UND Teammates Nominated for Senior CLASS Award
A pair of North Dakota seniors – forward Mark MacMillan and defenseman Nick Mattson – were among the 20 national candidates announced today for the 2014-15 Senior CLASS Award in collegiate hockey. North Dakota was the only school in the nation with multiple candidates among the 20.
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School ®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
MacMillan, a native of Penticton, British Columbia, is UND’s leading active scorer with 41 goals and 52 assists in 141 career games. One of UND’s most active student-athletes in the community, MacMillan played a lead role in UND’s 2013-14 North Dakota Strong campaign that raised more than $33,000 for cancer research. It was the largest charitable fundraiser ever initiated and executed by the UND Athletics Department and MacMillan was later named a national candidate for the 2014 Hockey Humanitarian Award.
An entrepreneurship major with a 3.50 cumulative grade-point average, MacMillan is a two-time academic all-conference selection.
Mattson, a native of Chanhassen, Minn., is an entrepreneurship with a 3.971 cumulative grade-point average. Last season, he was named an Academic All-America Third Team selection by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) and received the prestigious NCAA Elite 89 Award for men’s hockey for having the highest GPA of any participant at the 2014 NCAA Frozen Four.
On the ice, Mattson leads all active UND defensemen with 14 goals and 48 assists for 62 points in 134 career games, including a career-high 23 points last season.
Mattson has given more than 50 hours of community service during his four years at UND including, but not limited to, Special Olympics, North Dakota State Fair, Grand Forks Public Library and more.
The 20 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists later in the season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans and the Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2015 NCAA Men’s Frozen Final Four® in April.
For more information, visit www.seniorclassaward.com.
Courtesy UND
