Bauer NCHC Player of the Week Archive

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Underclassmen shined last weekend, as three of the four Bauer National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) Players of the Week for week 13 are freshmen with the fourth a sophomore, each leading their teams to a series sweep. Garnering Bauer NCHC Player of the Week honors for the week of Jan. 7-13, 2019 are Western Michigan sophomore forward Josh Passolt for Offensive Player of the Week, North Dakota freshman blue liner Jacob Bernard-Docker for Defenseman of the Week, Denver freshman forward Cole Guttman for Rookie of the Week and DU rookie netminder Filip Larsson for Goaltender of the Week.

Passolt picked up his third career NCHC weekly award, including second Offensive Player of the Week nod this season. Bernard-Docker and Guttman each collected their second such NCHC weekly honor, while this is Larsson’s first career NCHC weekly award, though he was the NCHC’s December Goaltender of the Month.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Josh Passolt, Western Michigan
Sophomore Forward
Hayward, Wis.

Passolt tied for the NCHC scoring lead with four points on the weekend, leading WMU to a sweep of rival Miami while extending the Broncos’ unbeaten streak to 10 games. He tallied two points in each game, with a goal and an assist in Friday’s 4-3 victory, both on the power play. Passolt set up the game’s first goal with a primary assist to put WMU in front in the first period, while he scored the eventual game-winning goal in the third period to up the score to 4-2. He fired five shots on goal Friday and earned First Star of the Game. The next night in a 3-2 win, the sophomore tallied the Broncos’ first two goals of the game, putting WMU in front each time, while finishing the game +1 and again earning First Star of the Game. Passolt ended the weekend with three goals, an assist, nine shots on goal and an even plus/minus. He now leads the NCHC with 14 goals on the season.

Defenseman of the Week

Jacob Bernard-Docker, North Dakota
Freshman Defenseman
Canmore, Alberta

Bernard-Docker contributed at both ends of the ice to help UND sweep Colorado College. On Friday, he dished out two assists, both primary, setting up the Fighting Hawks’ first goal on the power play in the first period, while his blast from the point in overtime was deflected for the game-winning goal in a 4-3 victory. The Ottawa Senators prospect was also +2 Friday. On Saturday, Bernard-Docker was held scoreless in a 3-2 overtime win, but posted a +1 plus/minus and led a UND penalty kill that went 5-for-5 on the night. He finished the series with two assists, three shots on goal, a +3 plus/minus and one blocked shot, which came on Friday.

Rookie of the Week

Cole Guttman, Denver
Freshman Forward
Los Angeles, Calif.

Guttman played a key role in helping Denver sweep Omaha as he had a hand in both game-winning goals in a pair of one-goal victories to push DU’s win streak to seven games. In Friday’s 1-0 shutout, he dished out an assist on the lone goal in the second period, which was the game-winner, while finishing +1. The next night, the Tampa Bay Lightning draft pick scored the game-winning goal early in overtime to break a 2-2 tie. He also fired three shots on goal and was +2 in Saturday’s 3-2 win, earning First Star of the Game. Guttman completed the series with a goal, an assist, four shots on goal, one blocked shot and a +3 plus/minus, while also winning 13 of 23 faceoffs on the weekend (.565).

GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK

Filip Larsson, Denver
Freshman Goaltender
Stockholm, Sweden

Larsson continued his stellar start to his college career, allowing only two goals all weekend while backstopping Denver to a sweep of Omaha. On Friday, the Detroit Red Wings prospect compiled 21 saves for his first collegiate shutout in a 1-0 win. He earned Second Star of the Game for his efforts. The next night, Larsson surrendered two goals, both in the second period, as he was perfect 5-of-6 periods on the weekend. Only one goal allowed came even strength Saturday as he totaled 29 saves in a 3-2 overtime win to remain unbeaten on the season at 6-0-1. Larsson finished the series with 50 saves on 52 shots faced for a .962 save percentage and a 1.00 goals-against average, both tops in the NCHC on the weekend. He dropped his GAA from 2.33 to 1.93 on the season, while upping his save percentage from .915 to .929 this year.

OTHER NOMINEES:

Offensive Player
Jordan Kawaguchi, So., F, UND – Totaled four points in a sweep of CC, with a goal and an assist in both games, including scoring the OT game-winner on Saturday.

Jarid Lukosevicius, Sr., F, Denver – Scored the game-winning goal (only goal) in a 1-0 win over Omaha Friday, while assisting on the game-winning goal in overtime on Saturday to cap a sweep, finishing +3 with 13 shots on goal.

Westin Michaud, Sr., F, CC – Tallied a goal both nights in a pair of losses at UND, while putting five shots on goal on the weekend.

Defenseman
Slava Demin, Fr., D, Denver – Handed out two assists in Saturday’s 3-2 overtime win over Omaha, including setting up the game-winner, while firing six shots on goal and finishing +1 on the weekend.

Jimmy Schuldt, Sr., D, SCSU – Scored a goal in Saturday’s win at UMD, while firing six shots on goal and blocking an NCHC-best 10 shots in the split series.

Rookie
Brian Hawkinson, Fr., F, Miami – Led NCHC rookies with three points on the weekend, tallying a goal in Friday’s loss at WMU, while adding two assists in another one-goal defeat Saturday.

Goaltender
Adam Scheel, Fr., G, UND – Totaled 42 saves in a pair of overtime wins over CC, with a 2.40 GAA and an .894 save percentage in the series.

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