In this week’s edition of the NCAA Roundup, we have both monthly and weekly award winners to recognize.
Atlantic Hockey Goaltender of the Month
Teagan Kendrick – Freshman – Sacred Heart University (Trail Smoke Eaters)
Kendrick appeared in nine games last month and posted a 5-3-1 record, a 2.65 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage. The St. Albert, Alta. native led all of Division I hockey last month with 301 saves, the only netminder in the NCAA with over 300 saves in a single month this season. This is his second straight Atlantic Hockey Goaltender of the Month award.
Kendrick played three seasons with the Trail Smoke Eaters from 2022 to 2025 and finished his BCHL stint with a 49-34-9 record and a .908 save percentage. In 2024-25, the 2004-born netminder posted a career best .915 save percentage and a 2.69 goals-against average and was the recipient of the Michael Garteig Trophy as the league’s top goaltender.
NCHC Forward of the Month
Ellis Rickwood – Senior – University of North Dakota (Victoria Grizzlies)
Rickwood helped lead North Dakota to a 6-2-0 record in January, racking up a team-high 13 points in eight games. He averaged 1.63 points per game last month, with his 13 points ranking second in the NCHC in January. Rickwood recorded points in six of UND’s eight games, including three multi-point outings. The Clarkson transfer scored four goals and added nine assists in January, with six of the nine being primary helpers.
The Brantford, Ont. native played two BCHL seasons with the Victoria Grizzlies from 2020 to 2022. After finishing second in league scoring with 30 points in 20 games during the league’s Pod Season in 2021, he was named team captain the following year and finished second in league scoring again with 80 points in 50 games to go along with a league-best 59 assists.
NCHC Rookie of the Week
Johnny Hicks – Freshman – University of Denver (Merritt/Brooks)
Hicks was nearly perfect in the first two starts of his college career, filling in for the injured Quentin Miller, allowing only one goal all weekend to backstop Denver to a pair of wins over Minnesota Duluth. In Friday’s opener, he stopped 29 of 30 shots faced before leaving with an injury midway through the third period with DU leading 4-1. The Pioneers held on for the 4-3 victory. Hicks bounced back from the injury the next night, turning aside all 19 shots he faced to record his first collegiate shutout in a 1-0 overtime win.
Hicks had two separate stints in the BCHL, the first with the Merritt Centennials from 2021 to 2023, then another with the Brooks Bandits for parts of two seasons in 2024 and 2025. He owns a career .913 save percentage in the BCHL with six shutouts and a 33-30-10 record across 80 regular season appearances.
CCHA Forward of the Week
Quinn Emerson – Senior – Bowling Green State University (Wenatchee Wild)
Emerson led all CCHA skaters with four points last week, scoring a goal with three assists as Bowling Green played to a pair of ties with Notre Dame. He had four shots on goal, blocked one shot defensively and averaged 19:33 minutes per game. On Friday, he had a hand in all three Falcons’ goals (one goal, two assists) in a 3-3 tie. He then assisted on Bowling Green’s game-tying goal in a 2-2 draw on Saturday.
The son of former NHLer Nelson Emerson, the Manhattan Beach, Calif. product played the 2019-20 campaign in the BCHL with the Wenatchee Wild. After a year in the North American Hockey League, he returned to the Wild for the 2021-22 season where he was named team captain and finished third in team scoring with 37 points in 53 contests.
