Bauer NCHC Players of the Week Archive

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Four different teams are represented among the Bauer National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) Players of the Week for the week of January 8-14, 2018, as Omaha senior forward Jake Randolph is the NCHC Offensive Player of the Week, while Western Michigan junior blue liner Corey Schueneman is the Defenseman of the Week, Miami freshman forward Phil Knies is the Rookie of the Week and North Dakota senior netminder Cam Johnson is the Goaltender of the Week.

The honor is Randolph’s third career NCHC weekly award and second Offensive Player of the Week nod, but first since his sophomore campaign in 2015-16. Schueneman picked up his second Defenseman of the Week award this season and of his career, while Knies also collected his second Rookie of the Week honor, both coming in the last four weeks. Johnson nabbed his 10th career Goaltender of the Week award, including third this season.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Jake Randolph, Omaha
Senior Forward
Duluth, Minn.

Randolph had a monster six-point weekend to lead Omaha to its first NCHC sweep of the season with two wins over Miami. In Friday’s record-setting 11-7 victory, he tallied a career-high four points on two goals and two assists to earn Second Star of the Game. Randolph scored Omaha’s second and 10th goals in the victory, the former in the first period and the latter on the power play in the third period. He finished +1 in the win and put four shots on goal. The next night, Randolph scored UNO’s second goal and handed out the primary assist on the game-winning goal in the second period that made it 4-0 in an eventual 4-3 victory. He was tabbed First Star of the Game for his two-point night. Randolph finished the series with three goals, three assists, +1 and five shots on goal. On the season, he is now third on the Mavericks with 18 points on five goals and 13 assists.

Defenseman of the Week

Corey Schueneman, Western Michigan
Junior Defenseman
Brighton, Mich.

Schueneman anchored WMU’s blue line and helped the Broncos earn a split at then No. 2 St. Cloud State with a four-point weekend. On Friday, he tallied a goal and an assist in WMU’s 7-5 win that handed the Huskies their first home loss this season. His power play goal tied the game at 3-3 in the second period, helping erase a two-goal deficit, while he then had the primary assist on Jade McMullen’s goal that gave the Broncos a 4-3 lead for good a few minutes later. Schueneman also finished +2 on the night, while helping kill 7-of-9 SCSU power plays and blocking a shot. On Saturday he tallied another goal and an assist, both on the power play, setting up WMU’s first goal, while scoring the Broncos’ third tally to tie the game in the third period in an eventual 4-3 defeat. He also blocked two shots Saturday. Schueneman finished the weekend with two goals, two assists, three blocked shots and three shots on goal. On special teams, he helped WMU go 13-for-16 on the penalty kill and 4-for-7 on the power play in the series. On the season, Schueneman has 19 points on three goals and 16 assists in 20 games.

Rookie of the Week

Phil Knies, Miami
Freshman Forward
Phoenix, Ariz.

Despite disappointing team results at Omaha, Knies powered Miami’s offense against the Mavericks with a five-point weekend, including two goals each night. In Friday’s 11-7 defeat, he tallied a career-high three points, scoring Miami’s third and fourth goals in the second period as the RedHawks attempted a rally, while he also had the lone assist on a short-handed goal in the final frame. Knies scored on both of his shots on goal for his first career multi-goal game, while finishing +2. On Saturday, Knies again tallied two goals, both in the third period, as his first got Miami on the board on the power play while his second goal made it a 4-3 game in a loss by the same score. He put three shots on goal Saturday and was tabbed Third Star of the Game. Knies ended the series with four goals, which led all NCHC players on the weekend, an assist, +3 and five shots on goal. On the season, he now has 14 points on seven goals and assists each in 22 games, after entering the series with three goals all season.

GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK

Cam Johnson, North Dakota
Senior Goaltender
Troy, Mich.

Johnson backstopped North Dakota to a win and a tie against Bemidji State to close out UND’s non-conference schedule, allowing only three goals in the series. On Friday, he compiled 28 saves in a 5-1 victory at BSU, making 15 of his saves in the third period. Johnson also helped UND kill all three Beaver power plays with three saves on their man advantages to earn his 52nd career win, moving him into a tie for sixth all-time at UND. The next night in Grand Forks, Johnson turned aside 18 of 20 shots in a 2-2 overtime tie, including four saves in the extra session. He finished the home-and-home series with a 1-0-1 record, while posting a 1.44 goals-against average and a .939 save percentage, making 46 saves on 49 shots faced. On the season, Johnson is 8-4-3 with a 1.92 GAA, which is seventh nationally, and a .914 save percentage.

OTHER NOMINEES:

Offensive Player of the Week
Nick Halloran, So., F, CC – Totaled four points against UMD to stretch his point streak to six games, scoring two goals and adding an assist on Friday, while also handing out a helper on Saturday.

Nick Jones, Jr., F, UND – Compiled four points and was +3 against Bemidji State, tallying a career-high three points in Friday’s win on two goals, including the game-winner, and an assist, while scoring UND’s first goal in Saturday’s tie.

David Pope, Sr., F, Omaha – Tallied seven points in a sweep of Miami, tying the school record with both five points and four assists in Friday’s victory, while handing out two more assists in Saturday’s win, including on the game-winner.

Defenseman of the Week
Joel Messner, Sr., D, Omaha – Logged a career-high four points in Omaha’s 11-7 win over Miami on Friday, scoring a goal and dishing out a career-best three assists, while blocking two shots in the sweep.

Rookie of the Week
Blake Lizotte, Fr., F, SCSU – Totaled three points in a split with Western Michigan, scoring a goal in Friday’s loss, while tallying another goal and assisting on the game-winner in Saturday’s 4-3 victory when he was +2.

Kobe Roth, Fr., F, UMD – Scored the first three goals of his career in a sweep at CC, notching his first career goal in Friday’s 6-5 victory, while adding two more goals, including scoring the game-winner, in a 5-1 win Saturday when he was +3.

Goaltender of the Week
None

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