Mike Connolly, who closed out his debut collegiate season sporting the second highest scoring total of any rookie in the country, has been chosen to the 2008-09 Inside College Hockey Freshman All-American Team.

The 5-8, 180-pound left winger from Calgary, Alberta placed third on the University of Minnesota Duluth scoring charts with 13 goals and 29 assists for 42 points -- a figure bettered by only one other NCAA rookie (Minnesota's Jordan Schroeder) and the most by a Bulldog newcomer since 2002-03 when Tim Stapleton paced UMD with that same total. A 2008-09 Western Collegiate Hockey Association All-Rookie Team pick, Connolly reigned as UMD's plus-minus leader this season (plus-11) and was one of nine Bulldogs to skate in all 43 games. He put an exclamation point on his sensational freshman year by collecting eight points in the final four games en route to landing a spot on both the WCHA Final Five All-Tournament and NCAA West Regional All-Tournament teams.

UMD posted a 22-13-8 overall record in 2008-09 and captured the WCHA Final Five championship before bowing out to Miami University in the title game of the NCAA West Regional late last month.