DENVER – The University of Denver hockey team had two players earn National Collegiate Hockey Conference honors for March as junior Matt Davis was named Goaltender of the Month and defenseman Zeev Buium was chosen as Co-Rookie of the Month, the NCHC announced on Wednesday.
 
Davis picked up his first career monthly honor while Buium earned his third such accolade of the season and his second as Rookie of the Month after garnering the award in December as well. Buium was also selected as NCHC Player of the Month in November.
 
Denver's goaltender led all keepers in the conference in the March with a 9-1-0 record, 1.89 goals-against average, .931 save percentage (tied) and one shutout (tied). Davis is on a career-long seven-game winning streak and has helped the Pioneers advance to the Frozen Four for the second time in three years and the program's fifth trip in the last eight tournaments.
 
Davis recorded his first official shutout of the season by stopping all 17 shots he faced against Minnesota Duluth in Game 1 of the NCHC Quarterfinals. He denied 21 shots in an overtime win against St. Cloud State in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff Semifinals and then made 15-of-16 saves the next day against Omaha in the conference championship game. Davis posted a career-high 46 saves in a 2-1 double-overtime win last Thursday against Massachusetts in the NCAA Regional Semifinals before stopping 24-of-25 shots in the Regional Final on Saturday against Cornell to earn Most Outstanding Player honors for the Springfield Regional.
 
The Calgary, Alberta, native has started a personal-best 24 consecutive games since returning from injury following the holiday break and has a 21-5-3 record, 2.48 goals-against average and .911 save percentage in 29 games this season (all starts).
 
Buium led all NCHC defensemen and was second among all players in scoring with 11 points in 10 contests in March. He recorded two goals while tying for the conference lead with nine assists and produced a league-high plus-15 rating.
 
The NCHC Rookie of the Year and Offensive Defenseman of the year, he scored his first career game-winner by tallying in overtime against St. Cloud State in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff Semifinals on March 22 to complete a three-point night after also adding two assists. Buium recorded points in seven-of-10 games in the month and had an assist on Denver's game-winning marker in the NCAA Regional Final last Saturday versus Cornell.
 
Buium is tied for first among all defensemen in the country in scoring with 49 points, which also ranks fifth among freshmen. His 38 assists on the year are tied for third in the NCAA, tied for the highest among all D-men and is third-most by a freshman. Overall, his 49 points are the third-most by a Denver freshman defenseman in program history and his 38 assists are tied for the second-most by a rookie player ever at DU.
 
Tyson Gross of St. Cloud State was also named Co-Rookie of the Month after totaling 10 points on five goals and five assists in eight games. Denver's Jack Devine was a finalist for Player of the Month, which was given to UND's Jackson Blake who had 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in eight games.
 
Both Davis and Buium and now eligible for the National Player of the Month awards for March, which will be announced on Thursday by the Hockey Commissioners' Association.