Bauer NCHC Player of the Week Archive

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – All four classes and three schools are represented among the Bauer National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) Players of the Week for the week of January 21-27, 2019. Garnering Bauer NCHC Player of the Week honors for week 15 are Minnesota Duluth sophomore forward Nick Swaney, who repeated as Offensive Player of the Week, Western Michigan junior blue liner Cam Lee for Defenseman of the Week, North Dakota freshman goaltender Adam Scheel for Rookie of the Week and WMU senior netminder Trevor Gorsuch for Goaltender of the Week.

Swaney is now a two-time NCHC Offensive Player of the Week after winning the award last week as well, while it is his fourth career NCHC weekly honor (two-time NCHC Rookie of the Week last season). Lee picked up his second NCHC Defenseman of the Week accolade this season (week 2) and of his career, while Scheel garnered his second NCHC weekly honor this season, but first Rookie of the Week nod. Gorsuch is now a two-time Goaltender of the Week this season and has won it three times in his career.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Nick Swaney, Minnesota Duluth
Sophomore Forward
Lakeville, Minn.

Swaney had another big weekend to repeat as Offensive Player of the Week, leading Minnesota Duluth to a sweep of Omaha. On Friday, the Minnesota Wild prospect recorded his first collegiate hat trick to power the Bulldogs to a 7-2 win. He scored UMD’s first two goals of the game, opening the scoring in the first frame and adding his second less than a minute into the second stanza to put the Bulldogs up for good, 2-1. Swaney then capped his hat trick with a power play goal to make it 5-2 late in the second period. He fired an impressive 12 shots on goal in the win, the most by a Bulldog in a game in 17 years, and was named First Star of the Game. The next night, Swaney was held off the scoreboard, but still put eight shots on goal in a 3-1 victory. He finished the series with NCHC weekend-bests of three goals and 20 shots on goal, while posting a +1 plus/minus.

Defenseman of the Week

Cam Lee, Western Michigan
Junior Defenseman
Ferguson’s Cove, Nova Scotia

Lee was productive at both ends of the ice to lead Western Michigan to a sweep of then-No. 4/3 Denver in Kalamazoo. Offensively, he dished out two points each night, while defensively he helped limit the Pioneers to only two goals all weekend. On Friday, Lee handed out a pair of assists in a 3-1 victory, dishing out a primary helper on the game-winning goal in the second period, which came on the power play to make it 2-0. He then sealed the win with an assist on an empty-net goal, while helping kill all six Denver power plays, including a five-minute major man advantage. The next night, Lee again set up the game-winning goal with a primary assist in the first period, while scoring WMU’s fourth goal in the second period of an eventual 5-1 win. He finished the game +2, helped the penalty kill go 7-for-8 and earned Second Star of the Game. Lee finished the series with a goal, three assists, four shots on goal, a +3 plus/minus and one blocked shot, while playing on a penalty kill that went 13-of-14 against the Pioneers.

Rookie of the Week

Adam Scheel, North Dakota
Freshman Goaltender
Lakewood, Ohio

Scheel was rock solid in net for North Dakota in their split with top-ranked St. Cloud State. On Friday, he made a career-high 33 saves, including 14 in the final frame, in a 3-1 setback to earn Second Star of the Game, giving up only two goals. The next night, he turned aside 22 shots to backstop UND to a 5-1 victory, helping kill all four SCSU power plays with five short-handed saves. The win was his 12th of the season, including eighth against a ranked opponent. Scheel finished the series with a 1-1 record, while compiling 55 saves on 58 shots against for a .948 save percentage and a 1.53 goals-against average.

GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK

Trevor Gorsuch, Western Michigan
Senior Goaltender
St. Charles, Mo.

Gorsuch was stellar in backstopping Western Michigan to a home sweep of then-No. 4/3 Denver. On Friday, he totaled 21 saves, including 14 in the third period, in a 3-1 victory, to earn Third Star of the Game. Nine of his saves also came short-handed as he helped kill all six Denver power plays Friday. The next night in a 5-1 win, Gorsuch totaled 36 saves, his second-highest total this season, with a whopping 19 saves coming in the final frame to garner First Star of the Game. The only goal allowed came on a power play, though he still made 12 short-handed saves to help WMU’s penalty kill finish 7-for-8 Saturday. Gorsuch finished the series with 57 saves, a 1.00 goals-against average (only one even strength goal allowed) and a .966 save percentage, the latter two tops in the NCHC on the weekend, to improve to 13-4-1 on the season with the two wins.

OTHER NOMINEES:

Offensive Player
Dixon Bowen, Jr., F, UND – Recorded his first career two-goal game in Saturday’s win over SCSU, while finishing the series +2.

Ethen Frank, So., F, WMU – Compiled three points and seven shots on goal in a sweep of DU, scoring two goals, including the game-winner, on Friday, while adding an assist Saturday.

Defenseman
Kristian Blumenschein, Jr., D, CC – Scored the game-winning goal to break a 2-2 tie Saturday, capping a sweep of Miami with his first goal of the season, while blocking two shots.

Dylan Samberg, So., D, UMD – Scored a goal in both games of a sweep against Omaha, also adding an assist in Friday’s win, while he finished the series +1 with two blocked shots.

Rookie
Ben Copeland, Fr., F, CC – Dished out three assists and was +2 in a sweep of Miami, with two helpers on Friday, while he set up the game-winning goal on Saturday.

Gavin Hain, Fr., F, UND – Recorded his first career two-goal game with a pair of tallies in Saturday’s win over SCSU, when he put six shots on goal and was +3.

Goaltender
Alex Leclerc, Jr., G, CC – Backstopped CC to a sweep at Miami with only three goals allowed, totaling 50 saves with a 1.50 GAA and a .943 save percentage.

Hunter Shepard, Jr., G, UMD – Backstopped UMD to a sweep of Omaha, surrendering only three goals for a 1.51 GAA, while compiling 48 saves for a .941 save percentage.