AMESBURY, Mass. — Sophomore Justin Hryckowian and freshmen Cam Lund and Hunter McDonald represented the No. 15/16 Northeastern men's hockey team, earning honors from Hockey East as the league unveiled its preliminary postseason award selections on Wednesday. Hryckowian was named the Gladiator Custom Mouthguards Best Defensive Forward, McDonald earned Best Defensive Defenseman honors and Lund, along with McDonald, claimed Pro Ambitions All-Rookie accolades.
 
For the first time in his career, Hryckowian is the Gladiator Custom Mouthguards Best Defensive Forward, posting 29 points in 24 league games. Hryckowian recorded 29 points from a league-high 14 goals and 15 assists. His 319 faceoff wins led the conference in addition to his plus-19 rating and tied for second with four game-winning goals. His 22 blocks on the year edged all Northeastern forwards. This season, Hryckowian was named Hockey East Player of the Week (Nov. 7) and Player of the Month in November. He is the second-ever Husky to be named Best Defensive Foward in program history.
 
The Hockey East Best Defensive Defenseman and Pro Ambitions All-Rookie honoree, McDonald kicked off his collegiate career with 11 points this season from 11 assists in 34 games played. The Philadelphia Flyers draft pick led the league with 65 blocked shots and was second in the nation with 91 blocks. McDonald helped guide the Huskies' defensive unit that ranks first in team save percentage (.945), penalty-kill percentage (.874) and allowed the least number of goals (45) in the conference. In his debut season, McDonald is the first-ever freshman to recieve Best Defensive Defenseman honors. He was also named the Army ROTC Defender of the Week twice by Hockey East this season.
 
Lund led all Husky rookies with 17 points, off five goals and 12 assists. This marks his second career honor from Hockey East, following his Pro Ambitions Player of the Week honor on Nov. 14. His 11 points rank eighth among all Hockey East rookies. The San Jose Sharks draft pick recorded a plus-eight rating on the season and further contributed nine blocks. Earlier this season, Lund was also named to the 2023 U.S. National Junior Team preliminary roster by USA Hockey.
 
The remainder of the awards, including the three All-Star Teams, Goaltender of the Year, Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year and Coach of the Year will be unveiled in the coming days by Hockey East.
 
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