COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Following a full weekend of conference play, three teams are represented among the KJ Branding NCHC Players of the Week for the week of Nov. 13-19, 2023, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) announced Monday. The KJ Branding NCHC Week 7 honorees are:

• Forward – Luke Grainger, Western Michigan, Sr.
• Defenseman – Bennett Zmolek, North Dakota, RS Soph.
• Goaltender – Cameron Rowe, Western Michigan, Sr.
• Rookie – Miko Matikka, Denver, Forward

Grainger garnered his second career NCHC Forward of the Week nod and first this season, while his teammate, Rowe, gloved his first Goalie of the Week award this season and sixth of his career. Matikka repeats as NCHC Rookie of the Week and marks the fourth straight week a Pioneer has claimed Rookie of the Week. This is Zmolek’s first career NCHC honor.
 
FORWARD OF THE WEEK
Luke Grainger, Western Michigan
Senior Forward
Montreal, Quebec
 
Grainger had a monster, seven-point weekend to power Western Michigan to a sweep at Colorado College. The Broncos captain had a hand in every goal WMU scored at CC last weekend, tallying two goals and five assists. In Friday’s 3-1 victory, he scored the game’s opening goal, while setting up both of the Broncos’ goals in the third period to break a 1-1 tie and then seal the victory. The next night, Grainger tied a season high with four points, assisting on WMU’s first three goals, the first two coming on the power play, while capping the 4-0 victory with a nifty goal.
 
Grainger was named First Star of the Game both nights against the Tigers, while setting up both game-winning goals. He finished the series with a +3 plus/minus and fired six shots on goal.
 
On the season, Grainger leads the Broncos and is second in the NCHC with 19 points, including six goals and a team-high 13 assists in 10 games.
 
DEFENSEMAN OF THE WEEK
Bennett Zmolek, North Dakota
Redshirt Sophomore Defenseman
Rochester, Minn.
 
Zmolek was a defensive force in North Dakota’s sweep of Miami. The Minnesota State transfer led all NCHC players with 10 blocked shots on the weekend, including seven in Saturday’s 5-1 win, which are the most by an NCHC player in a game this season. Zmolek tied for the NCHC lead with a +5 plus/minus in the series, including +3 in Friday’s 6-4 victory. The redshirt sophomore wasn’t on the ice for any of Miami’s five goals all weekend.
 
Zmolek also spear-headed a penalty kill unit that finished 5-for-6 against Miami, including 5-for-5 on Saturday. On the season, he now has 27 blocked shots and has chipped in two assists in 10 games.
 
GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK
Cameron Rowe, Western Michigan
Senior Goaltender
Wilmette, Ill.
 
Rowe had his best weekend of the season last weekend, backstopping WMU to a sweep at Colorado College. He allowed only one goal all weekend, while recording his first shutout of the season on Saturday. In Friday’s 3-1 victory, Rowe made 25 saves, including 10 in the third period, to earn Third Star of the Game. The next night he stopped all 23 shots he faced for his fourth shutout in two seasons as a Bronco. The Wisconsin transfer was named Second Star of the Game on Saturday.
 
Rowe finished the series with NCHC bests of a 0.50 goals-against average and a .980 save percentage, compiling 48 saves on 49 shots faced. Of his 48 saves, 15 came short-handed, helping the Broncos go 10-for-10 on the penalty kill against CC.
 
With the sweep, Rowe improved to 6-3-1 on the season. His .910 save percentage is second in the NCHC this year, while his 2.30 GAA ranks third in the conference.
 
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Miko Matikka, Denver
Freshman Forward
Helsinki, Finland
 
Matikka continued his stellar play of late to repeat as Rookie of the Week, scoring a goal in both games and totaling three points in a split against Omaha. In doing so, the Arizona Coyotes draft pick stretched his goal-scoring streak to a career-long five games, tying for the longest by a DU player this season, while he’s now on a six-game point streak. In Friday’s 8-4 victory, Matikka notched his second career multi-point game, assisting on the Pioneers’ first goal of the game, while tallying DU’s sixth goal. On Sunday, he used a power move to score early in the third period and bring Denver within one in a 4-3 defeat.
 
Matikka was named Third Star of the Game on Sunday and finished the series with four shots on goal and a +1 plus/minus. He has tallied all eight of his points this season during his current six-game point streak, recording six goals and two assists.
 
OTHER NOMINEES:
 
Forward of the Week
Jackson Blake, North Dakota, So.
P.J. Fletcher, Miami, Sr.
Rieger Lorenz, Denver, So.
Veeti Miettinen, St. Cloud State, Sr.
Ty Mueller, Omaha, Jr.
 
Defenseman of the Week
Dylan Anhorn, St. Cloud State, 5^th
Zeev Buium, Denver, Fr.
Joaquim Lemay, Omaha, So.
Sam Sjolund, Western Michigan, So.
 
Goaltender of the Week
Ludvig Persson, North Dakota, Sr.
 
Rookie of the Week
Alex Bump, Western Michigan, Forward
Tanner Ludtke, Omaha, Forward
Jayden Perron, North Dakota, Forward