COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Following the first conference series of the season and several thrilling non-conference games, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) announced its KJ Branding Players of the Week for the week of Oct. 24-30, 2022 on Monday. Garnering NCHC Week 5 honors presented by KJ Branding are Denver sophomore Carter Mazur for Forward of the Week, Minnesota Duluth junior Wyatt Kaiser for Defenseman of the Week, DU senior Magnus Chrona for Goaltender of the Week and Western Michigan forward Ryan McAllister for Rookie of the Week. Starting today, Monday, Oct. 31, KJ Branding is the official sponsor of the NCHC’s Players of the Week after partnering with the conference.

This is Mazur’s first career NCHC Forward of the Week nod, after twice earning Rookie of the Week last year. It is also Kaiser’s first Defenseman of the Week honor and second career NCHC weekly award, earning Rookie of the Week once in 2020-21. McAllister claims his second Rookie of the Week award in three weeks, while Chrona gloved his fifth career NCHC Goaltender of the Week honor, but first this season.

FORWARD OF THE WEEK
Carter Mazur, Denver
Sophomore Forward
Jackson, Mich.
 
Mazur had a monster weekend at Miami, leading Denver to a conference-opening sweep. The reigning NCHC Rookie of the Year scored five of DU’s eight goals in the series, including both game-winning goals. On Friday, Mazur recorded the first hat trick of his college career, doing so naturally, scoring the game’s first three goals in a 4-0 victory. The next night, the Detroit Red Wings draft pick added two more tallies, rallying DU to a 4-2 victory. With the Pioneers down, 2-1, in the third period, Mazur scored twice in a row to give Denver the lead for good, with his second goal serving as the game-winner.
 
Mazur finished the weekend with five goals, including two power play goals and two game-winners. He also fired 11 shots on goal in the sweep and posted a +2 plus/minus. Mazur’s natural hat trick was DU’s first since Quentin Shore on Nov. 21, 2014, while it was Denver’s first five-goal weekend from a single player since Jarid Lukosevicius on Nov. 2-3, 2018.

Mazur now has 10 goals on the season, tying for the NCAA lead, while his 12 points on the year tie for ninth nationally. He is riding a three-game goal-scoring streak entering DU’s upcoming series with St. Cloud State.

DEFENSEMAN OF THE WEEK
Wyatt Kaiser, Minnesota Duluth
Junior Defenseman
Ham Lake, Minn.

Kaiser played a big role in helping Minnesota Duluth snap a four-game losing streak and sweep then-No. 20 Cornell. He chipped in three points offensively, while helping anchor a penalty kill that was perfect on the weekend. In Friday’s opener, the Chicago Blackhawks draft pick scored the game’s first goal, his first of the season, in an eventual 3-2 victory. It was Kaiser’s first collegiate goal scored at home at AMSOIL Arena. The next night, Kaiser dished out the primary assist on the game’s opening goal, then scored the go-ahead goal unassisted to break a 1-1 tie and spearhead UMD to a 4-2 win.

Kaiser ended the series with two goals, one assist, three shots on goal and two blocked shots. He also posted a +5 plus/minus, including +3 in Saturday’s sweep-clincher. Kaiser played on a penalty kill unit that finished the weekend a perfect 8-for-8 against the Big Red.

On the season, Kaiser now has four points (2g/2a) in seven games after entering with one point all season. He is now +6 on the year, which leads the team.

GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK
Magnus Chrona, Denver
Senior Goaltender
Stockholm, Sweden
 
Chrona backstopped Denver to a road sweep at Miami to open conference play, allowing only two goals all weekend. The San Jose Sharks prospect and former Tampa Bay Lightning draft pick logged his first shutout of the season on Friday, turning aside all 24 shots he faced in a 4-0 win. It was his 10th career shutout as a Pioneer, which is fourth-most in program history and fourth-most in NCHC history. A night later, Chrona stopped 18 more shots in a 4-2 victory. He allowed only one even-strength goal all weekend, which came on Saturday.
 
Chrona finished the series with a 2-0-0 record and a 1.01 goals-against average. He compiled 42 saves on 44 shots faced for a .955 save percentage against Miami. On the season, he improved his GAA to 1.90 and upped his save percentage to .918. Chrona is now 5-2-0 on the season in seven starts.
 
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Ryan McAllister, Western Michigan
Freshman Forward
London, Ont.
 
McAllister continued his hot start to his college career, racking up five points against then-No. 4 Michigan. In Friday’s 5-4 defeat in Ann Arbor, he dished out two assists, including the primary helper on the game-tying goal in the third period to make it a 4-4 game. The next night in Kalamazoo, McAllister upped his game even more. He tied a career high with three points, while scoring two goals for his first career multi-goal game. Both of his goals Saturday came on the power play, cutting Michigan’s lead to one each time. He then again set up the game-tying goal, this time forcing overtime in a thriller won by the Wolverines, 6-5, in the extra session.
 
McAllister finished the series with two goals and three assists, while firing nine shots on goal. He now has points in seven of nine games this season and leads the Broncos with 13 points (5g/8a). His 13 points tie for third nationally and second in the NCHC, and rank second among all NCAA rookies.

OTHER NOMINEES:
 
Forward of the Week
Dominic James, So., Minnesota Duluth
Noah Laba, Fr., Colorado College
Zach Okabe, Sr., St. Cloud State
Jack Randl, Sr., Omaha
Massimo Rizzo, So., Denver
 
Defenseman of the Week
Ethan Straky, Fr., Colorado College
 
Goaltender of the Week
Dominic Basse, Jr., St. Cloud State
Matt Vernon, Sr., Colorado College
 
Rookie of the Week
Jacob Guevin, D, Omaha
Adam Ingram, F, St. Cloud State
Noah Laba, F, Colorado College