Bauer NCHC Players of the Week Archive

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – After four teams earned Bauer National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) weekly honors last week, only two teams garnered awards for the week of Jan. 31-Feb. 6, 2022 as North Dakota and Western Michigan each claimed two. Picking up Bauer NCHC honors for week 17 are UND sophomore Riese Gaber, who repeats as Forward of the Week, WMU junior Ronnie Attard for Defenseman of the Week, UND senior Zach Driscoll for Goaltender of the Week and WMU forward Max Sasson for Rookie of the Week.

All four earned their honor for the second time this season. Gaber earns his second straight and second career NCHC Forward of the Week nod, while Sasson picked up his for the second time in three weeks. Attard is a two-time Defenseman of the Week this season, but this is his sixth career NCHC Defenseman of the Week honor.

Forward of the Week

Riese Gaber, North Dakota
Sophomore Forward
Gilbert Plains, Manitoba

Gaber continued to stay red hot with a five-point weekend in a win and overtime loss to Omaha. He had a hand in five of UND’s six goals in the series. On Friday, he tallied three points, opening the scoring only 3:31 into the contest unassisted, then adding assists on UND’s next two goals, including a primary helper on the game-winner to break a 1-1 tie. A night later, Gaber again scored the game’s opening goal 7:07 into the contest and also set up a power-play goal in the second period to make it 2-0 in an eventual, 3-2 overtime defeat. He was named Second Star of the Game both nights with a pair of multi-point outings.

Gaber finished the weekend with two goals, three assists, eight shots on goal, including five on Saturday, and a +3 plus/minus. He was +3 in Friday’s win and even on Saturday. Gaber now has nine points (4g/5a) in his last four games and leads UND in goals (13), assists (18) and points (31) this season.

This is Gaber’s second straight NCHC Forward of the Week nod and third career NCHC weekly honor, earning Rookie of the Week once.

Defenseman of the Week

Ronnie Attard, Western Michigan
Junior Defenseman
White Lake, Mich.

Attard was a force at both ends of the ice, racking up five points in a sweep at Colorado College. In Friday’s 8-2 beatdown of CC, the Philadelphia Flyers draft pick recorded his second hat trick of the season and his career (Oct. 29 at Colgate). He tallied WMU’s first, fifth and sixth goals, while also handing out an assist on the Broncos’ fourth goal for a four-point night. He’s the first NCHC blue liner ever with two hat tricks in a season. The next night, Attard dished out an assist on the game’s opening goal in a 5-4 victory. He also anchored a penalty kill that was a perfect 4-for-4 both nights.

Attard ended the series with three goals, two assists, 10 shots on goal and a +1 plus/minus. Seven of his 10 shots came in Friday’s blowout. Attard helped WMU finish a sterling 8-for-8 on the penalty kill in the series. He also scored two power-play goals, leading the Broncos to a 5-for-7 power-play effort on Friday.

On the season, Attard is tied for first nationally among defensemen with 29 points in 25 games, while his 11 goals also tie for the NCAA lead among blue liners. He also has 18 assists on the year.

Attard is now a six-time NCHC Defenseman of the Week, including twice this year, while he has seven career NCHC weekly honors (Rookie of the Week once).

GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK

Zach Driscoll, North Dakota
Senior Goaltender
Apple Valley, Minn.

Driscoll had one of his best weekends as a Fighting Hawk, backstopping North Dakota to a four-point weekend against Omaha, while allowing only four goals, including only one 5-on-5. In Friday’s 4-1 victory, he made 26 saves and only allowed a power-play goal for the Mavericks to earn First Star of the Game. On Saturday, Driscoll turned aside 27 more shots in a 3-2 overtime defeat, logging a shutout through the first two periods, while making six saves short-handed.

Driscoll totaled 53 saves on 57 shots faced, including a breakaway save each night, for a .930 save percentage in the series with Omaha. He posted a 1-1-0 record with a 1.97 goals-against average, while helping UND go 7-for-9 on the penalty kill by making 11 short-handed saves on the weekend.

Driscoll has now allowed only two 5-on-5 goals in his last four appearances, upping his season save percentage to .894, while dropping his GAA to 2.57 in 23 games. He moved to 13-9-1 on the season in goal for UND.

This is Driscoll’s second career NCHC Goaltender of the Week award, also earning it for the week of Nov. 1-7 this season.

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Max Sasson, Western Michigan
Freshman Forward
Birmingham, Mich.

Sasson extended his point streak to a career-best seven games at Colorado College, compiling six points in a road sweep of the Tigers with multiple points both nights. On Friday he tallied a career-high four points on two goals and two assists. He scored WMU’s second goal on the power play, then scored again to make it 4-0, before adding primary assists on WMU’s final two goals in an 8-2 thumping. A night later, Sasson was at it again, handing out two more primary helpers, helping tie the game at 2-2 and putting WMU up 4-3 in an eventual 5-4 victory.

Sasson finished the series with two goals, four primary assists, six shots on goal and a +2 plus/minus. Four of his six shots came on Friday when he was +2 and was Third Star of the Game. Sasson has 13 points (5g/8a) during his seven-game point streak after only three points in his first 18 games as a Bronco. He now has 16 points (7g/9a) in 25 games on the season.

Sasson earned his second NCHC Rookie of the Week nod this season, both coming in the last three weeks.

OTHER NOMINEES:

Forward of the Week
Bobby Brink, Jr., Denver
Jason Polin, Jr., WMU

Defenseman of the Week
Sean Behrens, Fr., Denver

Goaltender of the Week
None

Rookie of the Week
Sean Behrens, F, Denver

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