Bauer NCHC Player of the Week Archive

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – With the first full weekend of regular-season play in the books, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) announced its first Bauer NCHC Players of the Week for the 2016-17 season on Monday and the four winners are all underclassmen representing three different schools. The NCHC Players of the Week for the week of Oct. 1-9, which includes regular-season games played Oct. 1-2, are North Dakota sophomore forward Brock Boeser for Offensive Player of the Week, Minnesota Duluth sophomore blue liner Neal Pionk for Defenseman of the Week, Western Michigan freshman goaltender Ben Blacker for Rookie of the Week and claiming Goaltender of the Week is UMD redshirt freshman Nick Deery. Bauer returns as the sponsor for the NCHC Players of the Week for a third straight season.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Brock Boeser, North Dakota
Sophomore Forward
Burnsville, Minn.

Boeser picked up where he left off last season, totaling six points, including five assists, to lead top-ranked North Dakota to a season-opening sweep of Canisius. In Friday’s regular-season opener, Boeser notched four points, scoring the final goal in a 6-0 shutout, while assisting on three others, including the opening goal, which was the game-winner. The next night, the Vancouver Canucks prospect added two more assists, both on the power play, with his second helper setting up the game-winning goal. Boeser posted a plus-5 rating on the weekend, including plus-4 in Friday’s shutout, while putting seven shots on goal. This is Boeser’s second career NCHC Offensive Player of the Week honor.

DEFENSEMAN OF THE WEEK
Neal Pionk, Minnesota Duluth
Sophomore Defenseman
Hermantown, Minn.

Pionk opened the 2016-17 season on fire, notching a point in all four regular-season games for the Bulldogs, helping them to an unbeaten 2-0-2 start. He totaled six points in UMD’s first four games on three goals and three assists each. In the season opener Oct. 1, Pionk assisted on the game-winning goal against then No. 17 Michigan Tech while helping the Bulldogs pitch a shutout to begin the year. The next night, he scored on the power play while again setting up the game-winner in the closing seconds to complete a 4-3 comeback win and sweep. This past weekend, Pionk kept up his scoring with a goal in both ties at No. 8/7 UMass Lowell to extend his goal streak to three games. He also had an assist in Friday’s 4-4 overtime tie while tallying the only goal in Saturday’s 1-1 draw. Pionk has posted a plus-2 rating on the season and has blocked five shots, as well, while anchoring a penalty kill unit that is 17-for-21 on the season. This is Pionk’s second career NCHC Defenseman of the Week honor.

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Ben Blacker, Western Michigan
Freshman Goaltender
Oakville, Ont.

Blacker started his NCAA career in strong fashion, backstopping Western Michigan to a home-and-home sweep of rival No. 20 Ferris State.  In his collegiate debut on Thursday, he made 31 saves to earn his first career win in a 5-3 victory on the road. Twelve of his saves came on the penalty kill, which went 6-for-7, as he only allowed a 5-on-3 power play goal. He also picked up his first collegiate point, assisting on Wade Allison's goal that gave WMU a 3-2 lead in the second period.  In his first home start Friday, Blacker was even strong, allowing only a power play goal while making 17 saves on 18 shots in a 2-1 win over FSU. On the weekend, he posted a .923 save percentage and a 2.00 goals-against average while stopping 48 of 52 shots faced.

GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK
Nick Deery, Minnesota Duluth
Redshirt Freshman Goaltender
La Crosse, Wis.

Deery made his NCAA regular-season debut Friday at No. 8/7 UMass Lowell in relief, entering in the second period with the Bulldogs trailing by three goals, but UMD rallied to earn a 4-4 overtime tie. He stopped all 13 shots he faced over the final 30:51 of play, including overtime, to preserve the draw. Deery earned his first career start the next night and conceded only one goal, which came on the power play, as he totaled 24 saves on 25 shots in a 1-1 overtime tie. The redshirt freshman posted an NCHC-best .974 save percentage on the weekend while compiling a 0.63 goals-against average in nearly 96 minutes of action. Deery was named the game’s third star both nights at UML after totaling 37 saves on 38 shots in the series.

OTHER NOMINEES:

Offensive Player of the Week
Trey Bradley, So., F, CC – Dished out a career-high three assists in CC’s 7-4 victory at UMass Saturday, including on the game-winning goal.

Aidan Muir, Jr., F, WMU – Handed out three assists in WMU’s sweep of Ferris State, including on both goals Friday when he set up the game-winner in a 2-1 victory.

Kiefer Sherwood, So., F, Miami – Had a hand in both goals in Miami’s 2-1 win at Providence Saturday, assisting on the first goal 30 seconds into the game, while scoring the game-winner on the power play in the third period.

Defenseman of the Week
Louie Belpedio, Jr., D, Miami – Assisted on both Miami goals in a 2-1 win at Providence Saturday, both coming on the power play, including the game-winner, while helping the penalty kill unit finish the weekend with 15 straight kills.

Scott Moldenhauer, Jr., D, WMU – Tallied two points in WMU’s sweep of FSU, assisting on the first goal in Thursday’s win, while scoring the game-winning goal on Friday and playing on a penalty kill unit that went 11-for-13 in the series.

Tucker Poolman, Jr., D, UND – Totaled three points in UND’s sweep of Canisius, handing out two assists in Friday’s shutout, including on the game-winning goal, while scoring the game-winner on Saturday as he posted a plus-4 rating in the series.

Rookie of the Week
Branden Makara, Fr., F, CC – Scored the first two goals of his collegiate career in Saturday’s 7-4 win over UMass, including the opening goal of the game.

Tyson Jost, Fr., F, UND – Compiled three points in UND’s sweep of Canisius, registering his first career goal and assist in Friday’s 6-0 shutout, while adding another assist Saturday as he posted a plus-4 rating in the series.

Goaltender of the Week
Cam Johnson, Jr., G, UND – Backstopped UND to a season-opening sweep of Canisius, allowing only one goal all weekend, pitching a shutout on Friday, while compiling a .964 save percentage on 27 saves and  a 0.50 goals-against average in the two wins.

Ryan Larkin, Fr., G, Miami – Went 1-1 in his NCAA opening weekend at Providence with a .906 save percentage and a 2.52 goals-against average, including making 20 saves on Saturday to earn his first career win in a 2-1 victory.

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