COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – There were several stellar individual performances during the final weekend in January, so much so that the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) has announced five KJ Branding NCHC Players of the Week for the week of Jan. 23-29, 2023. Earning KJ Branding NCHC honors for week 17 are North Dakota junior Riese Gaber for Forward of the Week, Minnesota Duluth junior Wyatt Kaiser for Defenseman of the Week, UMD forward Ben Steeves for Rookie of the Week, as well as UND fifth-year senior Drew DeRidder and Omaha freshman Simon Latkoczy, who are Co-Goaltenders of the Week.
 
This is Gaber’s third career NCHC Forward of the Week honor, but first this season, and his fourth career NCHC weekly award overall. For Kaiser, it’s his second Defenseman of the Week nod this year and his third career NCHC weekly accolade. Steeves is now a three-time NCHC Rookie of the Week this season, while DeRidder gloved his second Goalie of the Week honor this year. This is Latkoczy’s first career NCHC weekly award.
 
FORWARD OF THE WEEK
Riese Gaber, North Dakota
Junior Forward
Gilbert Plains, Manitoba
 
Gaber powered North Dakota to a sweep at Miami with a five-point weekend. In Friday’s opener, the junior helped jumpstart UND’s offense with the primary assist on the game’s opening goal. It came on a power play tally only 4:18 into the contest as the Fighting Hawks went on to win, 4-1. The next night, Gaber erupted for a career-high four points, including his first collegiate hat trick. Gaber opened the scoring with a power play goal midway through the first, which served as the game-winning goal. He then scored again midway through the second stanza to make it 3-0 and completed North Dakota’s first hat trick since Nov. 2, 2018 with another power play tally in the final minute of the game, which capped an 8-0 thumping. Gaber also assisted on UND’s fourth goal, with three of his four points Saturday on the man advantage.
 
Gaber finished the weekend with three goals, two assists and a NCHC-best 13 shots on goal, including a career-high 12 in Saturday’s win. Gaber was also +1 in the sweep. He now has 16 career points (10g, 6a) in nine career games against Miami.
 
On the season, Gaber leads the Fighting Hawks and is tied for fourth in the NCHC with 16 goals, while his 28 points are second on the team and seventh in the NCHC.
 
DEFENSEMAN OF THE WEEK
Wyatt Kaiser, Minnesota Duluth
Junior Defenseman
Ham Lake, Minn.
 
Kaiser anchored UMD’s blue line in the Bulldogs sweep of then-No. 1 St. Cloud State, while chipping in four points offensively. In Friday’s 5-3 comeback win, the Chicago Blackhawks draft pick set up the game-tying and go-ahead goals with assists on a pair of power play tallies. His first helper tied the game at 2-2, while he had the primary assist on Ben Steeves’ goal that made it a 3-2 game late in the second period. On Saturday, Kaiser handed out two more apples, assisting on UMD’s first two goals, both on the man advantage in the first period, in a 6-3 victory.
 
Kaiser completed the sweep with four assists and was +2 on Saturday, while also blocking a shot. He also played on a penalty kill that went 5-for-8 in the series and did not commit a penalty himself all series.
 
Kaiser doubled his season assist total on the weekend, as he now has eight helpers and 11 points in 24 games this season.
 
CO-GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK
Drew DeRidder, North Dakota
Fifth-Year Senior Goaltender
Fenton, Mich.
 
DeRidder backstopped North Dakota to a sweep at Miami, allowing only one goal all weekend and none even strength. In Friday’s 4-1 victory, the Michigan State transfer turned aside 27 of 28 shots, including 10 in the second period. Of his 27 saves, seven came short-handed to help kill four of Miami’s five power plays on the night. The following night, DeRidder was perfect, stopping all 23 shots he faced in an 8-0 romp for his third shutout of the season. He also helped kill all three Miami power plays on Saturday with three short-handed saves.
 
DeRidder compiled a 0.50 goals-against average and a .980 save percentage against Miami, both of which led the NCHC on the weekend. He totaled 50 saves on 51 shots faced in the two wins and is now 4-1-1 in his last seven starts.
 
DeRidder upped his season save percentage to .900 and lowered his GAA to 2.62 after the sweep, while improving to 7-5-2 on the year in 17 starts. He now has seven shutouts in his college career.
 
CO-GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK
Simon Latkoczy, Omaha
Freshman Goaltender
Trencin, Slovakia
 
Latkoczy was stellar in net to help lead Omaha to a split at then-No. 9 Western Michigan. In Friday’s opener, he entered in relief to start the second period and stopped 20 of 22 shots faced over the final 40 minutes. The next night, Latkoczy was unbeatable, making a career-high 40 saves for his second shutout of the season. He compiled 17 saves in the third period alone, allowing Omaha to hold on for the 2-0 win. He also had eight short-handed saves to kill both WMU power plays on Saturday. Latkoczy earned First Star of the Game in the finale for blanking the nation’s top-scoring team.
 
Latkoczy totaled 60 saves in the series in 100 minutes of action, while giving up only two goals all weekend. His 60 saves were tops among all NCHC netminders last weekend, while he posted a .968 save percentage in the series. Latkoczy went 1-0-0 against the Broncos and recorded a 1.20 goals-against average.
 
On the season, Latkoczy improved to 7-2-0 with shutouts in each of his last two starts. He now leads the NCHC with both a .932 save percentage and a 1.82 GAA this year, both of which rank second nationally and tops among NCAA freshmen.
 
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Ben Steeves, Minnesota Duluth
Freshman Forward
Bedford, N.H.
 
Steeves continued his stellar rookie season, potting four goals to lead Minnesota Duluth to a sweep of in-state rival and then-No. 1 St. Cloud State. In Friday’s 5-3 victory, Steeves recorded his second hat trick of the season, the first UMD rookie to do so since Brett Hull in 1984. It was another natural hat trick with all three goals coming on the power play, as Steeves turned a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 Bulldogs lead. He tallied two goals in the second period and capped the hat trick 1:02 into the final frame, which served as the game-winning goal. A night later in a 6-3 win, Steeves again scored on the man advantage to make it a 2-0 game in the first period.
 
Steeves ended the sweep with an NCHC-best four goals on the weekend on six shots on goal, including four shots on Friday. He posted a +1 plus/minus against the then-top-ranked Huskies, as well.
 
Steeves is now tied for the NCAA lead among rookies with 16 goals this season, which also ties for fourth in the NCHC among all skaters. He has 20 points in 24 games as a freshman. 
 
OTHER NOMINEES:
 
Forward of the Week
Ben Steeves, Fr., Minnesota Duluth
Tim Washe, Jr., Western Michigan
 
Defenseman of the Week
Cedric Fiedler, Jr., Western Michigan
Tyler Kleven, Jr., North Dakota
Jonny Tychonick, Gr., Omaha
 
Goaltender of the Week
Magnus Chrona, Sr., Denver
Cameron Rowe, Jr., Western Michigan
 
Rookie of the Week
Jackson Blake, F, North Dakota
Isaac Howard, F, Minnesota Duluth
Simon Latkoczy, G, Omaha