The National Collegiate Hockey Conference announced today that senior University of Denver forward Larkin Jacobson (Sioux City, Iowa) has been named to the 2014-15 NCHC Scholar-Athlete Team along with Western Michigan sophomore defenseman Taylor Fleming, Colorado College junior forward Jared Hanson, St. Cloud State junior forward Kalle Kossila, Minnesota-Duluth senior forward Adam Krause, Omaha senior goalie Ryan Massa, North Dakota senior defenseman Nick Mattson and Miami junior goalie Jay Williams.

The NCHC Scholar-Athlete Team consists of one student-athlete from each of the eight NCHC institutions. Each school selected their recipient based on criteria that included having at least a 3.50 grade-point average and having competed in at least 50 percent of their teams' games this season. Scholar-Athlete Team representatives also demonstrated athletic achievement on the ice and have given back to the community and/or the campus though service opportunities. To be eligible, a student-athlete must have completed a full year at their school.

Jacobson, a finance major who has volunteered with the Special Olympics and the Colorado Children's Hospital, has been recognized for his scholastic prowess in all four of his seasons at DU, capturing NCHC Academic All-Conference honors last year as well as DU Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors in 2011-12 and again in 2012-13. He is one of only two members of this year's NCHC Scholar-Athlete Team to have recorded a GPA above 3.9. The 23-year-old left winger tallied 5G-2A-7P in 31 games played for the Pioneers during the 2014-15 regular season, with four of his five goals having been game-winners. He is also currently a finalist for the NCHC Goal of the Year along with teammate Danton Heinen (Langley, BC).

The 2014-15 NCHC Scholar-Athlete of the Year will be chosen from the Scholar-Athlete Team, with the winner being announced at the NCHC Awards Celebration on Thursday, March 19 in Minneapolis on the eve of the Frozen Faceoff.

Along with the eight student-athletes on the Scholar-Athlete Team, a total of 97 NCHC student-athletes received Academic All-Conference recognition for achieving a cumulative GPA above 3.0 and having completed a full year at their current institution. Freshmen are not included in this list, but those first-year student-athletes that finish with a 3.0 GPA or better at the end of the 2014-15 school year will be recognized this summer and added to the NCHC Academic All-Conference Team. Athletic success and playing time are not criteria for this award. Denver led the NCHC with 17 Academic All-Conference honorees: Will Butcher, Evan Cowley, Josiah Didier, Daniel Doremus, Brad Hawkinson, Jacobson, Evan Janssen, Rudy Junda, Gabe Levin, Matt Marcinew, Nick Neville, Greg Ogard, Emil Romig, Quentin Shore, Matt Tabrum, Matt VanVoorhis, and Nolan Zajac.

Last year's NCHC Tournament champions, the [7/8] Pioneers begin their postseason title defense on Friday night (7:37pm) at Magness Arena against the [6/6] Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs in the opener of a best-of-three series. Game 2 will be played on Saturday night (7:07pm) in Denver and, if necessary, a third and deciding match will be staged at Magness Arena on Sunday, also at 7:07pm. The winning team will go on to compete at the 2015 Frozen Faceoff tournament in Minneapolis, Minn.

Tickets to all three of this weekend's DU-UMD playoff games can be obtained by calling the Daniel L. Ritchie Center Box Office at (303) 871-2336 or by visiting DenverPioneers.com/tickets.