One day after the Women's Hockey Commissioners Association announced the creation of the Women's Hockey Commissioners Association National Monthly Awards -- given to the nation's top collegiate women's hockey player and rookie each month of the season beginning in this 2017 calendar year -- University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey senior forward Lara Stalder earned the first ever honor.  Stalder picked up the inaugural Women's Hockey Commissioners' Association National Division I Player of the Month, earning the historic award for January 2017 after registering an NCAA-best 2.67 points-per- game and +16 rating.  

The Luzern, Switzerland native ranked among the Western Collegiate Hockey Association and NCAA leaders in several offensive categories last month, propelling the Bulldogs to an undefeated, 5-0-1 mark and a climb to No. 2 in the national polls – the program's highest ranking since October 2010. The 5-6 winger tied for the WCHA lead with 16 points, while she was tops nationally with eight goals and averages of 1.33 goals- and 7.83 shots-per- game. The WCHA Player of the Month for January, Stalder paced the league with an average of 1.33 assists-per-game and two game-winning goals.  

A three-time WCHA Offensive Player of the Week in January, Stalder tallied a point in all six games and factored in each of the Bulldogs' five-game winning goals (two goals and three assists). She opened the month with a six-point series (3g-3a) against then-No. 2 Minnesota, netting the game-winner in the series finale to lift UMD to its first sweep of the Gophers since Oct. 29-30, 2010. Against Bemidji State on Jan. 20, she potted a natural hat trick, including the game-winner, and added an assist in the Bulldogs' 6- 1 road win. Stalder closed the month with a one-goal, three-assist weekend as the Bulldogs swept visiting Ohio State.  

Stalder, a bronze medalist at the 2014 Winter Olympics, is currently with the Swiss National Team vying for a spot on her second Olympic team. She departed tied for third in the NCAA with an average of 1.65 points-per- game, as she has tallied 17 goals and 26 assists for 43 points in 26 contests this season.

The WHCA National Monthly Awards are nominated and voted on by the four women's college conferences.  During the first week of each month, the four women's college hockey conferences -- College Hockey America, ECAC Hockey, Women's Hockey East, and the WCHA -- will nominate and vote upon the best player and best rookie from the previous month. The award winners, dubbed the WHCA National Player of the Month and WHCA National Rookie of the Month, will be then announced within the following days.