DENVER – Freshman defenseman Zeev Buium of the Denver Pioneers hockey team was named the National Co-Player of the Month for November on Wednesday by the Hockey Commissioners Association.
 
This is Buium's first national honor and marks the second straight month where a Pioneer picked up the accolade, as junior forward Massimo Rizzo was also named National Co-Player of the Month for October.
 
Buium was selected on Tuesday as the NCHC Player of the Month, becoming just the second freshman in conference history to earn the honor and the first rookie D-man to do so (North Dakota forward Brock Boeser in March/April 2016). The defenseman led all players in the NCHC in November with 14 points, 11 assists and a plus-13 rating while also contributing three goals in eight games.
 
The San Diego, California, native is on an eight-game point streak, tying Sean Behrens (Jan. 15-Feb. 5, 2022) for the longest by a Pioneer freshman defenseman since 2002. The 17-year-old was named the NCHC's Rookie of the Week on Monday after totaling five points in Denver's weekend sweep of Yale. He scored last Friday before contributing a career-high four assists on Saturday—the most helpers in a game by a DU rookie defenseman since 2002 and just the third instance by a freshman D-man in the NCAA since 2016.
 
Buium leads all Denver rear guards and ranks fourth on the squad with 18 points this season. Nationally, he ranks tied for second among blueliners in the country in scoring and is first among freshman defenseman in points.
 
The DU rookie shares the award with Lake Superior State senior Jared Westcott, who tied Buium for the NCAA led in scoring in November with 14 points in eight games (seven goals, seven assists).
 
Fellow Pioneer freshman Miko Matikka was a runner-up as the National Rookie of the Month, which was won by Penn State's Aidan Fink. Nils Wallstrom of American International College was selected as the National Goaltender of the Month.
 
 
UP NEXT: No. 3 Denver wraps up its season-long six-homestand this weekend against No. 2 North Dakota at Magness Arena. Friday's game begins at 7 p.m. MT while Saturday's game starts at 6 p.m. MT.

TICKETS: Single-game tickets, as well as 5-Game Packs and full and half-season ticket plans are all available to purchase here.