Suess, Jaremko earn season-ending awards

C.J. Suess

Minnesota State’s top two centers this season also were two of the top centers in the entire Western Collegiate Hockey Association.

On Tuesday, they were honored as such.

Senior C.J. Suess was named the league’s Offensive Player of the Year, and freshman Jake Jaremko was named Rookie of the Year.

Suess, a first-team All-WCHA forward, leads the Mavericks in scoring with 43 points, including 22 goals. His 36 points in WCHA regular-season play led the league, and his 19 goals in those games were tied for first.

Jaremko, a WCHA all-rookie-team pick, is the third player to win the rookie award, joining forward and teammate Marc Michaelis, who won it last year, and goaltender Stephon Williams, who won it in 2013.

Jake Jaremko

Jaremko has 39 points, including 15 goals, making him MSU’s highest-scoring rookie in the program's Division I era. Last weekend he surpassed the previous high of 37 set by David Backes in 2003-04.

The other player awards announced Tuesday were Defenseman of the Year Alec Rauhauser of Bowling Green and Goaltender of the Year Atte Tolvanen of Northern Michigan.

Northern Michigan coach Grant Potulny, who made the Wildcats a championship contender in his first season, was named Coach of the Year.

The WCHA will announce its Player of the Year Award on Thursday.