Previous Winners

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – All three National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) teams to collect a win last weekend produced at least one Bauer NCHC Player of the Week for the week of Feb. 8-14 while three of the four recipients are freshmen. Earning Bauer NCHC Players of the Week for week 17 are Denver sophomore forward Danton Heinen for Offensive Player of the Week, Miami freshman blue liner Grant Hutton for Defenseman of the Week, DU freshman forward Dylan Gambrell for Rookie of the Week and Omaha freshman netminder Evan Weninger for Goaltender of the Week.

Heinen collected his second Offensive Player of the Week honor this season and the third of his career, while he was also a four-time NCHC Rookie of the Week last season. Hutton picked up his first NCHC award of any kind while Gambrell garnered his third NCHC Rookie of the Week accolade. Weninger earned his first NCHC Goaltender of the Week honor while he was twice a Rookie of the Week earlier this season.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Danton Heinen, Denver
Sophomore Forward
Langley, B.C.

Heinen had a huge weekend to lead Denver to a rare sweep of North Dakota, totaling seven points in the two victories. In Friday’s thrilling 6-4 win, he recorded a career-high five points on two goals and three assists, both of which also tied career highs. Both goals came in the third period with his first tally breaking a 3-3 tie and putting DU in front for good while he sealed the game with an empty-net goal. Heinen also had the lone assist on the short-handed game-winning goal with his other helpers coming in the second stanza as he was named the game’s first star. He put five shots on goal while posting a plus-4 rating Friday as well. The next night, Heinen handed out two more assists, both primary helpers, as he set up the game’s opening goal and sealed the win with an assist on an empty-net goal. He put four more shots on goal and logged a plus-3 rating in the 4-1 victory. Heinen finished the weekend with two goals, five assists, a plus-7 rating and nine shots on goal, while winning 13 of 21 draws in the faceoff circle (.619 percentage).

DEFENSEMAN OF THE WEEK
Grant Hutton, Miami
Freshman Defenseman
Carmel, Ind.

Hutton had his best game of the season in Miami’s 4-1 win at then No. 19 Bowling Green Friday to complete a home-and-home season sweep of the Falcons. He dished out a pair of assists for his first career multi-point game, setting up the game-winning goal in the second period while assisting on an empty-net goal to seal the victory. Hutton logged a plus-3 rating in the win as he was on the ice for all three non-power play goals for Miami and was named the game’s third star. He also stretched his point streak to three games. Defensively, Hutton blocked a shot and helped limit BGSU to only 22 shots on goal and one goal allowed, while playing on a penalty kill unit that was 3-for-4.

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Dylan Gambrell, Denver
Freshman Forward
Bonney Lake, Wash.

Gambrell continued his strong rookie campaign with a four-point weekend in a sweep of North Dakota. In Friday’s exciting 6-4 victory, he handed out a pair of assists, each time setting up a goal that broke a tie and put Denver in front, including in the third period, which put DU up for good. He also had a plus-1 rating and two shots on goal in the win. The next night, Gambrell upped his game even more, book-ending the goals in a 4-1 victory. He opened the game’s scoring midway through the first period while he sealed the win with an empty-net goal. He was named third star of the game Saturday while putting two more shots on goal and posting a plus-3 rating. Gambrell finished the series with two goals, two assists, a plus-4 rating and four shots on goal.

GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK
Evan Weninger, Omaha
Freshman Goaltender
Saskatoon, Sask.

Weninger continued his strong freshman season, backstopping Omaha to a sweep of Western Michigan, earning two wins in net while posting a 2.00 goals-against average and a .937 save percentage. In Friday’s narrow 2-1 win, he made 28 saves while giving up only one goal. He also helped UNO go 4-for-4 on the penalty kill, making four saves on WMU power plays, as he was named the game’s first star. The next night, Weninger stopped 31 more shots in a 6-3 victory while only allowing one even strength goal. He helped kill seven of nine Bronco power plays as he made 12 saves on 14 WMU shots on the man advantage. In the series, Weninger racked up 59 saves on 63 shots while helping Omaha go 11-for-13 on the penalty kill with 16 saves.

OTHER NOMINEES:

Offensive Player of the Week
Trevor Moore, Jr., F, Denver – Compiled seven points in a sweep of UND, totaling two goals and five assists, with at least three points in each win, while recording a plus-4 rating in the series.

Tyler Vesel, So., F, Omaha – Racked up four points in a sweep of WMU, scoring a short-handed goal in Friday’s win while totaling three points on Saturday, including two goals, one of which was the game-winner, as he had a plus-3 rating in the series.

Defenseman of the Week
None

Rookie of the Week
None

Goaltender of the Week
Tanner Jaillet, So., G, Denver – Backstopped DU to a sweep of UND, earning two wins while posting a 2.50 GAA and a .938 save percentage with 75 combined saves in the victories, including 41 Friday.

Jay Williams, Sr., G, Miami  – Allowed only one goal, which came on the power play, and made 21 saves in a 4-1 win at BGSU as he posted a .955 save percentage in Miami’s only game of the weekend.

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