Minnesotans sweep NCHC weekly awards

The National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) announced its Bauer NCHC Players of the Week for the week of Jan. 5-11 on Monday with four different NCHC teams taking home awards. The winners for week 12 of the season are St. Cloud State senior forward Joe Rehkamp for Offensive Player of the Week, Minnesota Duluth sophomore blue liner Willie Raskob for Defenseman of the Week, Omaha freshman forward Avery Peterson for Rookie of the Week and North Dakota junior netminder Zane McIntyre for Goaltender of the Week. Peterson has now claimed Rookie of the Week twice while McIntyre is now a three-time Goaltender of the Week this season.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Joe Rehkamp, St. Cloud State
Senior Forward, Plymouth, Minn.

Rehkamp led the Huskies to a sweep of No. 6/5 Miami, totaling three points, including scoring the game-winning goal in both contests, which were his first two goals of the season. In Friday’s 3-1 win, he scored the game-winner 4:09 into the final period, putting SCSU in front 2-1, while earning second star of the game. The next night in a 3-2 win he was again named the game’s second star after a goal and an assist. Rehkamp helped set up SCSU’s first goal early in the game while scoring the game-winner 5:19 into the third period to put the Huskies up 3-1. He posted a +3 rating on the weekend, including +2 on Saturday, while putting six shots on goal in the series, including four in Friday’s win.

DEFENSEMAN OF THE WEEK
Willie Raskob, Minnesota Duluth
Sophomore Defenseman, Hastings, Minn.

Raskob had possibly the best weekend of his young career, having a hand in three of UMD’s six goals in its split at No. 1/1 North Dakota. In Friday’s 4-1 win, he dished out the primary assist on the game-winning goal midway through the third period to break a 1-1 tie as he used a nifty move to beat a UND defenseman and set up the score. He also had a +1 rating in the win. The next night, Raskob opened the scoring with a goal in the first period, his second of the season, knocking in a rebound. He then had the primary assist on a power play goal in the third period as he had a hand in both UMD goals Saturday. Raskob blocked a shot Friday, as well, and helped the Bulldogs go 4-for-4 on the penalty kill in the series at UND, including 3-for-3 Saturday.

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Avery Peterson, Omaha
Freshman Forward, Grand Rapids, Minn.

Peterson captured his second Rookie of the Week honor after tallying three points to help lead Omaha to a sweep of No. 10/10 Denver. In Friday’s 5-4 comeback win, he notched all three of his points, tying a career high. After UNO fell behind 3-0, he scored the Mavs’ first goal of the game unassisted in the second period to spark a rally. The Minnesota Wild prospect then set up Omaha’s third goal with a primary assist, which tied the game late in the second stanza, while again tallying the primary assist on a goal that tied the game 4-4 late in the third period. Peterson was named the game’s second star for his three-point outing. The next night in a 1-0 win, he put two shots on goal and finished with six shots on goal in the series, while going 9-for-16 in the faceoff circle.

GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK
Zane McIntyre, North Dakota
Junior Goaltender, Thief River Falls, Minn.

McIntyre claimed his third Goaltender of the Week award after backstopping UND to a split with No. 7/7 Minnesota Duluth. The Boston Bruins prospect posted a .937 save percentage in the series, stopping 74 of 79 shots against him, while going 1-1 in net. McIntyre posted season highs for saves on back-to-back nights, starting with 33 saves in a 4-1 loss to UMD Friday when he was named the third star of the game. The next night, he was even better, notching a season-best 41 saves, which marked a regular-season career high, in a 5-2 win. Of his 41 saves, 17 came in the third period as he was named the game’s second star. McIntyre also earned his first assist of the season in Saturday’s win on UND’s second goal. He helped kill seven of eight UMD power plays on the weekend, including all three Friday, and had a 2.55 goals-against average in the series.