Weekly Top Performers – NCAA Women

A compilation of the previous week’s top performing players representing Minnesota or the state’s various schools as recognized by their respective conferences.

Western Collegiate Hockey Association

WCHA Offensive Player of the Week

Meghan Lorence – Senior, Forward (Mounds View, Minn.)
University of Minnesota

Lorence, a senior from Mounds View, Minn., led Minnesota with four goals – including a game-winner, a power-play strike and a short-handed goal in the Gophers’ road sweep at Ohio State. The senior from Mounds View, Minn. was on the ice for all four Minnesota goals in a 4-2 Friday victory, while scoring the game-winner. Lorence registered her first career hat trick on Saturday and was the difference in a 5-3 triumph. She finished with a +3 rating for the series, while her power-play goal was Lorence’s fourth of the year (tied for second nationally).

WCHA Defensive Player of the Week

Brittni Mowat – Sophomore, Goaltender (Glenboro, Manitoba)
Bemidji State University

Mowat backstopped a Beavers’ defense that allowed just two goals in their series sweep over then-No. 10 North Dakota, a pair of victories that vaulted Bemidji State into the national rankings. The sophomore from Glenboro, Manitoba stopped 57-of-59 shots (.966 save percentage) in BSU’s 4-1 and 2-1 victories. Mowat leads the WCHA and ranks fourth nationally with a .949 save percentage, while her 1.61 goals against average is ninth in the country.

Hockey East

WHEA Defensive Player of the Week

Allie Morse – Junior , Goaltender (Cottage Grove, Minn)
Providence College

Morse recorded a career-high 42 saves as the junior netminder backstopped the Friars to their first win of the season over Northeastern. The Minnesota native stopped 62 of the shots she faced during the home-and-home series with the Huskies to finish the weekend with a .912 save percentage.

WHEA Honorable Mention

McKenna Brand – Freshman, Forward (Nevis, Minn.)
Northeastern University

Registered three points (2g, 1a) in three games for the Huskies, including two markers in a 6-3 win over No. 6 BU.

College Hockey America

CHA Rookie of the Week

Caitlin Reilly – Freshman, Forward (Chanhassen, Minn.)
Penn State University

Reilly scored two goals including the overtime game winner in a 3-2 weekend finale win at RIT. She put the Nittany Lions on the board with 2:19 left in the first period after tapping in the 1-0 goal from the top of the slot. Her second goal came three minutes into overtime when her shot from behind the goal line bounced off of Ali Binnington’s back and in to the net. She took nine shots in the victory, tied for the season-high by any Nittany Lion. In the first game, she recorded two shots.

Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

MIAC Women’s Hockey Athlete-of-the-Week

Tori Herrmann – Junior, Goaltender (Elk River, Minn.)
Saint Mary’s University

The Saint Mary’s women’s hockey team took a big MIAC point from defending champion and No. 8-ranked St. Thomas Saturday by earning a 0-0 overtime tie on the Tommies’ home ice. The Cardinals received a standout performance from junior goalie Tori Herrmann (Elk River, Minn.) in the tie, as she turned away more than 40 shots over 65:00 to keep her team in contention. For her performance, the MIAC sports information directors honored Herrmann Monday with the MIAC Women’s Hockey Athlete-of-the-Week award.

Herrmann was peppered with shots by the strong St. Thomas offense, but she held strong for all 65 minutes to help her team earn a point in the scoreless tie. Herrmann stopped all 43 shots she faced to earn her second career shutout just a day after her team was beaten by the Tommies, 4-1. Thus far this season, Hermann ranks third in the MIAC in save percentage (.935), fourth in saves (72) and fourth in goals-against average (2.40). In MIAC games only, she’s first in goals (0), goals against average (0.00), save percentage (1.000) and third in saves (43).

Northern Collegiate Hockey Association

NCHA Women’s Defensive Player of the Week

Bridget Slater – Sophomore, Goaltender (Roseau, Minn.)
Concordia University-Wisconsin

Slater posted her second shutout of the season after not playing Friday night. The sophomore netminder stopped all 33 shots she faced in a 3-0 win over Lake Forest Saturday. Slater had 10 or more saves in every period, including 13 in the final stanza. The key moment in the game was her impressive play during a 5-on-3 penalty kill late in the second when she helped keep CUW up one goal at the time.

Compiled from weekly conference releases.