The Western Collegiate Hockey Association has announced its Sterling Trophy Players of the Month for games during October 2023.  The list of this month's award recipients includes the University of Wisconsin's Britta Curl and Ava McNaughton, who received the WCHA Forward of the Month and Rookie of Month awards respectively.  St. Cloud State University Sanni Ahola was named the WCHA Goaltender of the Month and Ohio State University's Emma Peschel was selected as the WCHA Defender of the Month.

WCHA fans should mark their calendars now for March 8-9 as the dates for this year's WCHA Final Faceoff championship tournament at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis.  Tickets will be available soon for these games.  Check www.wcha.com/finalfaceoff for details on tickets sales when they become available.
 

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STERLING TROPHY WCHA FORWARD OF THE MONTH

Name: Britta Curl
Year: Graduate Student
School: University of Wisconsin
Hometown: Bismarck, N.D.

OCTOBER HIGHLIGHTS:

• Led all WCHA skaters with 20 points during the month thanks to 9 goals and 11 assists
• Also led the league in plus/minus with a +16 while her nine goals were tied with the league lead
• Led UW to an 8-0-0 record in October
• Paced UW in points, blocked shots and plus/minus during the month
• Scored in each game during the month as the senior captain has tied the school record for the longest goal streak with goals in her last nine games 
• Had six multi-point games
• Curently leads the NCAA in scoring (26 points) and assists (16).
• Wisconsin is currently ranked #1 in both college hockey polls with an undefeated 10-0-0 record.

Others nominated: Abbey Murphy, Minnesota; Hannah Bilka, Ohio State and Clara Van Wieren, Minnesota Duluth


STERLING TROPHY WCHA DEFENDER OF THE MONTH

Name: Emma Peschel
Year: Sophomore
School: Ohio State University
Hometown: Edina, Minn.

OCTOBER HIGHLIGHTS:

• Peschel led the Buckeye defenders with eight points on the month, which included three goals and five assists.
• Led the #2 ranked Ohio State with two power play goals in the month of October.
• Scored a power play goal against #4 Minnesota to help the Buckeyes sweep the Gophers.
• Added four blocked shots in six games played.
• Charted an impressive +9 on the plus/minus during October and also tallied 25 shots on goal.
• Ohio State is currently ranked #2 in the nation's college hockey polls.
• Peschel has helped lead the Buckeyes to a 7-1-0, 6-0-0 WCHA record during the 2023-24 season.

Others nominated: Caroline Harvey, Wisconsin; Nelli Laitinen, Minnesota


STERLING TROPHY WCHA GOALTENDER OF THE MONTH

Name: Sanni Ahola
Year: Senior
School: St. Cloud State University
Hometown: Helsinki, Finland

OCTOBER HIGHLIGHTS:

• Ahola was remarkable in net for the Huskies, helping lead SCSU to a 7-2-0 mark in the month of October and a national ranking after playing in goal for four games where she went 4-0-0 with a 0.25 goals-against-average and .987 save percentage.
• ?The SCSU netminder started the season with four consecutive shutouts, including three in the month of October, as she blanked Mercyhurst (28 saves, Oct. 7), Bemidji State (12 saves, Oct. 14) and Northeastern (21 saves, Oct. 20). She also allowed one goal and recorded a 3-1 victory over (RV) Minnesota State on Oct. 27, making 13 saves.
• For the month of October, Ahola led the WCHA in shutouts (three), GAA (0.25) and save percentage (.987) and was named the WCHA Goaltender of the Week on Oct. 9.
• On the season, Ahola currently leads the NCAA in GAA (0.20), save percentage (.989) and shutouts (four).
• For her career, Ahola has already set a career-high in shutouts, upping her career total to seven.

Others nominated: Raygan Kirk, Ohio State; Ava McNaughton, Wisconsin and Skylar Vetter, Minnesota


STERLING TROPHY WCHA GOALTENDER OF THE MONTH

Name: Ava McNaughton
Year: First Year
School: University of Wisconsin
Hometown: Seven Fields, Pa.

OCTOBER HIGHLIGHTS:

• McNaughton earned a perfect 4-0-0 record in the month of October for the #1 ranked Badgers
• Her two shutouts were tied for the second most by a WCHA netminder
• McNaughton was one of only three WCHA netminders to post a GAA below 1.00 during the month
• Her .953 save percentage ranked third among league netminders
• Wisconsin is currently ranked #1 in both college hockey polls with an undefeated 10-0-0 record.

Others nominated: Alice Sauriol, St. Cloud State, Jocelyn Amos, Ohio State; Ava Lindsay, Minnesota; Éve Gascon, Minnesota Duluth; Ella Boerger, St. Thomas
 

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Sterling Trophy WCHA Players of the Month:

September 2023:
Forward: Lacey Eden, UW/Defender: Caroline Harvey, UW
Goaltender: Raygan Kirk, OSU/Rookie: Cassie Hall, UW

October 2023:
Forward: Britta Curl, UW/Defender: Emma Peschel, OSU
Goaltender: Sanni Ahola, SCSU/Rookie: Ava McNaughton, UW
 

ABOUT THE WCHA:

Founded in 1999, the women’s league of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association has positioned itself as the top conference in all of women’s collegiate hockey and will celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2023-24.  The WCHA has won an unprecedented 20 national championships while finishing as the national runner-up nine times since 1999.  The league has produced nine Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award winners as well an additional 24 student-athletes who were among the Top-3 finalists for the award.  In addition, WCHA student-athletes have been recognized as All-Americans 121 times in league history.

ABOUT STERLING TROPHY:

Sterling Trophy has grown into a leader in the award and recognition industry in the Twin Cities since its founding in 1999. A family business that started in the basement of the home of founders David Steinbring and Patty Steinbring, Sterling Trophy has built a proud tradition of quality service and unique products. For more information, visit sterlingtrophy.net.