Bauer NCHC Player of the Week Archive

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Wrapping up their first half of the 2018-19 season in strong fashion, the four Bauer National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) Players of the Week for week 10 hail from three different schools. Garnering Bauer NCHC Player of the Week honors for the week of Dec. 3-9, 2018 are St. Cloud State sophomore forward Blake Lizotte for Offensive Player of the Week, North Dakota junior blue liner Colton Poolman for Defenseman of the Week, Western Michigan freshman defenseman Mattias Samuelsson for Rookie of the Week and SCSU sophomore netminder Dávid Hrenák for Goaltender of the Week.

This is the first career NCHC weekly honor for both Lizotte and Samuelsson, while Poolman picked up his second NCHC Defenseman of the Week honor this season and of his career. This is Hrenák’s first career NCHC Goaltender of the Week nod and his fourth career NCHC weekly award, earning Rookie of the Week three times last season.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Blake Lizotte, St. Cloud State
Sophomore Forward
Lindstrom, Minn.

Lizotte powered SCSU to a sweep of Omaha with a three-point weekend, helping extend the Huskies’ unbeaten streak to 10 games. On Friday, he dished out an assist on SCSU’s second goal, which came on the power play in the second period of a 2-0 shutout. The next night, Lizotte tallied two goals for his first career multi-goal game in a 7-1 victory. He opened the scoring Saturday with a steal and an unassisted goal early in the first frame, while he tacked on the Huskies sixth goal in the third period. He was +3 in the contest and was named First Star of the Game. Lizotte finished the series with two goals, an assist, a +3 plus/minus and three shots on goal. He also won an NCHC-best 33 faceoffs on the weekend, going 33-12 (.733) in the faceoff circle.

Defenseman of the Week

Colton Poolman, North Dakota
Junior Defenseman
East Grand Forks, Minn.

Poolman contributed at both ends of the ice in North Dakota’s split with Denver, chipping in three points to lead all NCHC blue liners on the weekend, while helping limit the Pioneers to three goals all series. In Friday’s 4-1 win, the team captain handed out an assist on UND’s third goal to make it 3-0 in the third period, while his empty-net goal from the opposite end of the ice sealed the victory. Poolman was also +3 Friday and led a penalty kill that went 4-for-4. The next night, he had the lone assist on UND’s only goal, which tied the game late in the third period, in an eventual 2-1 overtime loss. Poolman ended the series with a goal, two assists, three shots on goal and a +3 plus/minus, while blocking a shot and anchoring UND’s penalty kill that finished the weekend a perfect 7-for-7.

Rookie of the Week

Mattias Samuelsson, Western Michigan
Freshman Defenseman
Voorhees, N.J.

Samuelsson played a key role in helping WMU earn five of six points against Minnesota Duluth in a win and a tie last weekend. Offensively, he dished out an assist each night, handing out the lone helper on the game-tying goal early in the third period of Friday’s eventual 3-2 win. The Buffalo Sabres prospect also had the primary assist on the Broncos’ first and only goal in Saturday’s 1-1 overtime tie, which came in the first minute of the game. Samuelsson posted a +2 plus/minus in Friday’s win and was +1 in Saturday’s tie, while blocking two shots in each game. In addition, he helped limit UMD to three goals all weekend and led a penalty kill that finished 9-of-10, including going 5-for-5 on Friday. Samuelsson completed the weekend with two primary assists, three shots on goal, a +3 plus/minus and four blocked shots.

GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK

Dávid Hrenák, St. Cloud State
Sophomore Goaltender
Povazska Bystrica, Slovakia

Hrenák was nearly unbeatable last weekend, as he allowed only one goal while backstopping St. Cloud State to a sweep of Omaha and extending the Huskies’ unbeaten streak to 10 games. On Friday, the Los Angeles Kings draft pick recorded his second shutout of the season and fifth of his career with an 18-save performance in a 2-0 victory. He helped kill both UNO power plays, making five saves short-handed, and earned Third Star of the Game. The next night, Hrenák compiled 20 saves in a 7-1 victory for his 10th win of the year, again shutting down Omaha’s power play as they went 0-for-3, once more making five short-handed stops. He finished the series with a .974 save percentage, totaling 38 saves (10 short-handed) on 39 shots faced, while posting a 0.50 goals-against average in the two wins. His 10 wins this season tie for second nationally.

OTHER NOMINEES:

Offensive Player
Trevor Gooch, Sr., F, CC – Totaled three points in a split with Vermont, scoring a goal each night, including an empty-netter Friday and CC’s only goal Saturday, while also handing out an assist in Friday’s win.

Mark Senden, Fr., F, UND – Tallied two points in Friday’s win over Denver, scoring the game-winner while also handing out an assist and finishing +2.

Colin Staub, Sr., F, Denver – Compiled two points in a split at UND, scoring Denver’s only goal in Friday’s loss, while setting up DU’s first goal in Saturday’s 2-1 overtime win.

Defenseman
None

Rookie
Ben Copeland, Fr., F, CC – Dished out two assists in a split with Vermont, with one each night, while finishing the series +1.

Goaltender
Trevor Gorsuch, Sr., G, WMU – Totaled 67 saves on 70 shots in a win and tie against UMD for a .957 save percentage and a 1.44 GAA, also making three saves in Saturday’s shootout win.

Filip Larsson, Fr., G, Denver – In his only game of the weekend Saturday, turned aside 32 shots in a 2-1 overtime win for a .970 save percentage.

Adam Scheel, Fr., G, UND – Went 1-1 against Denver, compiling 40 saves on 43 shots for a .930 save percentage and a 1.45 GAA.

--#NCHCHockey--