DENVER – Two University of Denver hockey players earned monthly honors from the National Collegiate Hockey Conference on Wednesday as junior
Eric Pohlkamp was named Defenseman of the Month and freshman
Quentin Miller was selected as Goaltender of the Month for November.
This the first career NCHC monthly award for both Pohlkamp and Miller, and this is also the first season that both the conference and the national Hockey Commissioners Association are honoring separate defensemen and forwards of the month. Pohlkamp has been recognized with monthly conference honors twice before, as he was named the CCHA Defenseman of the Month for both February and March 2024 while as a freshman at Bemidji State.
Pohlkamp not only led all NCHC defensemen but was first among all blueliners in the NCAA in November with seven goals while his 10 points were tied for third-most among rear guards in the country (Denver's
Boston Buckberger also had 10). He scored in six of the eight games during the month, with his seven markers tied with North Dakota forward Ben Strinden for the most in the league. Pohlkamp also blocked 11 shots and finished with a plus-10 rating in November.
The Baxter, Minnesota, native tallied six goals in a six-game stretch from Nov. 1-21 (6g/3a), which included a career-long, four-game goal streak from Nov. 1-14 (4g/2a)—the longest by a defenseman in NCHC history and the longest by a Denver D-man since at least 2002-03 (online records presently don't go back any further). The goal streak was also the longest by a defenseman in the NCAA this year and the longest since Cole Hutson also went on a four-game run for Boston University from Feb. 22-March 8, 2025 (4g/4a).
Pohlkamp, who recorded two of his three NCHC Defenseman of the Week awards in the month, had three multi-point outings in November, beginning with a goal and an assist on Nov. 1 against Alaska Anchorage. He also scored and added a helper on Nov. 8 to complete the road sweep of then-No. 4 Western Michigan before matching a season best with three points on Nov. 21 at Arizona State. His two goals and one assist at ASU marked his second multi-goal game of the season and fourth of his career, while it also served as his sixth career three-point contest. Additionally, he scored the game-tying goal to force overtime on Nov 14 versus then-No. 17 Colorado College.
The San Jose Sharks draft pick scored his 11th goal of the year on Saturday in the 2025 U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game against Minnesota at Ball Arena to tie a career best for a single season (also tallied 11 goals in 2023-24 and 2024-25). Pohlkamp leads Denver in goals while his 17 points (11g/6a) are also first on the squad. Nationally, he ranks first among all NCAA D-men in goals and is tied for fifth overall among all skaters in the category. His 17 points are tied for second for rear guards in the country.
Miller started all eight contests for the Pioneers in November and did not lose in regulation during the month, with both of his losses coming in overtime. He led all NCHC goalies in games played (8-tied), wins (6), save percentage (.932) and saves per game (29.25) and ranked second in goals-against average (2.08). Miller, who was named NCHC Rookie of the Month on Nov. 11 and Goaltender of the Month on Nov. 18, also ranked in the top 11 nationally in wins, goals-against average, save percentage, shots faced and saves for the month (minimum six games played).
The Montreal, Quebec, native allowed two goals or fewer in five of the eight games and started the month with a 17-save shutout of Alaska Anchorage on Nov. 1. He recorded career highs during the series at then-No. 4 Western Michigan, stopping 35-of-36 shots on Nov. 7 before making 41-of-44 saves on Nov. 8 to help the Pioneers sweep the road set. The Montreal Canadiens prospect recorded two other 30-plus save performances by stopping 38 shots on Nov. 15 at Colorado College and turning away 31 pucks on Nov. 21 at Arizona State.
Miller has started in 12 straight outings and hasn't lost in regulation in each of the past nine contests (6-3-0) dating back to Oct. 31. He won a career-long six straight games from Nov. 1-21. Overall this season, he has compiled an 8-4-1 record, 1.96 goals-against average, .928 save percentage and two shutouts in 13 starts.
Matt Davis was the last Pioneer to be named NCHC Goaltender of the Month as he earned the accolade at the end of last season in March/April 2025.
North Dakota's Ben Strinden was selected as the NCHC Forward of the Month while teammate Will Zellers was November's Rookie of the Month in the league. DU's
James Reeder (forward) and
Eric Jamieson (rookie) were finalists for monthly awards from the conference.
Pohlkamp and Miller are now eligible for the Hockey Commissioners Association's (HCA) national monthly honors that will be announced on Thursday.
UP NEXT: The No. 6/5 Pioneers continue a three-game homestay this weekend as they host the No. 19-ranked Miami RedHawks at Magness Arena on Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. MT. Both games will be available on NCHC.tv while Saturday's contest will also be televised on Altitude Sports.
TICKETS: Single-game tickets and 5-game mini plans for DU hockey's 2025-26 campaign are on sale now.
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