OSU's Klassen and UND's Jaques, BSU's Tomcikova, OSU's Spooner Named WCHA Players of the Week for Dec. 17-23
UND's Melissa Jaques is the WCHA co-Offensive Player of the Week for Dec. 17-23 |
 |
Dec. 17, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
MADISON, Wis. – The Western Collegiate Hockey Association today announced it’s players of the week for December 17-23, 2008. They are forwards Hayley Klassen of Ohio State University and Melissa Jaques of the University of North Dakota on offense, Bemidji State University goaltender Zuzana Tomcikova on defense, and forward Natalie Spooner of Ohio State as rookie.
WCHA CO-Offensive Players of the Week
Hayley Klassen, Sr., F, Ohio State & Melissa Jaques, Sr., F, North Dakota
Ohio State co-captain Hayley Klassen totaled six scoring points against Minnesota State last weekend, helping the visiting Buckeyes take four points from the Mavericks in a two-game WCHA series. She had two assists in a 6-5 victory last Friday (Dec. 12) and then followed with a career-high four points in game two. The forward from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, scored twice and added two assists as the Buckeyes skated to a 5-5 overtime tie and won in a shootout. Klassen and her linemates combined for 18 points in the two games. Klassen is on a four-game point-scoring streak with eight points in that span. She increased her career total to 80 points to move into the top 10 in all-time scoring for the Buckeyes at No. 10. She ranks sixth in career goals with 38.
North Dakota’s Melissa Jaques, a senior from Cooks Creeks, Manitoba, scored the tying goal with only 1:21 remaining and then notched the game-winning goal in overtime to give the Fighting Sioux a 4-3 victory over Bemidji State last Saturday (Dec. 13) and a two-game WCHA road sweep. She also had an assist in the game. With her three points, Jaques became North Dakota’s all-time career points leader with 68 career points, passing Liz Funk’s 67. She only needs one goal to tie the school record of 35 goals and one assist to tie Funk’s record of 35 assists. Jaques leads the Fighting Sioux in all three major scoring categories with 12 goals and 12 assists for 24 points on the year.
Also nominated this week: Elin Holmlov, F, UMD; Ashley Young, F, MSU.
WCHA Defensive Player of the Week • Zuzana Tomcikova, Fr., G, Bemidji State
Bemidji State goaltender Zuzana Tomcikova, a freshman from Bratislava, Slovakia, recorded 88 saves in two WCHA games against North Dakota this past weekend. She recorded 46 saves, one shy of her collegiate career high, in a 2-1 loss to the Fighting Sioux at John Glas Fieldhouse in Bemidji last Friday (Dec. 12).
Tomcikova, who faced 45+ shots on goal in each game and a total of 94 overall in the Dec. 12-13 series, posted a .936 save percentage on the weekend. She then had 42 saves, including 19 in the second period and 17 in the third, in the second game of the series when Bemidji State fell 4-3 in overtime to UND.
On the season, Tomcikova leads the conference with 512 saves, 91 more than No. 2 on that list, and ranks fourth overall among all WCHA goaltenders with a .928 save percentage. She owns a 2.86 goals-against average and is also second in the country in total saves while ranking 13th overall in save percentage.
Also nominated this week: Jocelyne Larocque, D, UMD; Holly Snyder, D, MSU; Kelly Lewis, D, UND; and Deidre Facklis, G, OSU.
WCHA Rookie of the Week • Natalie Spooner, Fr., F, Ohio State
Ohio State freshman forward Natalie Spooner set a school record for goals in a game while totaling seven points (5g,2a) in a WCHA road series at Minnesota State last weekend.
Spooner scored four goals in game one against the Mavericks last Friday (Dec. 12) to set the single-game goal record at Ohio State. She scored her first goal just :33 seconds into the contest and then added a natural hat trick in a 1:56 span in the second period. She had two goals :22 seconds apart and added a third 1:34 later (4:33, 4:55, 6:29). In the second game last Saturday (Dec. 13), Spooner had a goal and two assists. For the series, Spooner and her linemates combined for 18 points.
A native of Scarborough, Ontario, Spooner is on a five-game goal streak to tie for the third-longest in Buckeye history. She has 10 goals in that span. This season, Spooner has nine multiple-point and five multiple-goal performances while playing in just 14 games. Her 17 goals this season already rank 10th in the OSU single-season records. She is second in the NCAA in goals per game with 1.21 and fourth in freshman scoring with 1.57 points per game.
Also nominated this week: Pernilla Winberg, F, UMD; Jackie Otto, D, MSU; and Alyssa Wiebe, F, UND.
|
|
 |
