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FARMINGTON HILLS -- Courtesy:  CCHA and NMU

The Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) announced today that Northern Michigan senior forward Matt Thurber has been named the Warrior CCHA Player of the Month for January.

The Beaver Dam, Wis., native helped the Wildcats to a 5-2-1 record in January by notching two goals and adding nine assists, leading the league with 11 points for the month. The senior forward notched points in seven-of-eight games while scoring a power-play goal and recording a +6 rating.

Thurber recorded three multiple-point games in January and is currently riding a five-game point streak in which he has scored twice and added five assists.

The 5-foot-9, 192-pound forward began the month by assisting on three goals against St. Cloud State in a 6-2 win on Jan. 4 and then added another assist the following night in a 2-1 victory. The following weekend against Miami, Thurber picked up two more assists on Jan. 12 in a 3-3 tie.

On Jan. 18, he scored his first goal of the month and added an assist against Ohio State in a 4-2 win and added another assist the next night, a 3-2 sweep-clinching win over the Buckeyes. The Wildcats closed out the month in Alaska, where Thurber scored a power-play goal on Friday night and had an assist on a short-handed goal on Saturday.

Special mention for the Warrior CCHA Player of the Month award goes to Alaska senior forward Jarret Granberg, Bowling Green sophomore forward Ryan Carpenter, Ferris State senior forward Travis Ouellette, Lake Superior senior forward Domenic Monardo and Miami freshman defenseman Matthew Caito.