Aerin Frankel and Alina Mueller Named Co-Players of the Year

WAKEFIELD, Mass. - The Hockey East Association announced today that Northeastern senior goaltender Aerin Frankel (Briarcliff Manor, N.Y.) and junior forward Alina Mueller (Winterthur, Switzerland) have been awarded the 2021 Cammi Granato Award as Hockey East Co-Players of the Year. Mueller becomes the first player to win the award in back-to-back seasons while Frankel is the first goaltender to be so honored since 2011-12.

Alongside Mueller and Frankel, Northeastern Head Coach Dave Flint was named Hockey East Coach of the Year for the third consecutive year, and fourth of his career, while Vermont goaltender Jessie McPherson (Chatham, Ont.) was named Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Year, the first Catamount to win the top first-year honor.

BONUS VIDEO: Player of the Year Finalists | Rookie of the Year Finalists | Coach of the Year Finalists

player Frankel rewrote record books in the 2020-21 season, setting a new single-season record for save percentage in league play (.971), breaking the league’s all-time career shutouts mark (25), and posting the second-best single-season goals against average in league history (0.65.) She currently leads the NCAA in goals against average (0.61), save percentage (.972), wins (16), and shutouts (9.) The senior netminder enjoyed a stretch where she pitched five perfect games in a row and broke the Northeastern career shutout record with 28 career blank sheets. Frankel had eight shutouts this season alone in conference play, tying the league single-season record. She is currently the NU program record holder for career wins. To date, she has allowed just 11 goals in 18 appearances in 2020-21 and has not allowed more than one goal in each of her last 12 outings. She currently boasts a 16-1-1 record including a current 16-game personal unbeaten streak. Frankel was named a Top 10 Finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award on February 25 for the second consecutive season. She was named National Goaltender of the Month in January and February 2021, Hockey East Player of the Week on two occasions and Defensive Player of the Week twice. Last week, she was named a Hockey East First Team All-Star for the third time.

player Mueller has appeared in all 20 games the Huskies have played this season and led all Hockey East players in nearly every overall scoring category, including assists (22), points (31), assists per game (1.16), points per game (1.63), power-play assists (10), power-play points (11), and on-ice rating (+28.) The junior center leads the country with 23 assists and 33 points. Mueller was crowned Hockey East scoring champion for the second straight year, racking up nine goals and 22 assists in just 19 outings. She scored two game-winning goals and assisted on six others, playing a factor in eight of the 18 game-winning strikes for the Huskies this season. Northeastern is 8-0-1 this year when Mueller finds the back of the net and 31-0-1 over the past two years when the forward scores a goal. In 2020-21, her team is 14-0-1 with she records at least one point. She was also named Hockey East Player of the Week two times. Mueller was named as a Top 10 Finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award on February 25 for the third straight year after finishing in the Top 3 for college hockey’s top individual honor last season. She was one of two unanimous selections to the Hockey East All-Star First Team and was named the National Player of the Month for February.

player McPherson started in seven of Vermont’s 11 games in 2020-21, posting a 1.57 goals against average, .938 save percentage, and three shutouts. Her goals against average was eighth-best in the NCAA. On January 1, she became just the first freshman goaltender to earn a shutout in her debut for Vermont since 2014 in a 17-save shutout. McPherson then posted a second blank sheet in as many career starts with a 26-save road performance on January 8 en route to beginning her time in a Catamount uniform with a 4-0-0 record. Her three shutouts were second-best in the nation among all rookie goaltenders, while her .938 ranked second and her 1.57 goals against average was fourth. She backboned Vermont to the fourth seed in the Hockey East Tournament, the Catamounts’ best performance since 2014. She was named the Hockey East Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week on January 11 and the Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week on January 5. She was also named to the watch list for the inaugural Women’s Hockey Goalie of the Year Award, as announced by the Women’s Hockey Commissioners Association. Last week, she earned a spot on the 2020-21 Pro Ambitions All-Rookie Team.

player Flint captured the Coach of the Year title for the third straight season after leading the Northeastern Huskies to a 17-1-1 record and the number one seed in the Hockey East Tournament for the third year in a row. Flint has guided the Huskies to back-to-back-to-back Hockey East Tournament championships for the first time in program history. Flint coached his team to an average of 4.21 goals per game, the highest of any NCAA program in 2020-21, while allowing just 0.68 goals per game, the lowest in the nation. The 0.68 goals against per game is the lowest in league history. Flint’s power play operated at a national-best 21.1% success rate, while their 96.3 penalty kill percentage was second in the NCAA. No team in the country fired more shot on goal than Northeastern’s 736. Additionally, Northeastern’s 13 goals allowed were the lowest nationally and their average of 21.74 shots on net allowed per game was second lowest.

The 2021 Women’s Tournament continues with semifinals today. UConn travels to Northeastern at 4:30 p.m. while Maine visits Providence at 7:00 p.m. Both games will air live on NESN in New England and worldwide on SportsLive. The championship game is slated for Saturday, March 6 to determine the winner of the 2021 Bertagna Trophy and an automatic berth into the National Championship Tournament. For a full schedule and television information, visit HockeyEastOnline.com.