OMAHA, Neb. – The Omaha hockey team announced its 2019-20 team awards today.
Senior captain
Dean Stewart earned three awards. He was voted by his teammates as the team's Most Valuable Player as well as its Outstanding Defenseman and the player with the Biggest Heart. Stewart appeared in 34 games last season, earning two goals and 10 assists for 12 points. He finished second in scoring among all UNO defensemen. The native of Portage la Prairie, Manitoba concluded his career in Omaha having played in 130 games, scoring seven goals and earning 38 assists for 45 points.
Sophomore
Taylor Ward was voted the Mavericks' Outstanding Forward. Ward tied for the team scoring lead with 27 points, in spite of having his season cut short to only 32 games because of injury. He had a team-leading 16 goals and also led the team with five power play goals and tied for second on the team with nine power play points. The native of Kelowna, British Columbia was named NCHC All-Conference Honorable Mention. He also earned NCHC Forward of the Week after registering five points in a weekend series against Western Michigan.
Freshman goaltender
Isaiah Saville was named the team's Newcomer of the Year. The native of Anchorage, Alaska started 28 games for the Mavericks, earning 10 wins as well as a 2.85 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage. He also had one shutout. Saville was named the NCHC's Goaltender of the Week once and twice picked up the conference's Rookie of the Week honor. He finished the season sixth in the NCHC in goals-against and fourth in save percentage for all games.
Junior forward
Martin Sundberg picked up the Mavericks' Most Consistent Award, recognizing best plus/minus for 2019-20. Sundberg, along with freshman
Kirby Proctor, led the team with a +9 rating. The native of Linkoping, Sweden returned to the lineup after an injury-plagued sophomore season and had five goals and seven assists for 12 points in 33 games, all career highs. Sundberg garnered NCHC Forward of the Week honors, the first of his career, after scoring a goal and two assists in a series at St. Cloud State in December.
Freshman
Noah Prokop was voted the team's Most Improved player. The forward was in and out of the lineup during the first half of the season but did not miss a game from January 4 until the end of the season. The native of Littleton, Colo. earned all of his points during that stretch including his first career goal, the game-tying goal, in a 1-1 tie with No. 4 Denver. Prokop became a reliable defensive forward who was often called upon to counter opponents' top lines.
Another freshman, forward
Nolan Sullivan, was chosen as the Mavericks' Seventh Man. The award recognizes the player who best exemplifies team spirit, dedication, work ethic, ability to overcome adversity and contribution during the season. The native of Eden Prairie, Minn. was eighth on the team in scoring and third among UNO's freshmen with seven goals and 10 assists for 17 points in 33 games. He was fifth in the NCHC in freshman scoring for all games played. He was named the conference's Rookie of the Week after earning one goal and two assists in a series against No. 12 Wisconsin in November.
