Men's Ice Hockey 12/24/2020 4:00:00 AM By NCHC

Bauer NCHC Players of the Week: Dec. 14-21, 2020

Omaha’s Ward, SCSU’s Perbix and Miettinen, and Miami’s Persson honored for Week 3

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – With the NCHC Pod complete, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) announced its Bauer NCHC Players of the Week for games between December 14-21, 2020, the final week of the Pod. Garnering NCHC weekly honors for Week 3 of the season are Omaha junior Taylor Ward for Forward of the Week, St. Cloud State junior Nick Perbix for Defenseman of the Week, SCSU forward Veeti Miettinen for Rookie of the Week and Miami freshman Ludvig Persson repeating as Goaltender of the Week.

This is the second straight Goaltender of the Week honor for Persson, who becomes the first player to win two NCHC weekly honors this season. Ward collected his second career Forward of the Week award and fifth career NCHC weekly honor, thrice earning Rookie of the Week in 2018-19. Perbix picked up his first career Defenseman of the Week nod and second NCHC weekly honor, earning Rookie of the Week once. This is Miettinen’s first NCHC honor.

Forward of the Week

Taylor Ward, Omaha
Junior Forward
Kelowna, B.C.

Ward tied for the NCHC scoring lead during the final week of the NCHC Pod with five points. He opened the week by scoring the game-tying goal in a 2-2 tie and shootout win over then-No. 3 Minnesota Duluth on Dec. 16. He followed that game with two goals and two assists to lead the Mavericks to a 6-5 come-from-behind win over Western Michigan on Friday, Dec. 18, setting up the game-winning goal late in that contest. The Omaha assistant captain concluded the Pod with a scoreless game and a +1 rating in a 3-0 shutout win over Colorado College on Monday. Ward finished the week with three goals, two assists and a +1 plus/minus, while firing 10 shots on goal. On the season, he now has eight points on five goals and three assists.

Defenseman of the Week

Nick Perbix, St. Cloud State
Junior Defenseman
Elk River, Minn.

Perbix finished a strong three weeks in the Pod by leading all NCHC blue liners with four points in the final week of the Pod, helping the Huskies going 2-1-0. The Tampa Bay Lightning draft pick scored a goal in a 4-3 overtime loss to then-No. 4 North Dakota on Dec. 16, before recording a season-high three points in a 4-3 overtime win over Colorado College two days later. Perbix rallied SCSU from two goals down against the Tigers on Dec. 18, as he set up a power play goal and then scored the game-tying goal with an extra attacker all in the third period to force overtime, before tallying the primary assist on the game-winning goal in the extra session. The junior closed his week with a +1 plus/minus in a 3-1 win over then-No. 8 Denver on Dec. 20. Perbix finished the week with two goals, two assists, seven shots on goal, a blocked shot and an even plus/minus. On the season, he leads all NCHC defensemen with both four goals and nine points.

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Veeti Miettinen, St. Cloud State
Freshman Forward
Espoo, Finland

Miettinen finished the NCHC Pod strong, recording a goal in each of SCSU’s final three games in Omaha, with his four points leading all NCHC rookies last week. The Toronto Maple Leafs draft pick opened the week with a goal in a 4-3 overtime loss to North Dakota on Dec. 16. He then helped SCSU erase a two-goal deficit to top Colorado College two days later, scoring a power play goal and then setting up the tying goal in the third period to force overtime in an eventual 4-3 victory. The Finn closed his time in the Pod with the game-winning goal midway through the third period to break a 1-1 tie against Denver and lift the Huskies to a 3-1 victory. It was his first career game-winning goal, while he finished the week with three goals, an assist and eight shots on goal. On the season, Miettinen now has eight points on four goals and four assists.

GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK

Ludvig Persson, Miami
Freshman Goaltender
Hindas, Sweden

Persson gloved Goaltender of the Week honors for the second straight week, allowing only one goal in his two starts, as he went 1-0-1 in his final week in the Pod. After shutting out Omaha the previous week, Persson recorded a second straight whitewash with a 26-save blanking of then-No. 8 Denver on Dec. 17, backstopping Miami to a 3-0 win. Two days later he made a career-high 38 saves in a 1-1 overtime tie against Colorado College. CC’s goal late in the second period on Dec. 19 snapped Persson’s shutout streak of 162:02, which spanned four games (Dec. 8-19). The Swede finished with a .985 save percentage during the week and a 0.48 goals-against average, both best in the NCHC during the final week of the Pod. He totaled 64 saves on 65 shots last week and now ranks fourth nationally with a .962 save percentage this season, while his 1.19 GAA ranks sixth in the NCAA on the year.

OTHER NOMINEES:

Forward of the Week
Collin Adams, Sr., North Dakota
Grant Cruikshank, Jr., Colorado College
Sam Hentges, Jr. St. Cloud State
Paul Washe, Sr. Western Michigan

Defenseman of the Week
Jacob Bernard-Docker, Jr., North Dakota
Zach Berzolla, Sr., Colorado College

Rookie of the Week
Riese Gaber, F, North Dakota
Carter Savoie, F, Denver
Logan Will, F, Colorado College

Goaltender of the Week
Dominic Basse, Fr., Colorado College
Isaiah Saville, So., Omaha
Adam Scheel, Jr., North Dakota

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