COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – It was a big weekend for National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) teams from Colorado and the KJ Branding NCHC Players of the Week for the week of Oct. 28-Nov. 3, 2024 reflect that with three winners from Colorado teams, including a pair of Colorado natives. Earning KJ Branding NCHC honors for Week 5 are:

• Forward – Aidan Thompson, Denver, Jr.
• Defenseman – Eric Pohlkamp, Denver, So.
• Goaltender – Kaidan Mbereko, Colorado College, Jr.
• Rookie – Sacha Boisvert, North Dakota, forward

This is Thompson’s first career NCHC Forward of the Week honor and second career NCHC weekly honor, also earning Rookie of the Week once as a freshman. Pohlkamp picks up his second Defenseman of the Week nod in three weeks, while Mbereko repeats as Goaltender of the Week and gloves his 10th career such honor. Boisvert garnered his first career NCHC weekly award and North Dakota’s first of the season.
 
FORWARD OF THE WEEK
Aidan Thompson, Denver
Junior Forward
Fort Collins, Colo.
 
Thompson powered top-ranked Denver to a sweep at Yale with a four-point series, leading all NCHC forwards in points on the weekend. The Chicago Blackhawks draft pick recorded points in both victories, starting with a primary assist on DU’s fifth goal in Friday’s 6-0 win. The next night, Thompson tallied three points in a 5-1 win, scoring two goals and adding another helper. He had the primary assist on the Pioneers’ first goal, which tied the game, then scored the game-winning goal on the power play to break a 1-1 tie in the second period before adding the final tally to clinch the sweep.
 
Thompson finished the series in Connecticut with two goals, two assists and 15 shots on goal, including a career-high 11 shots in Saturday’s victory. The DU assistant captain also posted a +3 plus/minus on the weekend, including +2 in Friday’s shutout. Saturday marked his third career multi-goal game, while he is now on a career-long eight-game point streak (6g/9a) to start the season. Thompson is second on the team with 15 points this season and tied for second with six goals, while also adding nine assists.
 
DEFENSEMAN OF THE WEEK
Eric Pohlkamp, Denver
Sophomore Defenseman
Baxter, Minn.
 
Pohlkamp led all NCHC blueliners on the weekend with four points, while helping limit Yale to only one goal in a road sweep of the Bulldogs in New Haven, Conn. Offensively, the Bemidji State transfer tied a career high with three points in Friday’s 6-0 shutout, which marked his first multi-point game with the Pioneers. Pohlkamp fired two goals in the series opener for his second career multi-goal game, tallying DU’s third and sixth goals, while assisting on the fourth. In Saturday’s finale, the San Jose Sharks draft pick dished out another helper in a 5-1 victory and blocked three shots.
 
Pohlkamp ended the weekend with two goals, two assists, four blocked shots and a +1 plus/minus. He was also a force on special teams, helping the penalty kill unit finish 5-for-5 against Yale while playing on a power play that went 4-for-8 in the series. Pohlkamp is second among DU defensemen with nine points in eight games, while his four goals on the season are tops among NCHC blueliners.
 
GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK
Kaidan Mbereko, Colorado College
Junior Goaltender
Aspen, Colo.
 
Mbereko, who earned his second straight weekly honor, backstopped Colorado College to a sweep of cross-town rival Air Force, allowing only three goals all weekend while helping CC capture the Pikes Peak Trophy for a sixth straight season. On Friday at Ed Robson Arena, Mbereko made 25 saves in a 3-2 overtime victory, including a stop in the extra session that led directly to the game-winning goal by Max Burkholder. A night later at the Air Force Academy, he was even better, compiling 27 stops in a 6-1 victory. Mbereko made nine saves during the Falcons seven power plays Saturday, as CC went 6-for-7 on the penalty kill in the series finale. He also made nine short-handed saves in Friday’s win on three Air Force power plays.
 
Mbereko finished the series 2-0-0 in net while stopping 52 of 55 shots for a .945 save percentage, with the 52 saves the most in the NCHC over the weekend. He also posted a 1.49 goals-against average in the victories, as CC improved to 6-0-0 for the first time since 2000-01. On the season, Mbereko is 6-0-0 with a .940 save percentage and 1.33 GAA, both of which are tops in the NCHC.
 
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Sacha Boisvert, North Dakota
Freshman Forward
Trois-Rivières, Quebec
 
Boisvert continued his strong start to his collegiate career at North Dakota, tallying three points at then-No. 9 Cornell last weekend to lead all NCHC rookies. The Chicago Blackhawks first round draft pick notched points both nights against the Big Red, starting with a primary assist on UND’s lone goal in Friday’s 4-1 loss. On Saturday, Boisvert recorded his third multi-point game of the season with a goal and an assist. He again set up the Fighting Hawks’ first goal of the game, before giving North Dakota the lead, 3-2, in the second stanza of an eventual 5-3 defeat.
 
Boisvert completed the trip to Ithaca, N.Y. with a goal and two assists, while posting an even plus/minus. He also won nine faceoffs in the series, including six on Saturday. Boisvert leads North Dakota with seven points this season (in seven games), tallying two goals and adding five assists, with the latter tying for the team lead.
 
OTHER NOMINEES:
 
Forward of the Week
Dylan James, North Dakota
Drew Montgomery, Colorado College

Defenseman of the Week
Ty Gallagher, Colorado College
 
Goaltender of the Week
Matt Davis, Denver
Hobie Hedquist, North Dakota
 
Rookie of the Week
James Reeder, Denver, forward
Fischer Scott, Colorado College, defenseman