So here are my picks for this week:
First Star: Wayne Simpson (Union)
In the Dutchmen's 8-1 blowout of Army, the junior forward scored a hat trick and added an assist. It was the first hat trick of his career. He scored Union's fourth goal in the second period, and the final two goals in the third period. While it has only been one weekend (and one game for Wayne), he currently leads the nation with 4.00 points per game (not that it means anything). This was the second season in a row that a Union player scored a hat trick in the season opener (Josh Jooris did it last year in his first collegiate game).
Second Star: Austin Smith (Colgate)
The senior forward was extremely instrumental in helping the Raiders capture the the Mutual of Omaha Stampede championship trophy. In the first game against Robert Morris, Smith picked up an assist in the 3-1 victory. But, his major contribution of the weekend came in the championship game where the Raiders beat #14 Nebraska-Omaha for the championship. He gave his team a 1-0 lead with a shorthanded goal 1:46 into the game, and then assisted on Joe Wilson's game-winning goal in the second period. The tournament championship was Colagte's first since the 2006 UConn Classic, and the Raiders' first win over a WCHA team since 1998 (Minnesota-Duluth).
The junior goaltender put in a great performance in his first start of the year. In the Engineers' 4-1 bounce-back win over Mineesota-Mankato on Saturday night, Merriam made 31 saves for his first win of the season. He has been nursing a knee injury over the past week, so it was really nice to see him play well in his first start. He currently leads all ECAC goaltenders with a .969 save percentage (once again, that means nothing). On opening night, freshman Scott Diebold started for RPI and allowed just one goal on 20 shots in a 1-0 loss. It was a very good weekend for the RPI goaltenders in their first action since Allen York left early.
No comments:
Post a Comment