WCHA Offensive Player of the Week
Dani Cameranesi – Sophomore, Forward
University of Minnesota

Cameranesi led Minnesota with three points in a home sweep of Minnesota Duluth that clinched the Gophers’ third straight WCHA regular season title. The sophomore from Plymouth, Minn. registered two assists in Friday’s 7-1 win, before scoring the game-winning goal in Saturday’s 2-0, championship-clinching victory. Cameranesi, who has surpassed her freshman year point total, ranks fourth in the nation with 51 points, third with 32 assists and tied for third with six game-winning goals. In WCHA play, she ranks second with 39 points, 15 goals, 24 assists and a +31 on-ice rating in 25 league games.

Also nominated: Danielle Gagne, Sr., F, Ohio State; Josefine Jakobsen, Sr., F, North Dakota; Abby Ness, Sr., F, St. Cloud State; Kaitlyn Tougas, Jr., F, Bemidji State; Blayre Turnbull, Sr., F, Wisconsin

WCHA Defensive Player of the Week
Shelby Amsley-Benzie – Junior, Goaltender
University of North Dakota

Amsley-Benzie recorded her second pair of back-to-back shutouts, blanking St. Cloud State by scores of 4-0 and 2-0 for a weekend sweep that vaulted North Dakota into third place in the WCHA standings. The junior from Warroad, Minn. made a total of 38 saves between the two games and helped UND go a perfect nine-for-nine on the penalty kill. Amsley-Benzie, who has set UND’s records for career wins (47), career shutouts (12) and single-season blankings (7), leads the nation with a .953 save percentage this season. Since Jan. 1, she has been even better, pacing all NCAA netminders with a .972 save mark, 0.72 goals against average and six shutouts.

Also nominated: Ivana Bilic, Jr., D, Bemidji State; Stacy Danczak, Jr., G, Ohio State; Rachel Ramsey, Sr., D, Minnesota

WCHA Rookie of the Week
Alexis Joyce – Freshman, Defenseman
Bemidji State University

Joyce led Bemidji State with three points as the Beavers pulled within one point of fourth place – and home ice for the WCHA playoffs – following a road sweep at Minnesota State. The freshman from Lakeville, Minn. recorded all of her points Friday, recording a trio of assists to spark a 4-0 Bemidji State victory. She also finished the weekend with a team-best five blocked shots. Joyce leads the Beavers’ freshman class – and all WCHA rookie defensemen – with 16 points on four goals and 12 assists. She also ranks second nationally with 106 blocked shots.

The post Minnesotans sweep WCHA women’s awards appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

EDINA, Minn. – Feb. 3, 2015 – A pair of goal-scoring freshman and the nation’s hottest goaltender highlight the women’s Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) Players of the Week for games of Jan. 30-Feb. 2, 2015. The honorees are: Wisconsin freshman forward Emily Clark (Offensive Player of the Week), North Dakota junior goaltender Shelby Amsley-Benzie (Defensive Player of the Week), and Minnesota State freshman forward Nicole Schammel (Rookie of the Week).

WCHA Offensive Player of the Week
Emily Clark – Freshman, Forward
University of Wisconsin

Clark, a freshman from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, had a four-point weekend to pace No. 3 Wisconsin to a WCHA road series sweep at Minnesota State. The rookie played a role in all three Badger goals during Friday’s 3-0 victory, scoring twice while assisting on the game-winning score. Clark also had an assist on Jenny Ryan‘s game-tying goal Saturday, sparking Wisconsin’s rally to a 5-1 triumph. She finished the weekend with a +4 rating and nine shots on goal.

Also nominated: Zoe Hickel, Sr. F, Minnesota Duluth; Josefine Jakobsen, Sr., F, North Dakota; Taylor Kuehl, Sr., F, Ohio State; Kathleen Rogan, Sr., F, Minnesota State

WCHA Defensive Player of the Week
Shelby Amsley-Benzie – Junior, Goaltender
University of North Dakota

Amsley-Benzie continued her run of stellar play, backstopping North Dakota to a five-point weekend at No. 6 Minnesota Duluth. The junior from Warroad, Minn. recorded her fourth shutout of the season – third against a nationally-ranked opponent – when she stopped all 30 shots faced Friday in a 1-0 victory. She then followed up her shutout performance with a 25-save effort Saturday, helping UND to a 2-2 tie and shootout victory. North Dakota’s netminder helped her team’s penalty kill go a perfect 6-for-6 on the weekend, stopping 10 shots while short-handed. Amsley-Benzie currently leads the nation with a .949 save percentage. Since Jan. 1, she tops the country with both a .971 save percentage and 0.71 goals against average.

Also nominated: Ann-Renée Desbiens, So., G, Wisconsin

WCHA Rookie of the Week
Nicole Schammel – Freshman, Forward
Minnesota State University

Schammel recorded her first career hat trick and added an assist to lead Minnesota State to a 5-1, Monday night victory over St. Cloud State – the Mavericks’ first WCHA win this season. The freshman from Red Wing, Minn. scored a pair of even-strength goals – including the game-winner – in the first period, before adding a power-play strike and an assist in the second. She becomes the first Maverick to record a hat trick since senior teammate Kathleen Rogan on Jan. 2, 2013, and the first Minnesota State freshman with three goals in a game since Rogan accomplished the feat Oct. 22, 2010. Schammel ranks fourth among WCHA freshman with 17 points in 27 games this season (7 goals, 10 assists).

Also nominated: Kelly Pannek, F, Minnesota

The post WCHA honors Warroad’s Amsley-Benzie, Red Wing’s Schammel appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

A milestone achievement, shutout goaltending and a collegiate first highlight the women’s Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) Players of the Week for games of Jan. 16-18, 2015. The honorees are: Minnesota junior forward Maryanne Menefee (Offensive Player of the Week), North Dakota junior goaltender Shelby Amsley-Benzie (Defensive Player of the Week), and Bemidji State freshman defenseman Emma Terres (Rookie of the Week).

WCHA Offensive Player of the Week

Maryanne Menefee, Jr., Minnesota (Lansing, Mich.) Menefee led Minnesota with seven points (4g, 3a) as the Gophers swept Minnesota State in a home-and-home series last weekend. The junior from Lansing, Mich. recorded her second career hat trick in a 7-3 win Friday at Ridder Arena, while also adding an assist to tie a career high with four points. Menefee followed up Saturday with a goal and two assists in a 7-1 triumph, while her assist on Hannah Brandt’s goal 1:26 into the game marked her 100^th career point. Menefee was on the ice for eight of Minnesota’s 14 goals and finished the weekend with a +6 rating. She is third in the WCHA this season with a 0.57 goals per game and ranks sixth with 1.17 points per contest.

Also nominated: Stephanie Anderson, Jr., F, Bemidji State; Lara Stalder, So., F, Minnesota Duluth

WCHA Defensive Player of the Week

Shelby Amsley-Benzie, Jr., G, North Dakota (Warroad, Minn.)

Amsley-Benzie, a junior from Warroad, Minn., posted consecutive shutouts to help North Dakota to a road sweep at No. 10/9 Ohio State. She recorded a total of 57 saves on the weekend in a pair of 1-0 victories, stopping 26 shots in the first game and turning back 31 attempts in the series finale. Amsley-Benzie also recorded her first career point, assisting on the game-winning goal Saturday. Her efforts between the pipes led UND to its first consecutive shutouts since Jan. 20-21, 2012.

Also nominated: Kayla Black, Jr., G, Minnesota Duluth; Erin Deters, Fr., G, Bemidji State; Rachel Ramsey, Sr., D, Minnesota

WCHA Rookie of the Week

Emma Terres, D, Bemidji State (New Hope, Minn.)

Terres was instrumental on both ends of the ice as Bemidji State split a road series at No. 3 Wisconsin. The freshman from New Hope, Minn. scored her first collegiate goal in dramatic fashion Friday, netting the game-winner at the 9:23 mark of the third period to lift the Beavers to a 2-1 victory. Terres also blocked six shots on the weekend, helping BSU hold the Badgers to three goals in two games.

Also nominated: Cara Piazza, F, Minnesota

The post Women’s WCHA names its Players of the Week appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.