Chad McDonald named a Senior CLASS Award finalist; NMU’s Maschmeyer also on list

By @MichaelCaples –

The finalists for the men’s Senior CLASS Award – presented to a NCAA student-athlete who excels both on and off the ice – have been announced, and one Michigan native is still in the running.

Battle Creek native Chad McDonald, a senior forward at Ferris State University, is one of 10 finalists for the prestigious award.

The Senior CLASS (an acronym for ‘celebrating loyalty and achievement for staying in school’) Award is given to the player who has “notable achievements in the four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.”

McDonald is a Capital Centre Pride, Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings and Muskegon Lumberjacks alum.

The Bulldogs forward is majoring in business administration/legal studies with a minor in sports communication, and he holds a cumulative GPA of 3.94. A two-time WCHA Scholar-Athlete, a three-time member of the WCHA All-Academic Team and a 2016 CoSIDA Division I Academic All-District honoree, McDonald has also found the time to volunteer for a variety of different organizations around the Ferris State campus.

He plays floor hockey with the local Special Olympians and serves a mentor for Community Inclusive Recreation, an organization whose purpose is to make educational and recreational programs fully accessible to children and adults with disabilities.

McDonald also serves as a role model for fifth grade elementary school students from low income households, talking to them about the importance of education and what it takes to pursue their dreams of becoming college student-athletes one day.

Last summer, McDonald wrote a story for MiHockey about his path to college hockey. Read that here.

Northern Michigan’s Brock Maschmeyer, a native of Bruderheim, Alberta, is also a finalist.

The Wildcats defenseman holds a cumulative GPA of 3.62 while majoring in public relations with a minor in communications. A member of NMU’s chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America, he has interned in the school’s sports information office since Nov. 2016. He acts as the secondary media contact for men’s and women’s basketball, as well as the lacrosse team, and he writes every preview that appears on NMUWildcats.com.

Maschmeyer was part of Northern Michigan’s effort to clean up Lakeview Arena before its Kraft Hockeyville game. He also participated in the following service activities in Marquette:

– Wildcat Free Youth Clinic

– Harbor Fest setup and take down

– Hockey Day Parade

– Maggie Moore Jr. Hockey Mite Learn to Skate

– Readers for Redeemer Lutheran Church Elementary School and Cherry Creek Elementary School