Henderson named Senior CLASS Award candidate

November 15, 2012

University Relations

Photo by Paul McCarthy
Photo by Paul McCarthy


Jamie Foland
474-6807



Senior center and team captain Adam Henderson has been selected as one of twenty candidates for the 2012-13 Senior CLASS Award® in collegiate hockey.

To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition.

Henderson has been side-by-side with his teammates out in the Fairbanks community for the last three seasons, as much as possible. They make monthly visits to the Denali Center for “Sports Night” with its residents (both senior citizens and other Alaskans with disabilities). He has also helped coach the youngest level of hockey players in Fairbanks through the Ice Puppies program, volunteered his time with Big Brothers, Big Sisters and the “Bigs For A Day” event, Mush for Kids, the With All Your Heart Foundation and Hockey Week in Fairbanks.



Henderson graduated cum laude (3.87 grade-point average) from the University of Alaska Fairbanks in May of 2012 with his bachelor of business administration in finance. He was a member of UAF Student Investment Fund in 2011-12 and serves as a tutor for the class this year while he pursues his Masters of Business Administration. He is a member of the International Honor Society Beta Gamma Sigma, which is a business honor society that recognizes the most outstanding students of business at institutions accredited by AACSB International - The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Students are chosen by the faculty of their business schools to be invited to membership in the Society. He was Alaska's Dirk Anderson Scholar Athlete and the program's CCHA Scholar Athlete of the Year nominee.




Henderson was named the 2012-13 team captain for the Nanooks, as voted by his teammates and coaches.

“Adam has grown each year he has been a part of our program and has established himself as a tremendous leader on and off the ice," said head coach Dallas Ferguson. "As our team captain, Adam leads by example and displays the work ethic and commitment we demand from our student-athletes."

"Off the ice, Adam is a tremendous student and truly exemplifies what it means to be a collegiate student-athlete. He is a well-rounded individual, who represents the Alaska Hockey program with his strong values," Ferguson added.




In three seasons with Alaska, Henderson has emerged as one of the program's top face-off takers. After leading the team in 2011-12 with 261 wins (2nd best for the Nanooks), he has the early lead in 2012-13 season through 10 games with 132 wins (54 more than the next best draw-man) and a 58.1 percent efficiency. He has played in 96 career games, scoring nine goals and seven assists. Nine of his 16 career points were scored in the later part of the 2011-12 season, when he came on strong down the stretch to score eight of his nine points in Alaska's last 15 games of the year. He was named the Unsung Hero for the Nanooks in the Playoffs as a result.


An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.




The 2012-13 candidate class includes six candidates who have cumulative grade point averages above 3.5. The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2013 NCAA Frozen Four® in Pittsburgh April 11 and 13. Five of the 20 candidates are from Central Collegiate Hockey Association teams.


The candidate class will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one finalist who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition. ?




For more information on all the candidates, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.

The complete list of candidates are listed below:



Nick Bailen, RPI

Brett Beebe, Western Michigan

Danny Biega, Harvard

Kyle Bonis, Ferris State

Stephen Carew, Air Force

Nick D'Agostino, Cornell

Kyle Flanagan, St. Lawrence

Alex Gerke, Connecticut

Ben Hanowski, St. Cloud State

Connor Hardowa, New Hampshire

Seth Helgeson, Minnesota

Adam Henderson, Alaska

Brendan Jamison, Robert Morris

Mike Johnson, Notre Dame

Dan Koudys, Bentley

Ryan Little, Wisconsin

Mark Nemec, Maine

Brandon Nunn, Holy Cross

Cheyne Rocha, Army

Steven Spinell, Miami (Ohio)


ABOUT THE AWARD

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Senior

CLASS Award honors the attributes of senior student-athletes in four areas: community,

classroom, character and competition. The award program is designed exclusively for

college seniors who are utilizing their complete athletic eligibility, remaining committed

to their university and pursuing the many rewards a senior season can bring. Premier

Sports Management owns and manages the award.