Bauer NCHC Players of the Week Archive
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Denver, Miami and North Dakota claimed Bauer National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) weekly honors for week 18. The Bauer NCHC Players of the Week for Feb. 7-13, 2022 are Miami senior Chase Gresock for Forward of the Week, North Dakota junior Ethan Frisch for Defenseman of the Week, senior Zach Driscoll repeats as Goaltender of the Week and Denver defenseman Shai Buium for Rookie of the Week.
In addition, the Conference is recognizing Minnesota Duluth sophomore Zach Stejskal as an honorary Goaltender of the Week for his courageous battle with cancer this season and strong return to the net this past weekend.
Driscoll repeats as NCHC Goaltender of the Week, his third such honor this season. These are the first career NCHC weekly honors for Gresock and Buium and the first of the season for Frisch (second career).
Forward of the Week
Chase Gresock, Miami
Senior Forward
Powell, Ohio
Gresock returned to the Miami lineup after missing 11 of the previous 13 games and made an immediate impact, tallying five points to lead the RedHawks to their first sweep in two years. In Friday’s 5-4 victory over Omaha, he dished out a career-high three assists for his first three-point game at Miami. His helpers set up goals that tied the game each time at 1-1, 3-3 and 4-4, when he had the lone assist. A night later, he was named First Star of the Game with two goals, scoring Miami’s go-ahead goal to make it 2-1 and sealing the sweep with an empty-netter for the 4-2 final.
Along with his two goals and three assists, he fired 13 shots on goal in the series, including a game-high seven on Friday. He posted a +4 plus/minus on the weekend, going +2 each night, and blocked three shots as well. On the season, Gresock now has 11 points (5g/6a) in 13 games for Miami.
This is his first career NCHC weekly honor.
Defenseman of the Week
Ethan Frisch, North Dakota
Junior Defenseman
Moorhead, Minn.
Frisch continued his strong run of play offensively and stepped up to play even more minutes than normal in North Dakota’s sweep of Colorado College. He chipped in three points from the blue line, with a goal each night, giving him a goal in five of his last six games. Defensively, he led a UND blue line that allowed only two goals and played with only five defensemen for 112 of the 120 minutes against CC, logging nearly 30 minutes per game. On Friday, Frisch scored UND’s second goal in a 3-2 win and assisted on the game-winner on the power play. A night later, he helped the Fighting Hawks blank CC by blocking a career-high six shots, while scoring the game’s first goal on the man advantage, which served as the game-winner.
Frisch finished the series with two goals, an assist, eight shots on goal and eight blocked shots. He was also +2 on the weekend and had a hand in both game-winning goals for UND. He now has 14 points (8g/6a) in 29 games for UND this season.
This is Frisch’s second career Defenseman of the Week honor, but first this season.
GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK
Zach Driscoll, North Dakota
Senior Goaltender
Apple Valley, Minn.
Driscoll was near perfect against Colorado College, allowing only a pair of power-play goals to backstop North Dakota to a sweep of the Tigers. On Friday, he made 24 saves in a 3-2 victory, while not allowing an even-strength goal and nearly scoring a goal himself. The next night, Driscoll turned aside all 23 shots he faced to earn his second shutout of the season in a 4-0 victory.
On the weekend, Driscoll finished with a .959 save percentage, stopping 47 of 49 shots, while posting a 1.00 goals-against average. On the season, he improved to 15-9-1 with an .899 save percentage and a 2.44 GAA, including a .952 save percentage during UND’s recent six-game homestand.
This is Driscoll’s second straight Goaltender of the Week honor and third this season.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Shai Buium, Denver
Freshman Defenseman
San Diego, Calif.
Buium contributed at both ends of the ice in Denver’s split with then-No. 6 Minnesota Duluth. In Friday’s 5-3 victory, the Detroit Red Wings draft pick had the primary assist on DU’s second goal, which came on the power play. The next night, Buium scored the Pioneers’ second goal, only his second goal of the season, which put DU ahead 2-1 in an eventual 3-2 defeat.
Buium finished the weekend with a goal, an assist, four shots on goal, including two each game, and a +2 plus/minus. He also played on a penalty kill that went 3-for-5 in the series. Buium now has 13 points (2g/11a) in 26 games this season.
This is Buium’s first career NCHC weekly honor.
Honorary Goaltender of the Week
Zach Stejskal, Minnesota Duluth
Sophomore Goaltender
Cohasset, Minn.
Playing in his first game since being diagnosed with testicular cancer less than four months ago, Stejskal made 20 saves in 40 minutes of relief to help Minnesota Duluth to a 3-2, comeback victory at Denver. Stejskal stopped 20 of 22 Denver shots for a .909 save percentage to pick up his second win of the season. The UMD win snapped Denver’s nine-game winning streak and marked the Pioneers first home loss this season. Stejskal has now played in three games this season, last appearing Oct. 15 against Michigan prior to his diagnosis.
OTHER NOMINEES:
Forward of the Week
Bobby Brink, Jr., Denver
Riese Gaber, So., UND
Joe Molenaar, So., SCSU
Defenseman of the Week
Shai Buium, Fr., Denver
Hampus Rydqvist, So., Miami
Goaltender of the Week
Ludvig Persson, So., Miami
Zach Stejskal, So., UMD
Rookie of the Week
Brent Johnson, D, UND
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