Vees for two seasons from 2016 to 2018. He won a Fred Page Cup championship his rookie year in 2017 and was named a First-Team All-Star in his second season after posting 47 points in 48 games, the third most among all defenders in the league that year.
ECAC Hockey Goaltender of the Week
Mathieu Caron – Sophomore – Brown University (Chilliwack Chiefs)
Caron earned his second and third wins of the season last weekend when Brown took on Holy Cross and Providence. On Friday, Caron saved all 24 shots he faced to backstop his team to victory and earn his first shutout of the season. In Saturday’s contest at Providence, Caron made 35 saves on 37 shots, allowing just two goals in his team’s victory.
The Abbotsford, B.C. native played four seasons with the Chiefs from 2017 to 2021, manning the crease for a total of 126 regular-season games. He wrapped up his BCHL career with 67 wins, a .905 save percentage, a 2.67 goals-against average and eight shutouts.
