Ferris State's Chad McDonald A National Finalist For Hockey's Senior CLASS Award

Ferris State's Chad McDonald A National Finalist For Hockey's Senior CLASS Award

VOTE HERE FOR CHAD MCDONALD

Big Rapids, Mich. - Senior forward Chad McDonald (Battle Creek) of the Ferris State University men's ice hockey team has been chosen as one of 10 national finalists for the Senior CLASS Award, which is presented annually to a single deserving student-athlete who excels both on and off the ice.

Fans can vote for their favorite candidates daily by visiting the Senior CLASS Award website. Fan voting runs from February 17 to March 28 and is one-third of the criteria that determines the winner.

Previously, McDonald was announced as one of the national candidates for the 2017 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. 

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. 

As one of the 10 national finalists for the prestigious honor, McDonald will now be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition. 

The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2017 NCAA Men's Frozen Final Four® in April. 

This year marks the eighth consecutive year in which the Bulldogs have had one of the national candidates. Former team captains Chad Billins, Kyle Bonis, Scott Czarnowczan and CJ Motte each were among the final nominees and advanced to the finalist round of 10 from 2012-15, respectively. Another former Bulldog and captain, Cody Chupp, was the first finalist in 2010 with ex-Bulldog standout Zach Redmond among the initial nominees in 2011 and defenseman Simon Denis claiming the distinction in 2016. Overall, FSU has now had a top 10 finalist six times in the last eight campaigns to date.

One of FSU's assistant captains this year, McDonald has presently tallied 18 points with  eight goals and eight assists in 30 outings this season for the Bulldogs. Over his four-year career at Ferris State, he's compiled 80 points on 36 goals and 44 assists in 1341 total contests.

Last season, McDonald helped the Bulldogs claim the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) Final Five Championship as FSU advanced to the final eight of the NCAA Division I Tournament for the third time in five years.

In his junior campaign, McDonald ranked second on the squad with 25 total points prior to suffering a late-season injury in postseason play. He tallied 10 goals and 15 assists in 33 contests and posted 94 total shots for the campaign. 

A year ago, McDonald garnered CoSIDA Academic All-District recognition and also earned WCHA All-Academic Team laurels for the second-straight campaign along with being chosen to the WCHA Scholar-Athlete Team for the second time. The Dean's List Award honoree is a four-year letterwinner for the Bulldogs and has ranked among the league leaders in several statistical categories during his collegiate career. He's also been highly-active in Ferris State's various community service endeavors.

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

Ferris State climbed into a share of fourth place and the final home ice playoff spot this past weekend with a home sweep over Alaska-Anchorage at the Ewigleben Ice Arena. The Bulldogs hit the road this week for the final weekend of regular-season play with a pivotal league road series at Lake Superior State in Sault Ste. Marie on Friday and Saturday (Feb. 24-25).