COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Leading each of their respective teams to big weekends, the Bauer National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) Players of the Week for the week of Feb. 10-16 are North Dakota junior forward Mark MacMillan for Offensive Player of the Week, UND junior defenseman Nick Mattson for Defenseman of the Week, Colorado College freshman defenseman Jaccob Slavin for Rookie of the Week and St. Cloud State junior netminder Ryan Faragher for Goaltender of the Week.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Mark MacMillan, North Dakota
Junior Forward
Penticton, B.C.
MacMillan led UND to a convincing sweep of Miami, tallying five points on two goals and three assists in the series. In Friday’s 3-2 victory, he had a hand in all three goals, stealing the puck behind the net to set up the first goal while he scored the next two, the first of which came on the power play with his second goal the game-winner. MacMillan posted a +1 rating in the game and was named the contest’s first star. On Saturday, the Montreal Canadiens prospect handed out a pair of assists, both of which were the primary helper, as he set up the first goal of the game and added an assist on a power play goal in the second period to help lift UND to a season-high nine goals in a 9-2 rout. MacMillan finished with a +1 rating on the weekend and almost had two more points but he had two goals overturned after video review.
DEFENSEMAN OF THE WEEK
Nick Mattson, North Dakota
Junior Defenseman
Chanhassen, Minn.
Mattson had one of the best weekends of his career, totaling three points and a +5 rating to lead North Dakota to a sweep of Miami. He helped limit the RedHawks to four goals on the weekend with two each night, while playing on a penalty kill that went 4-for-6 in the series. On Friday, Mattson posted a +1 rating in a 3-2 win and helped kill two of three Miami power plays. On Saturday, the Chicago Blackhawks prospect exploded for a career-high three points on two goals and an assist in a 9-2 victory with the nine goals UND’s most since March 2011. Mattson scored back-to-back goals in the second period to put North Dakota up 8-1 while he had the primary assist on UND’s final tally of the night on the power play. He finished with a +4 rating on the night and blocked three shots while being named the first star of the game.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Jaccob Slavin, Colorado College
Freshman Defenseman
Erie, Colo.
Slavin played a key role on the CC blue line that helped the Tigers earn four of six points on the weekend against Western Michigan. In the series, the Carolina Hurricanes prospect dished out three assists, blocked four shots, put nine shots on goal and anchored a penalty kill unit that went 7-for-7 against the Broncos. On Friday, Slavin handed out a pair of helpers to put CC up 3-0 as he had the primary assist on the Tigers’ first goal, which came on the power play, and set up the third goal in an eventual 4-4 tie. He also put four shots on goal in the game and blocked four shots while CC went 4-for-4 on the penalty kill. The next night, Slavin helped pitch a shutout in a 3-0 win while assisting on the Tigers’ final goal (on the power play) to seal the victory. He put five shots on goal Saturday, as well, while helping limit WMU to just 17 shots on goal. Slavin has now earned NCHC Rookie of the Week twice this year and Defenseman of the Week once.
GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK
Ryan Faragher, St. Cloud State
Junior Goaltender
Fort Frances, Ont.
Faragher played a critical role in SCSU’s sweep of in-state rival No. 16 Minnesota Duluth, backstopping the Huskies to a pair of wins while posting a .926 save percentage and a 3.00 goals-against average in the series. On Friday, he compiled 37 saves, including double-digit stops each period, while giving up three goals (only two even strength) in a 5-3 victory. The next night, Faragher upped his save total by one to a season-high 38, again with double-digit saves each period, including 16 in the third period as UMD looked to rally, but Faragher came up with big saves to seal the 4-3 victory. Again only two of the three goals allowed were even strength as he helped SCSU go 7-for-9 on the penalty kill on the weekend. Faragher totaled 75 saves on 81 shots faced, giving up four even strength tallies, as SCSU was outshot both nights by the Bulldogs. Faragher has now claimed NCHC Goaltender of the Week three times this season.
OTHER NOMINEES:
Offensive Player of the Week
Josh Archibald, Jr., F, UNO – Scored two goals, including the game-winner, in a 4-2 victory over No. 18 Denver Friday, giving him a league-best 23 goals on the year
Jimmy Murray, So., F, SCSU – Scored three goals to help SCSU sweep UMD, notching two tallies Friday, including the game-winner, while adding another goal 30 seconds into Saturday’s win
Archie Skalbeck, Sr., F, CC – Compiled three points against Western Michigan with a goal and an assist in Friday’s 4-4 tie, while adding another helper in Saturday’s 3-0 shutout to extend his point streak to four games
Defenseman of the Week
Josiah Didier, Jr., D, Denver – Totaled two points in a split at Omaha, assisting on the game’s first goal in a loss Friday, while scoring his first career goal with an empty-netter to seal a 4-1 win Saturday, when he was +1 and blocked two shots
Nick Seeler, So., D, UNO – Had two points, two blocked shots and a +1 rating in a split with No. 18 Denver, assisting on the game-winning goal in a 4-2 win Friday, while tallying his first career short-handed goal Saturday when UNO was 4-for-4 on the penalty kill
Rookie of the Week
Evan Cowley, Fr., G, Denver – Made his second career start Saturday at UNO, backstopping DU to a 4-1 win as he stopped 33 of 34 shots (.971 save percentage) to match his career high while he helped the Pioneers go 5-for-5 on the penalty kill
Luc Gerdes, Fr., F, CC – In his only game of the weekend, notched his first career points with an assist on CC’s first goal while scoring his first career goal minutes later in a 3-0 shutout of WMU Saturday, when he also had a +2 rating
Paul LaDue, Fr., D, UND – Handed out two assists, blocked two shots and posted a +7 rating in a sweep of Miami with both helpers coming Saturday, including one on the game-winner, when he had a +6 rating
Ryan Papa, Fr., F, SCSU – Tallied three points in a sweep of Minnesota Duluth, assisting on a goal in Friday’s win, while compiling two points Saturday with a goal and an assist on the game-winning goal, to go with a +2 rating in the contest.
Goaltender of the Week
Evan Cowley, Fr., G, Denver – Made his second career start Saturday at UNO, backstopping DU to a 4-1 win as he stopped 33 of 34 shots (.971 save percentage) to match his career high while he helped the Pioneers go 5-for-5 on the penalty kill
Zane Gothberg, So., G, UND – Made his first start on Saturday since Jan. 18 and stopped 27 of 29 shots (.931 save percentage) to backstop UND to a 9-2 victory over Miami with only one goal allowed coming even strength
Josh Thorimbert, Sr., G, CC – Compiled a 1.92 GAA and a .915 save percentage while earning a tie and a win against WMU, as he posted 26 saves in a 4-4 tie/shootout loss Friday and recorded his first shutout of the season Saturday with 17 saves in a 3-0 win
--NCHCHockey--
