The Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) today announced that Michigan Tech freshman forward Kyle Kukkonen has been named the CCHA’s Rookie of the Year.
Kukkonen (Maple Grove, Minn.) has played in all 38 games for No. 13 Michigan Tech so far this season and leads the team in goals (18), power-play goals (5) and game-winning goals (5). Also collecting nine assists, he is second in points (27), with two shorthanded tallies and a +5 rating. The CCHA leader in game-winning tallies, he is third in shorthanded goals, shots (120) and shots per game (3.16), fourth in goals and goals per game (0.47) and his eight multi-point games are seventh-most in the league. The former Maple Grove High School and Madison Capitals (USHL) standout has had two six-game point streaks this season.
Playing in all 26 CCHA games for the Huskies, Kukkonen led all rookies with 14 goals and was third with 18 points in conference play. Notching four assists, he led all skaters in game-winning goals (4) and ranked fourth in goals and goals per game (0.54), sixth in shots (82) and seventh in shots per game (3.15). He recorded five multiple-point games in conference play and was a –1 with five power play tallies and one shorthanded marker. He also blocked 12 shots at the defensive end.
Voting for the 2022-23 All-CCHA Teams and CCHA Players/Coach of the Year awards were 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 or themselves.
The league's major award announcements continue today with the Defenseman of the Year (12pm ET/11am CT), Goaltender of the Year (1pm ET/12pm CT) and Forward of the Year (2pm ET/1pm CT). Tomorrow the conference’s Coach of the Year (11am ET/10am CT) and Player of the Year (1pm ET/12pm CT) will be revealed.
The 2023 Mason Cup Championship Game is scheduled for Saturday night in Mankato, Minn. (6:07pm CT), where top-seed Minnesota State (24-12-1) hosts fourth-seed Northern Michigan (21-16-0) with an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Championship on the line.
Saturday’s title game can be seen on FloHockey by using the FloSports App and Live Stats will also be available here.
The FloSports App can be accessed on all screens and streaming devices by downloading the FloSports app on Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Apple TV, the App Store and Google Play Store. Additionally, FloSports can be accessed on any smart device browser by visiting FloHockey.tv.
For more information, contact:
Perry Laskaris
Director of Strategic Communications & Brand Advancement
Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA)
Laskaris@ccha.com
(651) 308-1065