The Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) has announced three year-end award winners for the 2025-26 season and Evan Murr (Minnesota State) was voted the Defenseman of the Year, Josh Kotai (Augustana) collected Goaltender of the Year honors and Stiven Sardarian (Michigan Tech) was the Forward of the Year. All three are now in the running for the conference's Player of the Year, which will be announced tomorrow.
Notable Links:
CCHA Defenseman of the Year: Evan Murr, Jr., Minnesota State (Stillwater, Minn.)
A two-time Defenseman of the Year, Murr led CCHA blueliners with 20 points in conference play, scoring six goals with 14 assists. Posting a conference-best +17, he had one power-play goal and three game winners. Registering 71 shots, he blocked 28 defensively, while averaging 22:57 minutes per game. Notching five multi-point games, he recorded three-assist outings against Lake Superior State (Nov. 15) and Northern Michigan on (Nov. 28).
Overall, Murr has nine goals and 16 assists for 25 points in 37 games. He is a +18, totaling 108 shots on goal and 35 blocked shots, with two power-play goals and four game-winning tallies. Twice named Defenseman of the Month in the CCHA, he has also has a pair of Defenseman of the Week honors. In 113 career games at Minnesota State, he has recorded 22 goals and 56 assists for 78 points.
CCHA Goaltender of the Year: Josh Kotai, Jr., Augustana (Abbotsford, B.C.)
Kotai went 14-8-4 while starting all 26 conference games for the Vikings during the 2025-26 conference season, posting a 1.87 goals-against average and a league-best .941 save percentage. Tied for the conference lead with four shutouts, he stopped a league-high 786 shots across 1576:04 minutes, chipping in with one assist offensively. Recording 14 games of 30 or more saves, he stopped 40+ in three contests. His season was highlighted posting three straight shutouts from January 9-16. He ranks third among all CCHA netminders in single-season save percentage since the league was reconsituted in 2021-22, while his goals-against average is fourth.
In all competitions, Kotai is 20-10-4 with a 1.99 goals-against average and a .938 save percentage with five total shutouts and three assists offensively. He leads the nation in total saves (1030), shutouts and save percentage, while ranking third in goal-against average, fifth in wins and sixth in minutes played (2054:01). In 78 career games at Augustana, he is 39-29-9 with a 2.17 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage, which ranks 10th among all NCAA netminders over the last 10 years.
CCHA Forward of the Year: Stiven Sardarian, Sr., Michigan Tech (Saint Petersburg, Russia)
Sardarian led the CCHA with 32 points on 10 goals and a league-high 22 assists. Posting a +9 rating, he had 46 shots on goal, nine blocks, two power-play tallies and two game-winning goals. Averaging 18:21 minutes per contest in conference play, he produced nine multi-point games, including a four-point contest (2 goals, 2 assists) in an 8-2 victory over Northern Michigan on January 23.
Overall, Sardarian has 12 goals and 32 assists for 44 points across 36 games in 2025-26. He is a +15, with two power-play goals and two game-winning markers, totaling 69 shots and 11 blocks defensively. Through 132 career game at both Michigan Tech and New Hampshire, he has 32 goals and 68 assists for 100 points.
Voting for the 2025-26 All-CCHA Teams and year-end awards was conducted by the nine 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 Player of the Year (11am ET).
The 2026 Mason Cup Playoffs continue on Saturday with the semifinal round. Every playoff game can be seen live on Midco Sports Plus! For complete bracket, links and news, visit ccha.com/masoncup.
For more information, contact:
Perry Laskaris
Director of Strategic Communications & Brand Advancement
Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA)
Laskaris@ccha.com
(651) 308-1065