MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Junior right wing Josh Archibald was named the National Collegiate Hockey Conference's very first Player of the Year and Forward of the Year at an award ceremony on Thursday night.

The announcement of the conference's individual awards came just before the inaugural NCHC Frozen Faceoff which begins on Friday at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

Archibald was one of four finalists for the Player of the Year award.  Other players up for the award were Sam Brittain, senior goaltender from Denver; Nic Dowd, senior forward from St. Cloud State; and Dillon Simpson, senior defenseman from North Dakota.

Archibald led the Mavericks in scoring in 2013-14 with 29 goals and 14 assists for 43 points.  He set a new school record and career best for goals in a season and ranked second nationally in goals at the time the Mavericks' season ended.  He was the NCHC's scoring champion with 21 goals and 11 assists for 32 points in 24 conference games.

Archibald set a school record with two hat tricks this season and is the only player in school history with three career hat tricks.

The native of Brainerd, Minn. was a three-time Bauer NCHC Offensive Player of the Week and was named the Hockey Commissioner's Association Player of the Month for February after leading the country with 10 goals and 16 points.

Archibald was the leading vote getter for the NCHC All-Conference First Team.  Earlier today, Archibald was named one of the Top 10 Finalists for the Hobey Baker Award, given to the top player in Division I college hockey.

Below is the full list of NCHC individual award winners:

Player of the Year – Josh Archibald, Omaha
Rookie of the Year – Jaccob Slavin, Colorado College
Coach of the Year – Bob Motzko, St. Cloud State
Scholar-Athlete of the Year – Nic Dowd, St. Cloud State
Forward of the Year – Josh Archibald, Omaha
Defenseman of the Year – Joey LaLeggia, Denver
Goaltender of the Year – Sam Brittain, Denver
Offensive Defenseman of the Year – Joey LaLeggia, Denver
Defensive Forward of the Year - Nic Dowd, St. Cloud State
Sportsmanship Award – Eamonn McDermott, Colorado College

Left wing Jake Guentzel was a finalist for the Rookie of the Year award, and Dean Blais also was a finalist for the Coach of the Year award.

The NCHC Frozen Faceoff begins on Friday, March 21 when Denver takes on Western Michigan in the first semifinal at 4:08 p.m. from the Target Center.  The second semifinal will pit Miami against North Dakota at 7:38 p.m.  Both games can be seen live on CBS Sports Network.