Previous Winners

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – While most National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) teams were in conference play last weekend, two teams faced non-conference foes and half of the Bauer NCHC Players of the Week for the week of Jan. 25-31 come from those teams while the other two award winners come from a team that swept in conference play. Capturing Bauer NCHC Players of the Week for week 15 are St. Cloud State freshman forward Mikey Eyssimont for Offensive Player of the Week, Minnesota Duluth senior blue liner Andy Welinski for Defenseman of the Week, North Dakota freshman forward Brock Boeser for Rookie of the Week and UND sophomore netminder Cam Johnson for Goaltender of the Week.

This is Eyssimont’s first NCHC honor of any kind while Welinski earned Defenseman of the Week for the second time this season and third time in his career. Boeser is now a four-time NCHC Rookie of the Week while Johnson is now a five-time NCHC Goalie of the Week this season. 

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Mikey Eyssimont, St. Cloud State
Freshman Forward
Littleton, Colo.

Eyssimont had the best weekend of his young career as a Husky, totaling five points to lead St. Cloud State to its first ever North Star College Cup championship while earning Tournament MVP honors. In Saturday’s 5-4 semifinal win, he tied a career high with three points, including his first career multi-goal game. Both markers came on the power play and each time put SCSU in front by breaking a tie. Eyssimont also had the lone assist on SCSU’s first goal Saturday as he was named the game’s first star. In the championship game, he had the primary assist on the game-winning goal and sealed the 5-2 victory over Bemidji State with an empty-net goal. Eyssimont finished the tournament with three goals, two assists and a plus-2 rating after posting a plus-3 rating in the championship game, while putting six shots on goal with three each game.

DEFENSEMAN OF THE WEEK
Andy Welinski, Minnesota Duluth
Senior Defenseman
Duluth, Minn.

Welinski helped Minnesota Duluth earn a road split with rival Northern Michigan over the weekend. On Friday, he had the lone assist on UMD’s first goal, which tied the game in the first period, while he scored a go-ahead goal early in the third period to put the Bulldogs in front 3-2 but NMU pulled out a 4-3 win. Welinski also put five shots on goal in the loss. The next night, Welinski had the primary assist on UMD’s final goal in a 3-1 win over the Wildcats while posting a plus-2 rating and blocking two shots. The Anaheim Ducks prospect also led a penalty kill unit that went 6-for-6 in the win and 9-for-10 on the weekend while playing on the top D-pair both nights. Welinski finished the series with three points on a goal and two assists while logging a plus-1 rating, blocking two shots and helping limit NMU to only 47 shots on goal in two games (only 20 shots in the win Saturday).

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

Boeser continued his monster rookie campaign, single-handedly carrying UND’s offense to a sweep over Western Michigan as he had a hand in all four goals scored by the Fighting Hawks. On Friday, he tallied both UND markers in a 2-0 shutout, breaking a scoreless deadlock with 5:14 remaining in regulation while sealing the win with an empty-net tally. He had a plus-2 rating in the win and put five shots on goal as he was named the game’s second star. The next night, the Canucks draft pick assisted on North Dakota’s first marker of the game while he again scored the game-winning goal, this time late in the second period on the power play in a 2-1 victory. Boeser put seven more shots on net and was again selected the game’s second star. He finished the series with three goals and an assist, including both game-winning goals, while firing 12 shots on goal with a plus-2 rating.

GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK
Cam Johnson, North Dakota
Sophomore Goaltender
Troy, Mich.

Johnson continued to dominate between the pipes, backstopping UND to a sweep at Western Michigan. He allowed only one goal all weekend while posting a .983 save percentage and a 0.50 goals-against average in the series. On Friday he pitched his NCHC-leading fifth shutout of the season, stopping all 31 shots that came his way as he was named the game’s first star in a 2-0 victory. The next night, he made 28 saves in a 2-1 win while garnering third star of the game accolades. Johnson also helped UND’s penalty kill go 9-for-9 on the weekend, including making seven saves on four WMU power plays Friday and another five saves on five Bronco power plays Saturday. Johnson totaled 59 saves on 60 shots in the series and leads the nation with a 1.31 GAA and a .948 save percentage this season.

OTHER NOMINEES:

Offensive Player of the Week
Joey Benik, Sr., F, SCSU – Totaled four points at the North Star College Cup with two assists in the semifinal win and two goals in the championship while posting a plus-2 rating in the tournament.

Quentin Shore, Sr., F, DU – Compiled a season-high three points in Saturday’s win at Miami, scoring two goals, including the game-winner, while adding an assist and posting a plus-3 rating.

Defenseman of the Week
Ian Brady, Jr., D, UNO – Handed out three assists in Saturday’s win at CC, including on the game-winning goal, while posting a plus-3 rating in the game and the series and blocking a shot.

Will Butcher, Jr., D, DU – Dished out two assists in the win over Miami Saturday while posting a plus-2 rating and blocking a shot.

Andrew Farny, Fr., D, CC – Assisted on the game’s first goal in Friday’s win over UNO while he blocked seven shots in the split series and had a plus-1 rating, helping the penalty kill go 10-for-12.

Paul LaDue, Jr., D, UND – Assisted on the game-winning goal in Friday’s 2-0 win at WMU while blocking four shots in the series, posting a plus-2 rating and leading a penalty kill unit that was 9-for-9.

Rookie of the Week
Dylan Gambrell, Fr., F, DU – Handed out an assist in each game in a split at Miami while posting a plus-1 rating in the series and putting four shots on goal.

Trevor Gooch, Fr., F, CC – Tied a career high with two points in Friday’s win over Omaha, scoring a goal and adding an assist while putting six shots on goal in the series split.

Mason Morelli, Fr., F, UNO – Totaled four points in a split at CC with an assist in Friday’s loss and a career-high three points in Saturday’s win on a goal and two helpers while logging a plus-3 rating.

Goaltender of the Week
None

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