MADISON, Wis. – Freshman defenseman K'Andre Miller had a big month despite the small amount of games for the Wisconsin men's hockey team, and that has resulted in Hockey Commissioners' Association (HCA) National Rookie of the Month honors for December.
 
Miller, who was also named the HCA National Rookie of the Month in October, put up two goals and six points in UW's three games to help the Badgers post a perfect 3-0-0 mark to close out 2018.
 
Wisconsin's leading scorer was named the Big Ten First Star of the Week on Dec. 4 after opening December with a four-point game in the Badgers' 8-5 comeback victory over No. 6 Penn State at the Kohl Center. Miller scored the game-winning goal and tallied three assists to finish with UW's first four-point game since October 2016, and the school's first four-point contest by a defenseman since two-time Stanley Cup champion Justin Schultz in January 2012.
 
Miller then posted a goal and an assist on Dec. 8 in UW's 3-0 shutout over Michigan State. He helped set up the game's opening tally, then scored the second goal 57 seconds into the second frame.
 
Miller's 2.00 points-per-game average for the moth tied for the national lead among all skaters and led all rookies.
 
He leads the Badgers with 17 points (4 goals, 13 assists) despite missing UW's series last weekend while he was away with Team USA winning a silver medal at the 2019 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia.
 
The Minnetonka, Minnesota, native and 2018 New York Rangers first-round draft pick returns to the Badgers for this week's exhibition tilt against his previous team, the U.S. Under-18 Team. The puck drops Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Kohl Center (Tickets).