MADISON, Wis. – When the Wisconsin men's hockey program held its annual awards banquet on Saturday, April 1, there were a handful of changes from its format from recent seasons.

For the first time since 2008, the annual postseason awards banquet was open to the public.

In addition, four new awards were handed out and the names of some Badger greats were added to existing awards.

The four newly created awards included the Jeff Sauer 'Great Guy' Award, the Mark Johnson Rookie of the Year honor, The Suter Family Unsung Hero and the leading scorer award.

The Jeff Sauer 'Great Guy' Award, which goes to someone "for the betterment of the hockey community" went to a pair of Badgers in senior Corbin McGuire and freshman Johan Blomquist for their service to the community.

McGuire switched to the Badgers' blue line full-time this season but despite making the move to defense, the senior recorded career-highs in several offensive categories. He scored five goals, including three in the opening weekend against Northern Michigan, added nine assists and recorded 68 shots-on-goal.
Blomquist, just the second player in program history to hail from Sweden, appeared in two games this season on relief duty, making two saves on two shots.

The Mark Johnson Award for rookie of the year went to freshman goaltender Jack Berry.

The Holly, Michigan native stepped in nicely for the Badgers in his first year in Madison. After Matt Jurusik went down with an injury in November, Berry was thrust into the starting role and recorded a shutout in his first career start against Northern Michigan. The freshman finished the season with a record of 11-8-1, 2.66 goals-against-average and .898 save percentage. Berry ranked fourth in the conference in goals-against average and third in wins with seven during the Big Ten season.

Winning the inaugural version of The Suter Family Award as an unsung hero went to junior defenseman Jake Linhart.

The defenseman from Brookfield became a mainstay on the Wisconsin blue-line this season, scoring six goals and a career-high 17 assists. Linhart was third in the Big Ten season for points by a defenseman with 14 and third in the league in assists with nine. He scored the game-winning goal in overtime against Michigan State which completed a weekend sweep in East Lansing. For his play this season, Linhart was placed on the Big Ten's second team.  

The only traditional award keeping its prior name is this year's Ivan B. Williamson Award for dedication to the scholastic and athletic excellence. Senior forward Jedd Soleway, a three-time Academic All-Big Ten pick and journalism major, was the winner.

A seventh-round pick of the Arizona Coyotes in the 2013 NHL draft, Soleway appeared in nine games this campaign, posting one assist against Minnesota at the Kohl Center.

The Otto Breitenbach-Curtis Joseph Most Improved Award went to senior Aidan Cavallini. Cavallini scored his first career goal after three seasons and 64 games, then scored six goals and 12 points as a key cog during Big Ten play this season. This award is the first among three voted on by the team.

The Fenton Kelsey, Jr.-Mike Richter Most Competitive Award went to junior forward Cameron Hughes, according to his teammates.

The Edmonton, Alberta native joined many of his teammates in setting career-highs this season. Hughes netted seven goals and added 25 assists, a team-high. He accumulated a 12-game streak of recording at least one point, the longest streak by a Badger player since Nic Kerdiles had a 12-game point streak during the 2012-13 season.  

The Dr. Joseph Coyne-Joe Pavelski Most Consistent honor went to sophomore defenseman Peter Tischke.

Tischke appeared in 35 games this season, scoring three times while adding six assists. The defenseman scored his first career goal against Omaha at the Kohl Center and scored the game-winning goal in a 6-4 win against Michigan in Madison.

New professional hockey player Luke Kunin was back in town to celebrate the season with his teammates and to accept the award for the team's leading scorer.
Kunin recorded 22 goals and 38 points during his Second-Team All-Big Ten season. The forward recently signed his first professional contract to finish out this season with the Iowa Wild of the AHL, where he he tallied a hat trick in his third contest. He was a first-round draft pick of the Minnesota Wild, who he will officially sign with for next season.

Finally, the Spike Carlson-Chris Chelios Most Valuable Player accolade, as voted on by his teammates, went to freshman forward Trent Frederic.

Frederic, who played with the U.S. National Development Program the past two years, came to Madison in the fall and immediately made an impact on the team. The forward finished second on the team in points with 33, tallying 15 goals and 18 assists. The forward recorded 10 multi-point games, including a four-point effort against Boston College which earned him a Big Ten Star of the week. At the end of the season, Frederic was tabbed as the conference's freshman of the year as well as placed on the all-freshman team and second-team all-conference. 

Also handed out at the banquet was the Mel Ross Distinguished Service Award, which went to the Voice of Badger hockey Brian Posick.

Posick, the longtime radio voice of Badger hockey working with the likes of Bill Howard, Rob Andringa and Ian Perrin, among others, has been with the Badgers since the early 2000s, calling games on the radio, as well as Fox Sports and Wisconsin Public Television. He has also emceed team award banquets, Badger Hockey Showdown banquets and Skate with the Badgers, served as host of the Wisconsin Hockey Hour and Badger Hockey Digest and lent his voice to various in-game highlight packages for reunions and special celebrations, among other thankless tasks.

Winner of this year's WHA-TV Jim Santulli 7^th-Man Award, as voted on by the fans and viewers of Wisconsin Public Television's hockey broadcasts was junior forward Matt Ustaski.

A Winnipeg Jets draft pick, Ustaski enjoyed an expanded role this season, appearing on all four lines for head coach Tony Granato. The junior played in 27 games, scoring six goals, including the lone goal for the Badgers in their 2-1 double-overtime loss in the Big Ten Championship game, while contributing two assists.  

Wisconsin's four seniors were also honored at the banquet, with forwards Grant Besse, Jedd Soleway and Aidan Cavallini and defenseman Corbin McGuire recognized during the festivities.