Former Chilliwack Chiefs captain Jordan Kawaguchi has been named Player of the Month in the National College Hockey Conference.
The Abbotsford product continued his Hobey Baker-worthy campaign in January, leading the NCHC and ranking second nationally with 14 points in nine games, while leading North Dakota to a 6-2-1 record. His 14 points were three more than any other NCHC player. His six goals tied for the conference lead and his eight assists tied for third.
The man Chiefs fans call Gooch registered a point in eight of nine games in the month, including five multi-point outings.
Kawaguchi played four full seasons with Chilliwack from 2013 to 2017, notching 242 points in 215 regular-season games and another 82 in 55 playoff games.
Meanwhile, a former Kawaguchi teammate is the Forward of the Month in the Western Collegiate Hockey Conference.
Darien Craighead, a senior at Northern Michigan University, led the WCHA in scoring and was third nationally in January with 13 points (eight goals and five assists). His eight tallies ranked number two in all of NCAA men’s hockey for the opening month of 2020. With 1.44 points per game and 0.89 goals per game, the Surrey product led the WCHA in both categories and ranked fourth in the nation in goals-per-game, while finishing fourth in the country in plus/minus at plus-10.
The 22-year-old played three seasons in the BCHL split between the Chiefs, the Cowichan Valley Capitals and the Langley Rivermen.
He put up 138 points in 143 career regular-season games.
