COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – With just four weeks remaining in the regular season, not only are the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) standings tight, but so were the Bauer NCHC Player of the Week races for the week of Feb. 3-9. St. Cloud State senior forward Nic Dowd is the NCHC Offensive Player of the Week, SCSU sophomore defenseman Ethan Prow is the NCHC Defenseman of the Week, Nebraska Omaha freshman forward Jake Guentzel is the NCHC Rookie of the Week and Minnesota Duluth senior goaltender Aaron Crandall repeats as NCHC Goaltender of the Week.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Nic Dowd, St. Cloud State
Senior Forward
Huntsville, Ala.

Dowd powered St. Cloud State to a four-point weekend with four points of his own, scoring three goals and adding an assist against No. 15/15 Denver. In Friday’s 2-2 tie, he scored the game’s first goal early in the first period to put the Huskies in front, while putting four shots on target and posting +1 rating, as he was named the game’s third star. In Saturday’s 4-2 victory, the Los Angeles Kings prospect was named the game’s first star, tallying three points as he had a hand in all but one goal. Dowd scored two goals while assisting on the game-winner, as he helped erase a 2-0 deficit, scoring SCSU’s first goal and sealing it with an empty-netter, while his game-winning helper came in the third period to break a 2-2 tie. The senior posted an impressive +4 rating in Saturday’s win as well, as he finished the weekend with a +5 rating and seven shots on goal.

DEFENSEMAN OF THE WEEK
Ethan Prow, St. Cloud State
Sophomore Defenseman
Sauk Rapids, Minn.

Prow led a SCSU blue line unit at both ends of the ice, helping the Huskies earn four of six points against No. 15/15 Denver on the weekend. He scored a pair of goals in the series, blocked five shots, put five shots on goal and aided in limiting the Pioneers to four goals on the weekend. In Friday’s 2-2 tie, Prow scored a power play goal in the second period to put SCSU in front while blocking four shots, as he was named the game’s second star. The next night, he led the Huskies to a 4-2 victory, scoring the game-winning goal in the third period to break a 2-2 tie, while putting four shots on net as he was tabbed the game’s third star. Prow also anchored SCSU’s penalty kill that finished 5-for-8 on the weekend, including 4-for-5 in Saturday’s win. He has now claimed NCHC Defenseman of the Week twice this year.

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Jake Guentzel, Nebraska Omaha
Freshman Forward
Woodbury, Minn.

Guentzel helped Omaha to a split at No. 16 North Dakota, chipping in three assists on the weekend while posting a +1 rating and putting four shots on goal. In Friday’s loss, he handed out an assist on UNO’s first goal of the game, which put them ahead in the second period. The next night in a 6-3 win, Guentzel dished out a pair of helpers, including on the game-winning goal in the second period, helping the Mavericks complete a two-goal comeback. The Pittsburgh Penguins prospect also had a +2 rating in the contest and finished the weekend with a +1 rating. In addition, Guentzel put four shots on goal in the series, including three in Saturday’s win. He has now claimed NCHC Rookie of the Week twice this season.

GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK
Aaron Crandall, Minnesota Duluth
Senior Goaltender
Lakeville, Minn.

For the second straight week Crandall earned the award, as he backstopped the Bulldogs to a five-point weekend against Colorado College and into second place in the NCHC. He posted a .944 save percentage and a 1.44 goals-against average on the weekend, while posting a record of 1-0-1, as well as a shootout win. On Friday, Crandall compiled 20 saves, while giving up two goals in a 2-2 overtime tie, but he stopped all three shootout attempts by CC to give UMD the extra point in the standings. The following night, Crandall conceded just one goal, on the power play, while stopping 31 shots in a 2-1 victory to earn first star of the game. On the weekend, he totaled 51 saves on 54 shots while helping the Bulldogs go 8-for-9 (.889) on the penalty kill, including 5-for-5 in Friday’s tie. Crandall has now captured NCHC Goaltender of the Week three times this year, including last week.

OTHER NOMINEES:

Offensive Player of the Week
Josh Archibald, Jr., F, UNO – Recorded his second hat trick this season with a four-point outing in Saturday’s 6-3 win at North Dakota, as he assisted on a goal before tallying a natural hat trick, including the game-winning goal, to complete a Mavs comeback

Caleb Herbert, Jr., F, UMD – Totaled three points against Colorado College, scoring a goal and adding an assist in a 2-2 overtime tie Friday, while assisting on the game-winner in Saturday’s 2-1 win and posting a +1 rating

Michael Parks, Jr., F, UND – Tallied four points in a split with Omaha, notching a pair of points each night with a goal and an assist in a win Friday and a pair of helpers Saturday, while posting a +3 rating in the series

Defenseman of the Week
Will Butcher, Fr., D, Denver – Tallied two points at SCSU, handing out an assist in Friday’s tie and scoring a power play goal Saturday, while blocking four shots and helping DU go 6-for-7 on the penalty kill

Rookie of the Week
Charlie Lindgren, Fr., G, SCSU – Made his NCHC debut on Saturday against Denver, backstopping SCSU to a 4-2 win as he stopped 28 shots and allowed just one even strength goal to earn his first win since Nov. 15, 2013

Anthony Louis, Fr., F, Miami – Scored a power play goal Friday against WMU, while assisting on a power play tally Saturday for a two-point series

Trevor Moore, Fr., F, Denver – Tallied three points at SCSU, scoring the game-tying goal on Friday, when he also scored in a shootout win, while chipping in a pair of assists in defeat Saturday

Goaltender of the Week
Sam Brittain, Sr., G, Denver – Posted a 2.42 goals-against average and a .902 save percentage at SCSU, stopping 26 shots in a 2-2 tie Friday, when he also stopped three shots in a shootout win, while he added 20 saves in 4-2 defeat Saturday, though one was an empty-net goal for SCSU

Charlie Lindgren, Fr., G, SCSU – Made his NCHC debut on Saturday against Denver, backstopping SCSU to a 4-2 win as he stopped 28 shots and allowed just one even strength goal to earn his first win since Nov. 15, 2013

Josh Thorimbert, Sr., G, CC – Posted a .949 save percentage and a 1.94 goals-against average at Minnesota Duluth, making a career-high 50 saves in a 2-2 tie Friday, as well as two shootout stops, while adding 24 saves on Saturday in a 2-1 defeat, as he shut out UMD in four of six periods in the series

--NCHCHockey--