February 8, 2011
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Red Baron® WCHA
A 5-9, 180-pound junior from Calgary, Alberta, Connolly equaled a team record by scoring five times in UMD's 6-4 triumph over Minnesota last Saturday (Feb. 5) night at AMSOIL Arena. He put the host Bulldogs up 3-0 with a natural hat trick (three straight goals) 21 minutes into the game, added a fourth goal with 1:17 to go in the second period and capped off his historic night with an empty-netter at the 18:40 mark of the third. His five-goal outburst matched the previous Bulldog single-game mark set by Steve 'Pokey' Trachsel on Nov. 17, 1972 against Lake Superior State. Connolly, who also fired 15 shots on goal in the series and earned a +4 plus/minus rating, also scored the game-tying goal for UMD in last Friday's 2-2 (ot) deadlock with UM. Connolly has now moved up to the No. 4 spot on the WCHA's overall scoring charts this season with a team-leading and career-best 19 goals and 16 assists. Also nominated this week: Jordan George, F, BSU. |
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Red Baron® WCHA
Bakala, a 5-11, 185-pounder from Calgary, Alberta, stopped 81 of 84 shots (.964 save percentage) on goal and posted four shutout periods Feb. 4-5 as Bemidji State split a WCHA road series at Minnesota State. He turned away a career-high 41 shots in last Friday's 2-1 (ot) loss and then hit the 40-save plateau again last Saturday, stopping 40-of-41 shots to lead the Beavers to a 4-1 victory. In addition, Bakala backstopped a penalty-kill unit that held the Mavericks scoreless on 10 power-play opportunities in the series, which included a 5:00 major and seven minutes in the third period Friday and a :70 second 5-on-3 chance Saturday. Leinweber, a 5-8, 171-pounder from Calgary, Alberta, recorded a three-point weekend and earned a +5 plus/minus rating to lead host Alaska Anchorage to a 4-1, 4-2 league sweep over Michigan Tech. Last Friday, Leinweber scored his first collegiate shorthanded goal and produced his first multi-goal game to double his goal total for the season. He also scored the game-opening goal. On Saturday, he assisted on teammate Sean Wiles' go-ahead goal in the second period. On the season, Leinweber owns a team-best +7 plus/minus rating and has 10 points (4g, 6a) in 24 games. |
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Red Baron® WCHA
A 6-0, 185-pound freshman from Denver, Colo., Shore tallied two goals and had a team-leading seven shots on goal as the No. 1 star of the game in DU's 5-3 win against the visiting Tigers at Magness Arena on Saturday, Feb. 5. He scored Denver's first two goals, including one on the power-play, near the end of the first period after the Pioneers had fallen behind 2-0. That victory enabled DU to keep possession of the Gold Pan trophy, awarded annually to the winner of the DU-CC series. Last Friday (Feb. 4) night, Shore added an assist in a 3-2 loss at CC on Feb. 4. In addition to his three points and seven shots on goal, Shore added four hits and two blocked shots and he now has eight points (3g, 5a) during his career-best, five-game point streak. Also nominated this week were: Chris Kamal, G, UAA; Alexander Krushelnyski, F, CC. |
University of Minnesota Duluth left winger Mike Connolly, who scored six goals – including a school-record tying five in one game – to help the Bulldogs take three of four points from visiting Minnesota last weekend has been named the Red Baron WCHA Offensive Player of the Week for Feb. 8, 2011.
A pair of three-year veterans – junior goaltender Dan Bakala of Bemidji State University and junior defenseman Curtis Leinweber of the University of Alaska Anchorage – have been named Red Baron WCHA co-Defensive Players of the Week for Feb. 8, 2011.
University of Denver centerman Nick Shore, who contributed two goals and three points in a weekend conference series against arch-rival Colorado College, has been named the Red Baron WCHA Rookie of the Week for Feb. 8, 2011.