Kayla Griffith was named All-Northern Collegiate Hockey Association for the third time as the 2016-17 All-NCHA and NCHA All-Freshmen Teams were released on Thursday. Griffith was one of seven Foresters to appear on at least one of the lists.
Griffith, a junior who sees time at both forward and on defense this season, is tied-for-13th in the conference with 23 points, tied-for-18th with nine goals, and tied-for-12th with 14 assists. She has recorded 11 power play points on the year, which ranks 11th in the league. Griffith has at least one point in 18 of 25 contests and her +16 plus/minus rating is the best on the team. This is her third straight appearance as a defenseman on the All-NCHA Team.
Lake Forest junior forward Olivia Spellmire is also a repeat All-NCHA selection. She is tied-for-sixth in the league with 34 points and 15 points and tied-for-eighth with 19 assists. Just one player in the conference has more than her 18 points on the power play this season. She also ranks tied-for-third in the NCHA with six power play goals and tied-for-first with three short-handed scores. Spellmire has at least one point in 20 of 25 games.
After earning NCHA All-Freshman Team honors in 2015-16, Forester forward Amy Budde is an All-NCHA selection this year. She leads the team and ranks fourth in the conference with 36 points while her 15 goals are the fifth-most in the league and her 19 assists rank tied-for-eighth. Just one NCHA player has more than her four game-winning goals and she is fifth with 15 power play points and five power play goals (tied). She has had multiple points in a game 11 times so far this season.
Lake Forest Defenseman Julia Unterseher and goaltender Jacque Rogers were named to both the All-NCHA and NCHA All-Freshman Teams. Unterseher has eight goals and seven assists and her 15 points rank tied-for-fourth among freshmen in the conference and tied-for-sixth among league defensemen. In addition, she is tied-for-fifth in the league with five power play goals and tied-for-fourth with three game-winners. Rogers owns the second-best goals-against-average (1.46) and save percentage (.937) in the NCHA and ranks tied-for-fourth in winning percentage with a record of 12-3-0.
Joining Unterseher and Rogers on the NCHA All-Freshman Team are forwards Sydney Simone and Lexi Morgan. Simone ranks second among freshmen in the league with 28 points while Morgan is tied-for-fourth with 15, despite missing nine games. Simone also leads the team and ranks fifth in the conference with 22 assists, the third-highest total in team history.
Lake Forest and regular season conference champion Adrian College each had a total of seven players earn All-NCHA or NCHA All-Freshman Team honors whlie the rest of the league conbined for just three honorees.
The Foresters finished the regular season with a 20-4-1 overall record and a 14-3-1 mark in conference play. Lake Forest will host the College of St. Scholastica in this weekend's NCHA Slaats Cup Playoff semifinal series.
