COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – After leading their teams to road wins, and in some cases sweeps, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference announced the Bauer NCHC Players of the Week for the week of Feb. 17-23 are Nebraska Omaha junior forward Josh Archibald for Offensive Player of the Week, Colorado College senior defenseman Eamonn McDermott for Defenseman of the Week, North Dakota freshman forward Luke Johnson for Rookie of the Week and UND sophomore netminder Zane Gothberg for Goaltender of the Week.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Josh Archibald, Nebraska Omaha
Junior Forward
Brainerd, Minn.

Archibald continued his stellar play over the weekend, tallying a four-point series in a split at Western Michigan on three goals and an assist with two points each game. In Friday’s 5-1 victory, he scored Omaha’s third goal early in the third period to put them up 3-1, while adding an assist on an empty-netter to seal the win. He was also +2 in the game and was named the second star of the night. The next night, he recorded the Mavericks’ first two goals of the game, both in the first period, with his second goal coming on the power play to put UNO in front 2-1 before WMU rallied for the win. The Pittsburgh Penguins prospect now has 26 goals on the year, which leads the NCHC and is second nationally, while his 27 points in conference play are also an NCHC best. Archibald finished with a +2 rating on the weekend and has now claimed NCHC Offensive Player of the Week three times this season.

DEFENSEMAN OF THE WEEK
Eamonn McDermott, Colorado College
Senior Defenseman
Shaker Heights, Ohio

McDermott led Colorado College to its first sweep of the season with a pair of wins over rival Denver to claim the Gold Pan trophy. The team captain dished out a pair of assists in the series, while posting a +3 rating and blocking eight shots. He also helped limit the Pioneers to three goals all weekend while anchoring a penalty kill unit that went 7-for-8. On Friday at Denver, McDermott set up the first goal of the game in the first period to put the Tigers in front, while he was +2 and blocked four shots in a 3-2 victory. A night later in front of his home crowd, the senior blocked four more shots and tallied the primary assist on the game-winning goal late in the third period that broke a 1-1 tie. McDermott posted a +1 rating in the 3-1 win that clinched the Gold Pan and helped CC go 3-for-3 on the penalty kill.

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Luke Johnson, North Dakota
Freshman Forward
Grand Forks, N.D.

Johnson sparked North Dakota to a sweep at Minnesota Duluth, UND’s second straight sweep, behind a two-goal, four-point series. In Friday’s 3-0 victory, the Chicago Blackhawks prospect had a hand in all three goals for a career-high three-point game, scoring twice and assisting on the other. Johnson scored the game’s first goal in the first period on the power play, which proved to be the game-winner, while he set up the second goal with the primary assist and capped the outing with an unassisted goal in the third period. He had a +2 rating in the game and was named the game’s first star. The next night, Johnson assisted on a power play goal in the second period that tied the game at 2-2 as UND went on to a 6-2 victory. He completed the weekend with a +2 rating while earning NCHC Rookie of the Week for the second time this season.

GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK
Zane Gothberg, North Dakota
Sophomore Goaltender
Thief River Falls, Minn.

Gothberg continued his strong play in net of late, backstopping North Dakota to a sweep at Minnesota Duluth. He played all 120 minutes in net, while allowing just two goals in the series with a .970 save percentage and a 1.00 goals-against average. In Friday’s 3-0 win, the Boston Bruins prospect stopped all 33 shots that came his way in his second start back from injury to pitch his first career shutout, while he was named the game’s second star. On Saturday, Gothberg totaled 31 saves on 33 shots against in a 6-2 victory, while stopping all 23 shots over the final 40 minutes, as he is now unbeaten in his last 12 starts. He also helped UND go 9-for-9 on the penalty kill against the Bulldogs, including 5-for-5 on Saturday. Gothberg totaled 64 saves in the wins while claiming NCHC Goaltender of the Week for the second time this season.

OTHER NOMINEES:

Offensive Player of the Week
Chase Balisy, Sr., F, WMU – Notched a four-point weekend in a split with Omaha, scoring WMU’s only goal in a loss Friday, before rebounding with a three-point outing Saturday, scoring the game-winning goal in the third period while assisting on two other tallies with a +2 rating in the win

Jonny Brodzinski, So., F, SCSU – Totaled four points in a split at Miami, while putting 10 shots on goal and posting a +1 rating, as he had a power play goal and an assist in the loss Friday, while dishing out a pair of helpers, including one on the game-winner, in Saturday’s victory

Blake Coleman, Jr., F, Miami – In his first game back from injury since early December, scored two goals, including the game-winner, to lead Miami to a win over SCSU Friday, while posting a +2 rating

Alexander Krushelnyski, Sr., F, CC – Recorded two points and put 13 shots on goal in a sweep of rival Denver, assisting on the game-winning goal in the third period Friday, while scoring an empty-netter Saturday to seal the win, which was his 100th career point, as he also had a  +2 rating

Defenseman of the Week
Trevor Hamilton, Fr., D, Miami – Assisted on a goal in Miami’s win over SCSU Friday, while posting a +1 rating as he finished the series +1 with two blocked shots

Paul LaDue, Fr., D, UND – Totaled three points in a sweep at UMD with a +2 rating, assisting on the game-winner in a shutout Friday and scoring two power play goals to rally UND Saturday, while he helped UND go 9-for-9 on the penalty kill and 4-for-10 on the power play

Rookie of the Week
Trevor Hamilton, Fr., D, Miami – Assisted on a goal in Miami’s win over SCSU Friday, while posting a +1 rating as he finished the series +1 with two blocked shots

Alex Roos, Fr., F, CC – Tallied two points in a sweep of rival Denver, assisting on the game-winning goal in the third period Friday, while scoring his first career game-winning goal late in the third period Saturday to clinch the Gold Pan when he had a +1 rating

Goaltender of the Week
Ryan Faragher, Jr., G, SCSU – Compiled a 2.02 GAA and a .932 save percentage in a split at Miami, stopping 22 shots in a 4-3 loss Friday, while pitching a 33-save shutout Saturday for his first whitewash of the season

Josh Thorimbert, Sr., G, CC – Collected a pair of wins to lead CC to a sweep of rival Denver, posting a 1.50 GAA and a .944 save percentage in the series, as he stopped 26 shots in a 3-2 road win Friday, while adding 25 saves in a 3-1 win Saturday, helping the Tigers go 7-for-8 on the penalty kill on the weekend

--NCHCHockey.com--