SFU's Van Lare and Ceci headline January Player of the Month winners

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The British Columbia Intercollegiate Hockey League has unveiled its award winners for the month of January.

Player of the Month - Ben Van Lare, Simon Fraser University

Van Lare withstood an early January challenge from Jordan Wood and built upon his BCIHL scoring lead with 12 points in five January games.Highlights included back-to-back three-points efforts at Selkirk College and a two-goal, two-assist performance at Trinity Western. He also kept his season-long scoring streak intact, as the 24-year old has now collected points in all 17 of SFU's regular games. With a strong finish, Van Lare may challenge former UFV forward Rob Vos for the all-time BCIHL single season scoring record.

Defenceman of the Month - Cody Rose, Thompson Rivers University

Rose's return from a professional tryout provided an immediate boost to the WolfPack blueline, as the 23-year old scored twice and totalled six points in four January contests. The Midway, B.C. product contributed multi-point performances in both ends of a home-and-home series against Okanagan College en route to being named BCIHL Player of the Week for Jan. 22nd. He then scored and assisted in a 3-3 tie with Eastern Washington.

Goaltender of the Month - Tim Zwiers, TWU/Cash Ulrich, EWU

Zwiers and Ulrich did their part in achieving a BCIHL milestone when they each pitched shutouts on January 20th in the league's first-ever 0-0 draw. The netminders combined for 52 saves on the night and each made a number of outstanding saves to preserve a point for their respective teams. In a month that saw an average of over 8 goals per games in 13 other regular season contests, Zwiers and Ulrich chose an excellent time to record the first shutouts of their respective BCIHL careers.

Rookie of the Month - Jono Ceci, Simon Fraser University

The former Estevan Bruins sniper has settled in nicely at SFU, where he's risen to third in BCIHL scoring (and second amongst rookies) following an 11-point January. The North Vancouver product began the month with three- and four-point games at Selkirk College, including his first university hat trick, and rounded out the schedule with two-point efforts against TWU and Okanagan College. He also scored the shootout winner to lead SFU past UBC in the 2012 University Hockey Classic early in the month.


PREVIOUS PLAYER OF THE MONTH WINNERS:

November 2011:

Player of the Month: Aaron Buat, Okanagan College
Defenceman of the Month: Shane Oatway, Thompson Rivers University
Goaltender of the Month: Evan Kurylo, Simon Fraser University
Rookie of the Month: Kye Benjaminsen, Trinity Western University

October 2011:

Player of the Month: Ben Van Lare, Simon Fraser University
Defenceman of the Month: David Mann, Okanagan College
Goaltender of the Month: Jason Greenwell, Eastern Washington University
Rookie of the Month: Jordan Wood, Selkirk College