Men's Ice Hockey 2/23/2016 2:00:00 AM By NCHC

Bauer NCHC Players of the Week: Feb. 15-21

Denver players claim three honors along with UND’s Johnson for week 18

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Despite all eight National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) teams being in action last weekend, Denver captured three of the four Bauer NCHC Player of the Week honors for the week of Feb. 15-21, including two repeat winners from last week. Earning Bauer NCHC Players of the Week for week 18 are Denver sophomore forward Danton Heinen for Offensive Player of the Week, DU junior blue liner Will Butcher for Defenseman of the Week, Denver freshman forward Dylan Gambrell for Rookie of the Week and North Dakota sophomore netminder Cam Johnson for Goaltender of the Week. Heinen and Gambrell also won the same awards last week.

Heinen collected his third Offensive Player of the Week honor this season and the fourth of his career, while he was also a four-time NCHC Rookie of the Week last season. Butcher picked up his fourth such honor this season and the fifth of his career, while Gambrell garnered his fourth NCHC Rookie of the Week accolade. Johnson earned his sixth NCHC Goaltender of the Week honor this season.

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

Heinen continued his tear of late, totaling four points in a sweep of Colorado College over the weekend, notching a goal and an assist in each game. On Thursday, he handed out the primary assist on the game-tying goal in the first period, while he sealed the game late in the third period with the game’s final goal in a 4-1 win. The Boston Bruins prospect put three shots on goal and posted a plus-2 rating in the game, while earning Second Star of the Night. Two nights later, Heinen logged another multi-point game outdoors at the Battle on Blake at Coors Field, scoring on the power play early in the third period, while setting up another power play goal 15 seconds later with a primary helper. He was named First Star of the Game Saturday when he put six more shots on goal. Heinen finished the weekend with two goals, two assists, nine shots on goal and a plus-1 rating, while also winning 9-of-14 faceoffs (.643 percentage).

DEFENSEMAN OF THE WEEK
Will Butcher, Denver
Junior Defenseman
Sun Prairie, Wis.

Butcher logged multiple points in both games of a sweep against Colorado College, while helping limit the Tigers to only two goals all weekend. In Thursday’s 4-1 win, he dished out a pair of assists, setting up the game-winner on the power play in the third period to break a 1-1 tie while he also had the primary helper on DU’s third goal. The Avalanche draft pick put two shots on goal and had a plus-1 rating in the win as well. On Saturday outdoors at the Battle on Blake, Butcher tallied two more assists, both on power play goals in the third period with his first assist the primary helper to make it 3-1 while his last assist made the final score 4-1. He was selected Third Star of the Game while posting a plus-1 rating again. Butcher finished the series with four assists, a plus-2 rating and two blocked shots with one in each game. He also anchored a Denver penalty kill that went 4-for-5 on the weekend while limiting CC to 53 shots on goal.

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

Gambrell repeated as Rookie of the Week after a five-point weekend in a sweep of Colorado College. In Thursday’s 4-1 win, Gambrell had a hand in three of the goals, scoring DU’s first goal to tie the game in the first period, while he had the primary assist on the game-winning goal in the third period and had another primary helper on the game’s final goal for a career-high-tying three points. He put six shots on goal and posted a plus-2 rating while being named Third Star of the Game. At Saturday’s Battle on Blake outdoors, Gambrell tallied another multi-point game, assisting on a power play goal in the third period while scoring a power play goal 15 seconds later to complete the final score of 4-1. He fired four more shots on goal while being named the game’s No. 2 Star. Gambrell finished the series with two goals, three assists, 10 shots on goal and a plus-2 rating.

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

Johnson continued his stellar season, backstopping North Dakota to a pair of wins against Minnesota Duluth, while allowing only two goals all weekend. He posted a 0.97 goals-against average and a .967 save percentage. On Friday, Johnson totaled 32 saves, including all three in overtime, to help UND win, 2-1, in the extra session. He also made four saves on four UMD power plays, while killing three of them as the Bulldogs’ only goal came on the man advantage. A night later, Johnson stopped 27 more shots in another 2-1 victory, while he helped kill all three UMD power plays. He finished the weekend making 59 saves on 61 shots with only one even strength goal allowed, while he helped kill 6-of-7 power plays and upped his school-record save percentage to .940 on the season.

OTHER NOMINEES:

Offensive Player of the Week
Anthony Louis, Jr., F, Miami – Scored two goals in Miami’s 4-1 win over WMU on Friday while putting 13 shots on goal in the series.

Austin Poganski, So., F, UND – Scored a penalty shot goal in overtime on Friday to lift UND to a 2-1 win over UMD.

Blake Winiecki, So., F, SCSU – Totaled three points in a sweep of Omaha with an assist Friday and two goals Saturday, including the game-winner, while he was plus-2 in the series.

Defenseman of the Week
Louie Belpedio, So., D, Miami – Had an assist in each game against WMU while posting a plus-2 rating in the series and helping Miami’s penalty kill unit go 8-for-9 on the weekend.

Paul LaDue, Jr., D, UND – Blocked five shots in a sweep of UMD while scoring the tying goal Saturday in a 2-1 win and helping kill 6-of-7 power plays in the series.

Rookie of the Week
Brock Boeser, Fr., F, UND – Tallied the game-winning goal and assisted on the first goal in a 2-1 win over UMD on Saturday when he posted a plus-2 rating.

Robby Jackson, Fr., F, SCSU – Racked up four points in a sweep at Omaha with a goal and an assist Friday and two assists on Saturday, as he assisted on both game-winning goals, while logging a plus-3 rating in the series.

Griffen Molino, Fr., F, WMU – Tallied his first collegiate hat trick in Saturday’s 4-1 win over Miami, scoring the game-winner, while putting 11 shots on goal in the series.

Goaltender of the Week
Trevor Gorsuch, Fr., G, WMU – Made his first career start Saturday and totaled 30 saves to earn his first win, allowing only one goal in a 4-1 victory over Miami, while he totaled a 0.76 GAA and a .973 save percentage in 79 minutes in goal on the weekend.

Charlie Lindgren, Jr., G, SCSU – Compiled a 2.00 GAA and a .938 save percentage while earning two wins in a sweep of Omaha, totaling 61 saves and helping kill all 10 UNO power plays on the weekend.

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