Minnesota’s Sam Rinzel was named the Big Ten Conference Men’s Hockey Defensive Player of the Year, headlining the 2024-25 postseason awards, it was announced Tuesday. Rinzel was joined by Jimmy Snuggerud as All-B1G First Team honorees, while four other Golden Gophers were selected to the All-B1G Honorable Mention Team. Ryan Chesley, Connor Kurth, Liam Souliere, and Matthew Wood each picked up postseason accolades and Aaron Huglen was given the B1G Sportsmanship Award.
Rinzel is the fourth skater representing the Maroon and Gold, sixth all-time recipient, to earn the top defensive honor from the league and first since Brock Faber won the award in back-to-back years from 2021-22 to 2022-23. It’s the 10th season in the 12-year history of the conference that Minnesota has claimed at least one major postseason accolade, while it’s the second year since the formation of the B1G that no Gophers were selected to the All-Freshman Team and first time since 2014-15.
Sam Rinzel (B1G Defensive Player of the Year, All-B1G First Team)
Rinzel, an All-B1G Second Team selection a season ago, took his game to another level during his sophomore campaign, setting career highs in goals (10) and points (31). He paced the conference and ranked sixth nationally for goals and points by a defenseman in 2024-25. The Chanhassen, Minn., native became a power-play threat during the season scoring three times, two of which went down as game-winning goals, and totaled 12 points on the man advantage. Rinzel put together eight outings with multiple points, including a pair of multi-goal efforts, and showcased his versatility up and down the ice as a shutdown defender and a skater that led Minnesota’s transition offense.
Jimmy Snuggerud (All-B1G First Team)
Snuggerud joins elite company as the sixth player in program history to earn three postseason awards from the conference as he and Jackson LaCombe are the only two Gophers to be named to the first or second team three times. Earning the first-team honor for the second-straight season, the captain leads the Maroon and Gold’s offense with 49 points, which ranks second in the B1G and fifth nationally. He set a career high by finding the back of the net 22 times, one more than his freshman and sophomore totals, with a conference-leading 19 of the goals coming during league play. Snuggerud tallied a point in 29 of 39 games played this year and put together 16 multi-point performances, helping the junior earn three B1G First Star of the Week honors in 2024-25.
Ryan Chesley (All-B1G Honorable Mention Team)
It only took six games to start the campaign for Chesley, an All-B1G Second Team selection a year ago, to set a new career best goal output, potting four in the first month on his way to eight this season. The captain from Mahtomedi, Minn., ranks 11th among NCAA defensemen in goals and surpassed his point total from his first two college seasons combined with 20 in 2024-25 thanks to four multi-point performances. He buried the first shorthanded goal of his career at Wisconsin (Nov. 8) and tallied a career-high three points in a home win over Mercyhurst (Jan. 4). For the second-consecutive season, Chesley is pacing the Gophers in blocked shots with 68, which sits 17th nationally and second in the conference.
Connor Kurth (All-B1G Honorable Mention Team)
Kurth used 12 points in six games during the month of October to set the tone for a career year as the junior has more than doubled his offensive output from his first two NCAA campaigns. He has set career bests in goals (17), assists (21), and points (38) to tie for second in scoring for Minnesota in 2024-25 after putting up 32 combined points as a freshman and sophomore. The Lindstrom, Minn., native is the nation’s plus-minus leader at plus-31, and he currently leads the Gophers with six appearances of three or more points this season, including his first collegiate hat trick on opening night against Air Force (Oct. 11) during the 2024 Ice Breaker Tournament.
Liam Souliere (All-B1G Honorable Mention Team)
Souliere is enjoying the best year of his five-year college hockey career during a lone season with the Maroon and Gold, owning career bests of a 2.28 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage. Thanks to a 13-7-2 overall record, he has tallied double-digit victories in three-straight years and picked up the 50th win of his NCAA career against Ohio State (Feb. 21). A product of Montreal, Quebec, he had shutout victories over Penn State (Nov. 2), his first appearance versus his former team, and Michigan (Dec. 7) this year to go with seven outings of 30 or more saves.
Matthew Wood (All-B1G Honorable Mention Team)
Wood burst onto the scene in his Minnesota debut behind a career-best, three-assist effort versus Air Force (Oct. 11) and registered five multi-point performances in his first six appearances. The junior continued his consistent offensive production throughout the season before posting a current, four-game point streak and 11 points in the last 10 games. The Nanaimo, B.C., native has 17 goals and 21 assists for 38 points, tying for second on the team and ranking 27th in the country. Wood put together 12 outings with multiple points this year, including a pair of two-goal efforts, while scoring all three of his power-play tallies in the past eight appearances.
BIG TEN HOCKEY POSTSEASON AWARDS:
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Isaac Howard, F, MSU
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Sam Rinzel, D, MINN
GOALTENDER OF THE YEAR
Trey Augustine, MSU
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Michael Hage, F, MICH
COACH OF THE YEAR
Steve Rohlik, OSU
ALL-BIG TEN FIRST TEAM
F — Isaac Howard, Jr., Michigan State
F — Jimmy Snuggerud, Jr., Minnesota
F — Aiden Fink, So., Penn State +
D — Matt Basgall, Jr., Michigan State
D — Sam Rinzel, So., Minnesota
G — Trey Augustine, So., Michigan State
ALL-BIG TEN SECOND TEAM
F — T.J. Hughes, Jr., Michigan
F — Quinn Finley, So., Wisconsin
F — Cole Knuble, So., Notre Dame
D — Ethan Edwards, Sr., Michigan
D — Simon Mack, Sr., Penn State
G — Arsenii Sergeev, Jr., Penn State
ALL-BIG TEN HONORABLE MENTION
F — Karsen Dorwart, Jr., Michigan State
F — Connor Kurth, Jr., Minnesota
F — Matthew Wood, Jr., Minnesota
F — Davis Burnside, Jr., Ohio State
F — Gunnarwolfe Fontaine, Gr., Ohio State
F — Riley Thompson, So., Ohio State
F — Reese Laubach, So., Penn State
F — Ryland Mosley, Gr., Wisconsin
D — Jacob Truscott, Gr., Michigan
D — Ryan Chesley, Jr., Minnesota
D — Damien Carfagna, Jr., Ohio State
G — Liam Souliere, Gr., Minnesota
G — Logan Terness, Sr., Ohio State
BIG TEN ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
F — Michael Hage, Fr., Michigan
F — Charlie Cerrato, Fr., Penn State
F — Gavin Morrissey, Fr., Wisconsin
D — Cade Christenson, Fr., Penn State +
D — Logan Hensler, Fr., Wisconsin +
G — Cameron Korpi, Fr., Michigan
BIG TEN SPORTSMANSHIP AWARDS
Jacob Truscott, Gr., D, Michigan
Matt Basgall, Jr., D, Michigan State
Aaron Huglen, Sr., F, Minnesota
Tyler Carpenter, Sr., F, Notre Dame
Patrick Guzzo, Gr., F, Ohio State
Carson Dyck, Sr., F, Penn State
Anthony Kehrer, Gr., D, Wisconsin
+ unanimous selections
(info and stock photo courtesy of Gopher Sports)
