NFL
By Jason Gulden
Welcome back, NCHC fans. It’s that time again; it’s time for NCHC action. We have the final home opener for an arena, and the newest NCHC member will drop the puck in its inaugural season.
Players of the Week
Before we get into this weekend’s games, we need to talk about who won the players of the week for the Weekend of October 2nd-4th.
Forward of the Week: Minnesota Duluth Junior Jayson Shaugabay. Last weekend against Long Island, he tallied 5 points. Friday night, he scored the game-tying goal and added 2 assists. Saturday night, Jayson had 2 more assists. His 5 points tied him for the weekend with all players in the NCHC. More on who tied him last weekend shortly.
The Defenseman of the Week: Minnesota Duluth. Junior Ty Hanson earned the honor. Last weekend against Long Island, he tallied 4 points. Friday night, Ty scored an empty-net goal and recorded 2 assists. Saturday night, he tallied 1 assist. His 4 points tied him for the 2nd-most points on the weekend, alongside 2 other NCHC players.
As I mentioned in the previous article, I texted my dad after the game and predicted he would win the award this week. The Goaltender of the Week goes to Colorado College sophomore Jackson Unger. Unger recorded his first career shutout on Friday in a 2-0 win, then allowed 1 goal Saturday night, helping the Tigers to a 6-1 victory and a sweep of then-ranked #10 UMass in the USCHO poll. Over the weekend, he stopped 54 of 55 shots, posting a .982 save percentage and a .50 goals-against average.
The Rookie of the Week: Denver’s Daxon Rudolph. Just like Jayson Shaugabay, Daxon also had 5 points in his first weekend of college hockey. He scored his first collegiate goal Friday night and added 2 assists. The following night, he added 2 more assists as Denver swept Alaska Anchorage. Not too shabby for your first two collegiate hockey games.
Let’s give a big round of applause to all 4 student-athletes for an outstanding opening weekend and for their well-deserved NCHC honor.
Will your team have a player of the week for this coming weekend? Check back next week to see if they earn an honor.
Wednesday Night
On Wednesday, October 7th, Omaha played an exhibition game against Manitoba in Nebraska. Omaha won 9-2. That’s all the action Omaha has this weekend as they return to the ice next Thursday when they travel to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to take on Augustana.
Thursday Night
On Thursday, October 8th, Western Michigan will host its final home opener at Lawson Arena as it takes on Ferris State in the first game of the home-and-home series.
Friday Night
As I mentioned earlier, Western Michigan will travel to Big Rapids, Michigan, to face Ferris State.
Three NCHC teams will play in Minnesota on Friday, with two teams hosting the series.
The first game will mark St. Thomas’s NCHC debut as they welcome Air Force to St. Paul, Minnesota.
The second game will feature Michigan Tech taking on St. Cloud State in St. Cloud, Minnesota.
The last game in Minnesota will see North Dakota traveling to Bemidji State.
Minnesota Duluth will hit the road for the first time this season when they travel to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to take on Augustana.
Arizona State gets its home schedule underway when it welcomes Holy Cross to Mallet Arena.
The U.S. Under-18 Team will play two games in Colorado this weekend. Friday night, they will play Colorado College in an exhibition game at Ed Robson Arena in Colorado Springs. This will be Colorado College’s only action this weekend.
Saturday Night
After Friday’s games, multiple teams will switch sites for their Saturday night contests.
The U.S. Under-18 team will travel north on Interstate 25 in Colorado to Denver, where they will take on Denver. This will be Denver’s first home game since winning the NCHC postseason championship last season. As with Colorado College, this is Denver’s only action this weekend.
North Dakota and Bemidji State will switch venues for their weekend series, with the action moving to North Dakota.
St. Cloud State will finish its series against Michigan Tech.
St. Thomas will complete its inaugural NCHC weekend against Air Force.
Arizona State and Holy Cross will meet in a Saturday matinee.
Minnesota Duluth will finish its weekend series against Augustana.
If you like streaming sports, NCHC.tv is back for another year. With me being a subscriber, I can watch many NCHC games during the season. NCHC.tv broadcasts all games on NCHC ice during the season. I can also watch archive games if I miss a game either Friday night or Saturday.
If you’re an Arizona State fan in Oklahoma City, OK, a Minnesota Duluth fan in Sacramento, CA, or a St. Cloud State fan in Chicago, IL, you can enjoy your teams anywhere you live.
They also offer day packages. This weekend, four games will be on NCHC.tv on Friday and five games on Saturday. You can also watch 4 games at once if you’re into that.
Even if you live in your favorite team’s market and can’t make it to the arena that night or weekend, you can still enjoy their games, as NCHC.tv has NO BLACKOUT RESTRICTIONS.
If you want to join me as an NCHCTV subscriber this season, click the headline of this section to go to the subscription page and see all the options available for your streaming enjoyment.
Closing
Following an amazing opening weekend in the NCHC, we get to do it all over again this week. So everyone, grab your favorite beverage and snack, and get comfy in your favorite chair because it’s time for NCHC action.
Enjoy your weekend, everyone, and enjoy some NCHC action. I will catch you all next week when we recap the weekend of games, the new rankings, and the players of the week, and look ahead to the 3rd weekend of the season.
Talk to you all next week.
