The Western Collegiate Hockey Association’s Sterling Trophy Players of the Month for January 2024 were announced by the league office today with the following players being honored:  Forward of the Month - Casey O’Brien (Wisconsin), Defender of the Month - Hadley Hartmetz (Ohio State), Goaltender of the Month - Raygan Kirk (Ohio State) and Rookie of the Month - Cassie Hall (Wisconsin).

The nation’s premier NCAA Division I women’s hockey league, the WCHA currently has five teams ranked among college hockey’s top 10 teams including #1 Ohio State, #2 Wisconsin, #5 Minnesota, #7 Minnesota Duluth and #10 St. Cloud State.  The WCHA has won 20 national championships since the league formed in 1999.

Make plans now to attend the 2024 Kwik Trip WCHA Final Faceoff championship, which will take place at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis on March 8-9.  The Kwik Trip WCHA Final Faceoff caps the league’s postseason tournament with the winner receiving an automatic bid to the 2024 NCAA tournament.  All-session ticket packages are now available for purchase at www.wcha.com/finalfaceoff  
 

Sterling Trophy WCHA Forward of the Month:
Casey O’Brien/Wisconsin/Forward/Senior/Milton, Mass.
Casey O’Brien enjoyed a stellar month, leading the WCHA in points with 17 in the month while leading the No. 2 Badgers to a perfect 8-0-0 record, including a pair of ranked wins. O’Brien had multi-point games in five of UW’s eight games and recorded a point in every game during the month. O’Brien also became the 15th player in program history to record 150 points during the Badgers’ 7-2 win at Minnesota State on Jan. 20. O’Brien’s 12 assists led the league while her +13 plus/minus rating was tied for the best mark with teammate Britta Curl.  Over the month of January, O’Brien had 33 shots on goal and five blocked shots as UW outscored its opponents 41-12 in the month.  On the season, O’Brien now has 13 goals, 30 assists and 43 points. Of note, she received WCHA Forward of the Week honors on Jan. 15 and Jan. 22.  She was also selected as the WCHA Forward of the Month for January 2024.

Other Players Nominated: Sloane Matthews, Ohio State; Klara Hymlarova, St. Cloud State; Peyton Hemp, Minnesota and Whitney Tuttle, Minnesota State
 

Sterling Trophy WCHA Defender of the Month:
Hadley Hartmetz/Ohio State/Defender/Graduate Student/Phoenixville, Pa.
Ohio State graduate student Hadley Hartmetz scored one goal and four assists for a total of five points from the blue line during the month of January 2024.  She helped Ohio State to a perfect 6-0-0 record during the month as the Buckeyes ended the month as the nation’s #1 ranked team.  Hartmetz also had 16 shots and four blocked shots during the month and posted an impressive +11 on the plus/minus.  Her work on defense helped Ohio State outscore their opponents 24-5 in January as the Buckeyes gained series sweeps over top 10 ranked WCHA squads from Minnesota, Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State.  Hartmetz currently has five goals and 18 assists and has been earned two WCHA Defender of the Week honors this season.

Other Players Nominated: Khloe Lund, Bemidji State; Klara Hymlarova, St. Cloud State; Vivian Jungels, Wisconsin; Hanna Baskin, Minnesota Duluth; Maddy Clough, St. Thomas; Madeline Wethington, Minnesota and Charlotte Akervik, Minnesota State


Sterling Trophy WCHA Goaltender of the Month:
Raygan Kirk/Ohio State/Goaltender/Senior/Ste. Anne, Manitoba

Ohio State’s Raygan Kirk earned four wins in four starts against top-10 teams in January.  She posted shutouts of then-ranked No. 2 Minnesota and No. 7 Minnesota Duluth.  Kirk played both games against the Gophers, allowing just one goal in the series, to help the Buckeyes sweep the regular season series.  She was named the WCHA Goalie of the Week on Jan. 15 and was selected as the WCHA Goalie of the Month for Jan. 2024.  Kirk has been named the WCHA Goalie of the Week on Oct. 2, Oct. 16, Nov . 20 and Jan. 15 this season.  She currently owns a 12-1-0 record for the #1 ranked Buckeye, which includes a .945 SV% and a 1.10 GAA in 2023-24.

Other Players Nominated: Jojo Chobak, St. Cloud State; Hailey MacLeod, Minnesota Duluth; Eva Filippova, Bemidji State and Olivia King, St. Thomas. 

Sterling Trophy WCHA Rookie of the Month:
Cassie Hall/Wisconsin/Forward/Freshman/South Lyon, Mich.
Cassie Hall scored eight goals and added two assists as UW enjoyed an 8-0-0 record during January. Hall had a six-game goal streak during the month, which was tied for the second-longest goal streak in school history by a rookie. Hall’s eight goals led all WCHA skaters during the month while her 10 points were tied for the fifth most in the league with fellow Badger Britta Curl. Her 10 points also led all WCHA rookies during the month.  Hall received WCHA Rookie of the Week honors on Oct. 2, Jan. 8 and Jan. 22 and was selected as the WCHA Rookie of the Month for January 2024.  She completed the month with 34 shots on goal and also had two blocked shots during the month.  Hall had game winning goals on Jan. 13 against St. Thomas and Jan. 20 at Minnesota State..

Other Players Nominated: Ève Gascon, Minnesota Duluth; JuliAnna Gazdik, Minnesota State; Joy Dunne, Ohio State and Eva Filippova, Bemidji State

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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.

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2023-24 Sterling Trophy Players of the Month Award Winners:

Sept. 2023: 
Forward - Lacey Eden, Wisconsin
Defender - Caroline Harvey, Wisconsin
Goalie - Raygan Kirk, Ohio State
Rookie - Cassie Hall, Wisconsin

Oct. 2023: 
Forward - Britta Curl, Wisconsin
Defender - Emma Peschel, Ohio State
Goalie - Sanni Ahola, SCSU
Rookie - Ava McNaughton, Wisconsin

Nov. 2023: 
Forward - Abbey Murphy, Minnesota
Defender - Hadley Hartmetz, Ohio State
Goalie - Hailey MacLeod, UMD
Rookie - Joy Dunne, Ohio State

Dec. 2023: 
Forward - Abbey Murphy, Minnesota
Defender - Caroline Harvey, Wisconsin
Goalie - Sanni Ahola, St. Cloud State
Rookie - Ava Lindsay, Minnesota

Jan. 2024: 
Forward -Casey O’Brien, Wisconsin
Defender - Hadley Hartmetz, Ohio State
Goalie - Raygan Kirk, Ohio State
Rookie - Cassie Hall, Wisconsin