BEMIDJI, Minn. – Four Beavers have been named finalists for the second batch of the 2023-24 Central Collegiate Hockey Association Year-End Awards announced by the league Tuesday afternoon.
 
Fifth-year senior Kyle Looft and freshman Eric Pohlkamp are two-of-three finalists for the CCHA's Defenseman of the Year award. Junior Mattias Sholl is one-of-three finalists for the CCHA Goaltender of the Year while sophomore Lleyton Roed is a finalist for the CCHA Forward of the Year.
 
The winners of each award will be announced Thursday.
 
The Beavers' captain, Looft led all CCHA skaters in plus-minus in league action at +16 and paced conference blueliners in assists (14) and points (18), despite playing in only 20 games. Scoring four goals, including one on the power play, he was fifth among all skaters and first among defensemen in multi-point games (5). He blocked 28 shots at the defensive end and earned CCHA Scholar Athlete Team recognition.
 
Pohlkamp led all CCHA blueliners with six goals and 68 shots during conference play and was third with 16 points. Two of his tallies were game-winners and he recorded five points (3 goals, 2 assists) on the man-advantage. Playing in 20 of a possible 24 league contests, he recorded at least one point in every conference series that he appeared in, finishing with a plus-minus of +8. He helped the Beavers lift their second MacNaughton Cup as regular season champions and first since 2017.
 
Sholl led conference netminders in goal-against average (2.03) and winning percentage (.786), going 10-2-2 with a .924 save percentage in 14 games for the Beavers. Posting one shutout in conference play, he had 342 saves, including a season-high 46 in a 2-2 tie with Michigan Tech. Allowing two goals or fewer in 11 of his 14 starts, he made 25 or more saves in seven league contests.
 
Roed finished fourth in the CCHA in points (21), recording 10 goals and 11 assists in 24 games for the Beavers. Posting a +3 plus-minus, three of his tallies came on the power play, one was shorthanded and two were game-winners. He was second in the league in multi-point games (7) and recorded 61 shots on goal, with 18 blocks defensively. On December 15, he scored a goal and dished out a pair of assists in a 5-2 victory over Bowling Green. The one-time CCHA Forward of the Week has helped the Beavers reach the Mason Cup Semifinals. 
 
Voting for the 2023-24 All-CCHA Teams and year-end awards was conducted by the eight head coaches at each CCHA member institution, based on CCHA conference games only. Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players. 
 
The league's year-end award announcements continue tomorrow with the Best Defensive Forward (10am ET), Best Defensive Defenseman (12pm ET) and Rookie of the Year (2pm ET).
 
The 2024 Mason Cup Playoffs resume this Saturday, with top-seeded Bemidji State hosting seventh-seeded Lake Superior State University at Sanford Center (7:07pm CT) in the win-or-go-home conference Semifinal. 
 
For more information on the Bemidji State men's hockey program, tickets or schedules, visit BSUBeavers.com, follow the Beavers on Twitter or Instagram (@BSUBeaversMHKY), or like them on Facebook (facebook.com/BSUBeavers).
 
Located on the shore of Lake Bemidji, Bemidji State University sponsors 15 varsity athletic programs with NCAA Division I men's hockey in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association and women's hockey in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, while its 13 NCAA Division II programs hold membership in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).
 
--bsu—