University of Minnesota Athletics
Wheeler and Fairchild Land Western Collegiate Hockey Association Honors
3/25/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Hockey
Minnesota junior forward Blake Wheeler and freshman defenseman Cade Fairchild both received honors from the Western Collegiate Hockey Association at last week’s league awards banquet in St. Paul.
Wheeler was named to the league’s third team, while Fairchild was an all-rookie team selection. The announcement was made at the WCHA Final Five awards banquet.
Minnesota placed second at the Final Five and earned its eighth consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament with a 19-16-9 overall record. The Gophers finished seventh in regular season WCHA play with a 9-12-7 mark.
Wheeler, a Plymouth native, earned his first all-league honor while leading the Gophers with 15 goals and 19 assists for 34 points. He spread his 34 points over 28 different games and scored his 15 goals over 14 different contests. Wheeler scored the first goal of a game six times this season and had his best performance with two goals and an assist in a 4-1 win over Minnesota Duluth on March 7. He also tallied goals in both games of a series split at North Dakota on Dec. 7-8.
Fairchild, a Duluth native, became the fourth Minnesota player to earn mention on the league’s all-rookie team the past three years. He totaled two goals and 13 assists for 15 points and was a regular on the team’s power play and penalty kill units. He notched 10 points in the first 15 games of the season and also tallied a pair of assists in last week’s WCHA Final Five. Fairchild missed four games at mid-season while playing with the U.S. under-20 national team at the World Junior Championships in the Czech Republic.
Colorado College goaltender Richard Bachman was named the league’s Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year, while Minnesota State’s Troy Jutting received the Coach of the Year Award. Jack Hillen of Colorado College earned Defensive Player of the Year laurels.
