Marian’s Cross and Concordia’s Malvin
Earn NCHA Men’s Hockey Weekly Honors
Marian University sophomore Clay Cross (F - Glendale, Ariz.) is the NCHA Men’s Offensive Player of the Week and Concordia University Wisconsin junior Nick Malvin (G - Ham Lake, Minn.) is the NCHA Men’s Defensive Player of the Week, the league office announced Tuesday.
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Cross is the NCHA Offensive Player of the Week after helping the Sabres run their winning streak to five in a row and break into the national rankings. He played a big role in setting up the offense all series, posting a four-point weekend as the Sabres swept past Lawrence. Cross had a pair of assists in each game of the sweep of the Vikings, including one on the game-winner Saturday. He is the third Sabre to win the honor this season.
Malvin is the NCHA Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season after another strong weekend for the Falcons where he totaled 70 saves over two victories against MSOE. The junior stopped 37 shots in Friday’s 3-1 win and followed that up with a 33-save performance in Saturday’s 4-3 victory, allowing the Falcons to secure the Lake Michigan Cup for the second straight year. Malvin finished the week with a .946 save percentage.
2017-18 NCHA WEEKLY TOP PERFORMERS
Kurt Black, St. Norbert
Black had one goal in Friday’s 4-1 win over St. Scholastica and then had a goal and assist in Saturday’s 5-0 win over Northland. Black is second on the team in goals this season with nine.
T.J. Black, St. Norbert
Black made 14 saves in Friday’s 4-1 win over St. Scholastica and had 12 stops in Saturday’s 5-0 win over Northland for his 11th career shutout.
Trevor Boyd, Adrian
Boyd led top-ranked Bulldogs with three goals and four points as Adrian clinched NCHA South Division title with road wins over Lake Forest (2-1) and Aurora (7-4). He recorded his first career hat trick, which included a pair of power play goals, as the Bulldogs came back to beat the Spartans by three goals.
Louis-Philippe De Courcy, Lake Forest
De Courcy surrendered a total of just three goals as Lake Forest split a pair of games over the weekend. He recorded 20 saves in a 2-1 loss to Adrian College on Friday before stopping 17 of 18 shots on goal in a 6-1 victory over Trine University on Saturday.
Kevin Entmaa, Adrian
Entmaa went 2-0 to help the Bulldogs extend their winning streak to 11 in a row. He posted a 2.51 goals-against average and made 44 total saves.
Taylor Gauld, Concordia
Gauld had two points in the Falcons sweep over MSOE, which included a game-winning goal in Friday’s 3-1 road victory. He added an assist in Saturday’s 4-3 victory.
Charlie Izaguirre, Lake Forest
Izaguirre finished with four goals in Lake Forest’s 6-1 triumph over visiting Trine University on Saturday. He converted power play opportunities in each period to become the only player in recorded school history with three power play scores in a contest.
Sammy Nardicchio, Trine
The freshman forward finished the weekend with a team-high two points as the Thunder came away from their road trip with a 1-1 record. On Saturday, Nardicchio assisted on the Thunder’s lone goal of the evening. While on Sunday, he scored the first goal of the game in the team’s first NCHA road victory of the season.
Hunter Vorva, Marian
Vorva continued to stand on his head as he helped lead Marian to a decisive sweep of Lawrence. Vorva only allowed a pair of goals as he made 38 saves on the weekend for a .950 save percentage. The sweep of the Vikings not only gave Marian control of their own destiny for home-ice in the first round of the NCHA Harris Cup Playoffs, but also tied the single-season record for wins in a season for a Marian goaltender.