Junior goaltender Hunter Shepard, who helped lead the University of Minnesota Duluth to its second NCAA Division I title in as many years this past April, was bestowed with the Keith "Huffer" Christiansen Award as UMD's Most Valuable Player for 2018-19 on Thursday night at AMSOIL Arena during an awards ceremony in which the Bulldogs also received their national championship rings. It marked the second year in a row Shepard has been so honored.

Shepard, who concluded his junior year having started 81 straight games, was a first-team All-American in 2018-19 --  the fourth Bulldog puckstopper to ever attain that status and the first to do so in 10 years (Alex Stalock). A 2018-19 All-National Collegiate Hockey Conference first team pick and the reigning NCHC Goaltender of the Year, Shepard ranked first in the nation in victories (he was 29-11-2 overall), second in shutouts (seven -- one shy of the school mark that he set as a sophomore), fourth in goals against average (a school-record 1.76 mark) and 15th in saves percentage (.923). During the postseason, in which he went a perfect 8-0-0 with an 0.79 goals against average and a .967 saves percentage, Shepard hit the trivecta, landing spots on the NCAA Frozen Four, the NCAA Midwest Regional and NCHC Frozen Faceoff All-Tournament Teams. With a 3-0 takedown of the University of Massachusetts in the Frozen Fourt title bout, the Cohasset, Minn., native became the first netminder in a half century to backstop his club to two consecutive NCAA championships.

In addition, Noah Cates received the Jerry Chumola Rookie of the Year Award on the heels of a debut season in which he secured a spot on the NCHC All-Rookie Team and  topped all Bulldog newcomers in goals (nine), assists (14) and points (23).  The Goldie Wolfe Award (Most Inspirational Player) went to senior right winger and team captain Parker Mackay, who was chosen the Most Outstanding Player at both the Frozen Four and NCAA Midwest Regional, while sophomore center Justin Richards earned the Mike Sertich Award (Most Improved Player) after collecting 32 points -- a 26-point increase from his rookie season -- to rank second on the club. Junior center Jade Miller was given the Pat Francisco Community Service Award.