Previous Winners

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – After a pair of top-20 National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) series took place last weekend, all four Bauer NCHC Players of the Week for Jan. 11-17 hail from three teams that took part in those games. Claiming Bauer NCHC Players of the Week for week 13 are Omaha junior forward Jake Guentzel for Offensive Player of the Week, North Dakota junior blue liner Troy Stecher for Defenseman of the Week, UND freshman forward Brock Boeser for Rookie of the Week and St. Cloud State junior netminder Charlie Lindgren for Goaltender of the Week.

Guentzel earned NCHC Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season while he was a two-time NCHC Rookie of the Week as a freshman. This is Stecher’s second NCHC honor this season and his fourth career Defenseman of the Week accolade, while Boeser is now a three-time NCHC Rookie of the Week this season. Lindgren garnered his third NCHC weekly honor this season as well, and his fifth career Goaltender of the Week award.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Jake Guentzel, Omaha
Junior Forward
Woodbury, Minn.

Guentzel had a hand in all five Omaha goals in the Mavericks split at No. 1/2 North Dakota, tallying one goal and assisting on the other four. On Friday, he scored UNO’s first goal to tie the game at 1-1 while handing out the primary assist on Omaha’s next two goals, each of which put the Mavs in front. The Pittsburgh Penguins prospect then capped his four-point night with an assist on the game-winning goal in overtime in a 4-3 victory, tying his career high of three assists. Guentzel also posted a plus-3 rating in the win and was named the game’s first star. The next night, Guentzel had the primary helper on UNO’s only goal, which opened the game’s scoring on the power play in an eventual loss. On the weekend, he totaled five points while logging a plus-2 rating and putting seven shots on goal, including five in Friday’s win. Guentzel now leads the NCHC in scoring with 32 points (11g, 21a) this season.

DEFENSEMAN OF THE WEEK
Troy Stecher, North Dakota
Junior Defenseman
Richmond, B.C.

Stecher was productive at both ends of the ice in North Dakota’s split with No. 9 Omaha over the weekend. In Friday’s overtime loss, he assisted on the game’s first goal to put UND in front while he scored the Fighting Hawks’ next goal to tie the game at 2-2. Stecher also blocked three shots and put five shots on goal as he was named the game’s second star despite the loss. The next night, Stecher again tallied a goal and an assist for a two-point night to extend his point streak to a career-long four games.  He dished out the primary helper on UND’s first goal, which tied the game at 1-1, while he scored a power play goal as well in the 5-1 victory. In addition to his success on the power play, he anchored a penalty kill unit that went 8-for-9 against Omaha, including 3-for-3 Friday and 5-for-6 against Omaha’s power play Saturday. Stecher totaled four points in the series with two goals and two assists, while he also blocked three shots, put seven shots on goal and posted a plus-1 rating against the Mavs.

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Brock Boeser, North Dakota
Freshman Forward
Burnsville, Minn.

Boeser powered North Dakota to a split with No. 9 Omaha over the weekend as he totaled four points with two points in each game. In Friday’s overtime loss, he handed out the primary assist on the game’s first goal to put UND in front, while he scored the game-tying goal to force overtime with less than seven minutes remaining in regulation. Both points came on the power play while he was named the game’s third star. The next night, Boeser again tallied a goal and an assist, setting up UND’s first goal on the power play, which tied the game, while he scored North Dakota’s third goal in the 5-1 win to extend his goal streak to seven games. The Vancouver Canucks draft pick posted a plus-1 rating in the win and was named the game’s first star. Boeser totaled two goals and two assists in the series while putting seven shots on goal, including four Friday. He leads the NCHC rookie scoring race with 25 points (15g, 10a) this season.

GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK
Charlie Lindgren, St. Cloud State
Junior Goaltender
Lakeville, Minn.

Lindgren continued his stellar season, backstopping St. Cloud State to a win and a tie at rival Minnesota Duluth, while allowing only one goal in each game as the Huskies earned five of six conference points in the series. On Friday, Lindgren racked up 28 saves while allowing only a first period goal and helping kill all six UMD power plays in a 3-1 victory as he was named the game’s second star. A night later he was even better, recording a season-high 38 saves in a 1-1 overtime tie as the Huskies were outshot, 39-22, but Lindgren kept them in the game. He also made a key save in the 3-on-3 overtime after the tie, which SCSU went on to win to earn an extra point in the standings as Lindgren was again named the game’s second star. On the weekend, Lindgren compiled a .971 save percentage and a 0.96 goals-against average, as he totaled 66 saves on 68 shots in 125 minutes of action. He also helped SCSU go 7-for-7 on the penalty kill in the series.

OTHER NOMINEES:

Offensive Player of the Week
Joey Benik, Sr., F, SCSU – Totaled two points in the series with UMD, assisting on Friday’s game-winning goal in a 3-1 victory while scoring the lone goal in Saturday’s 1-1 tie, which was his 100th career point.

Anthony Louis, Jr., F, Miami – Had a hand in both MU goals in a 2-1 win over BGSU Saturday, assisting on the game-tying goal while scoring the game-winner with two seconds left in regulation and posting a plus-2 rating.

Defenseman of the Week
Nolan Zajac, Sr., D, DU – Handed out three assists against WMU with two in Friday’s win and another in Saturday’s tie while blocking two shots and posting a plus-1 rating in the series.

Rookie of the Week
Colt Conrad, Fr., F, WMU – Totaled three points in the series at Denver with an assist in Friday’s loss while he tallied a goal and an assist to rally the Broncos in Saturday’s tie and also assisted on the 3-on-3 OT winning goal.

Goaltender of the Week
Tanner Jaillet, So., G, DU – Compiled a .923 save percentage and a 2.40 GAA while going 1-0-1 against WMU, making 60 saves on 65 shots in the series.

Jay Williams, Sr., G, Miami – Made 28 saves on 29 shots for a .966 save percentage while allowing only one goal in a 2-1 win over BGSU Saturday.

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