COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The National Collegiate Hockey Conference announced today that five members of Omaha's freshman class have been named to the NCHC Academic All-Conference Team.
Travis Kothenbeutel,
Chayse Primeau,
John Schuldt,
Jason Smallidge and
Taylor Ward all earned the honor for compiling a 3.0 cumulative grade-point average or better in their first full academic years. Of those five players, Kothenbeutel, Schuldt, Smallidge and Ward also earned Distinguished Scholar-Athlete recognition for posted a 3.5 GPA or better last year.
The five Mavericks were part of a class of NCHC 48 freshman and first-year transfers to be so honored.
In 2018-19, the Mavericks again paced the NCHC with 24 of their 27 players receiving Academic All-Conference honors, followed closely by Denver and Miami which had 22 players each. The Mavericks also had an NCHC-leading 15 players named Distinguished Scholar-Athletes.
In the six-year history of the NCHC, Omaha has led the conference or tied for the lead in Academic All-Conference selections five times. This is the fourth consecutive year the Mavericks have led the NCHC in Distinguished Scholar-Athlete picks.
In total, 161 NCHC student-athletes earned Academic All-Conference honors, the second-most in NCHC history. In addition, 73 student-athletes earned Distinguished Scholar-Athlete distinction, a new record.
