COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – With its third season of competition underway, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) has announced its first NCHC Players of the Week for the 2015-16 season after all eight NCHC teams opened the regular season over the weekend. The NCHC Players of the Week for the week of Oct. 5-11 are Omaha sophomore forward Jake Randolph for Offensive Player of the Week, St. Cloud State sophomore defenseman Nathan Widman for Defenseman of the Week, Omaha freshman goaltender Evan Weninger for Rookie of the Week and North Dakota sophomore netminder Cam Johnson for Goaltender of the Week.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Jake Randolph, Omaha
Sophomore Forward
Duluth, Minn.
Randolph started his sophomore campaign with a bang, tallying three goals on the road to help No. 10/11 Omaha sweep No. 6/9 Minnesota State. In Friday’s 3-2 victory, he opened the game’s scoring less than five minutes into the contest and finished the game with a plus-1 rating. The next night, he scored both of Omaha’s goals in a 2-0 shutout, striking in the first period on a breakaway for the game-winning goal and again on a breakaway in the third period. Randolph was named the game’s No. 2 star Saturday when he had a plus-2 rating. He finished the weekend scoring three of Omaha’s five goals, just two shy of his season total last year, and posted a plus-3 rating in the series.
DEFENSEMAN OF THE WEEK
Nathan Widman, St. Cloud State
Sophomore Defenseman
Naperville, Ill.
Widman was a defensive catalyst for the Huskies in a pair of wins, helping St. Cloud State capture the Kendall Hockey Classic crown, while also dishing out two assists on the offensive side. In Friday’s 3-0 victory over Alaska, he set up SCSU’s second goal with the primary assist and posted a plus-1 rating while helping limit the Nanooks to just 14 shots on goal and pitching a shutout. The next night Widman was even better, recording a plus-4 rating while handing out an assist in the third period to guide the Huskies to a 6-2 win and the tournament title. The SCSU blue line limited host Alaska Anchorage to just 17 shots on goal Saturday. Widman anchored a penalty kill unit that was 10-for-10 on the weekend, going 5-for-5 each night.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Evan Weninger, Omaha
Freshman Goaltender
Saskatoon, Sask.
Weninger was stellar in his only appearance of the weekend Saturday, backstopping Omaha to a 2-0 shutout of No. 6/9 Minnesota State on the road. Making his first collegiate appearance and start in goal, Weninger stopped all 40 shots that came his way for a 1.000 save percentage, including 10 shots on MSU’s power plays, as he helped UNO go 5-for-5 on the penalty kill Saturday. He turned aside double-digit shots all three periods to become the first Omaha freshman goalie to earn a shutout in his collegiate debut. Weninger was named the game’s first star on Saturday.
GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK
Cam Johnson, North Dakota
Sophomore Goaltender
Troy, Mich.
Johnson had a strong start to his sophomore season, starting both games in net for UND as he posted a 1-0-1 record while backstopping North Dakota to the Ice Breaker Tournament title in Portland, Maine. On Friday, he made 24 saves while allowing just one even-strength goal in a 5-2 win over Lake Superior State for his first collegiate victory in goal. He was named the game’s third star on Friday. The following night, Johnson turned away 19 shots while allowing only one goal, which came on the power play, in a 1-1 overtime tie with host Maine as he was named the game’s No. 2 star. For the weekend, Johnson made 43 saves while posting a .935 save percentage and a 1.44 goals-against average. Of the three goals he gave up, only one came even strength while he helped UND go 5-for-7 on the penalty kill at the tournament.
OTHER NOMINEES:
Offensive Player of the Week
Bryn Chyzyk, Sr., F, UND – Scored two goals in UND’s 5-2 win over Lake Superior State Friday with one coming short-handed, while he posted a plus-3 rating.
Alex Gacek, Sr., F, Miami – Dished out four assists against Providence with two in each game while he posted a plus-2 rating both nights as well for a plus-4 rating in the series.
David Morley, Sr., F, SCSU – Named MVP of the Kendall Hockey Classic after tallying three points on a goal and two assists in a pair of SCSU wins.
Kyle Novak, Jr., F, WMU – Compiled three points against Ferris State, dishing out two assists, including one on the game-winner, in a 3-2 win Friday, before scoring WMU’s only goal in a 1-1 overtime tie Saturday.
Defenseman of the Week
Louie Belpedio, So., D, Miami – Handed out an assist in Friday’s loss to Providence before tallying a goal on Saturday while he blocked three shots on the weekend and helped Miami go 8-for-9 on the penalty kill.
Chris Dienes, Jr., D, WMU – Scored a power play goal in WMU’s 3-2 win over Ferris State on Friday while blocking six shots in Saturday’s tie and helping WMU go 11-for-12 on the penalty kill in the series.
Grant Gallo, So., D, Omaha – Blocked eight shots, posted a plus-4 rating and had an assist on a game-winner in Omaha’s sweep at Minnesota State, while helping the penalty kill go 9-for-10.
Troy Stecher, Jr., D, UND – Named to the Ice Breaker All-Tournament Team after dishing out two assists in Friday’s win over LSSU and posting a plus-3 rating, while he also blocked two shots at the tournament.
Nolan Zajac, Sr., D, Denver – Recorded three points in a split with Air Force, handing out an assist in Friday’s overtime loss when he blocked two shots, while he scored the game-winning goal and added another assist in Saturday’s 3-1 win as he finished the weekend with a plus-1 rating.
Rookie of the Week
Trey Bradley, Fr., F, CC – Tallied the first two goals of his career against UMass over the weekend with one in each game with Saturday’s goal coming on the power play.
Shane Gersich, Fr., F, UND – Scored his first career goal in Friday’s 5-2 win over LSSU while recording a plus-1 rating.
Robby Jackson, Fr., F, SCSU – In his only game of the weekend, had a plus-2 rating and scored two goals, including the game-winner, in his first game as a Husky to lead SCSU to a 6-2 win over Alaska Anchorage Saturday.
Josh Melnick, Fr., F, Miami – Tallied the first two points of his career with a goal and an assist in Friday’s loss to Providence.
Griffen Molino, Fr., F, WMU – Scored his first collegiate goal Friday, which was the game-winner in a 3-2 win over Ferris State, while he handed out an assist on WMU’s only goal in Saturday’s 1-1 tie.
Goaltender of the Week
Evan Cowley, Jr., G, Denver – In his only appearance of the weekend, backstopped DU to a 3-1 win over Air Force, making 26 saves for a .963 save percentage while helping kill all three Falcon power plays.
Lukas Hafner, Sr., G, WMU – In his only appearance of the weekend, made 39 saves (.975 save percentage) and allowed just one goal in a 1-1 overtime tie at Ferris State, while helping kill off all six FSU power plays.
Ryan McKay, Sr., G, Miami – Earned a tie in net in his only start of the weekend Saturday against Providence, stopping 25 shots in a 2-2 overtime tie while he posted a .926 save percentage and a 1.57 GAA on the weekend after entering Friday’s game in relief.
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