Three Gophers were among the players whose names were submitted for the weekly WCHA awards for Offensive Player of the Week, Defensive POTW and Rookie of the Week.

None were selected this time. Junior C Mike Carman was nominated for Offensive POTW. He had two goals and one assist in a sweep over St. Cloud State. He scored a goal in each game, including the game-winner in the first. He also had four penalties. But we won’t talk about that. Carman also killed penalties as the U held the potent Huskies to 1 for 16 on the power play.

Sophomore goalie Alex Kangas, who only gave up three goals in the two games, was nominated for Defensive POTW. He had 49 saves in the two games and had two especially tough ones at the end of the first game.

Nominated for Rookie POTW was freshman C Jordan Schroeder who had three assists, including one on Mike Carman’s game-winner in the first game and Jay Barriball’s game-winner in the second.

KUDOS TO THEM

The winners of the awards were:

* Offensive Player of the Week: Kevin Clark of Alaska Anchorage. He was the MVP of the Alaska Goal Rush tournament in Fairbanks.

[As an aside, I like Goal Rush for that tournament’s name. The name of the new tournament at the X, which involves the four Division I teams in Minnesota on Nov. 1, is not so catchy. It’s the Minnesota Hockey Showcase. I’m pushing the nickname, the Hockey Hot Dish, as a substitute. But I stray …]

Clark, a junior from Winnipeg, Manitoba, had two goals and two assists. In the Seawolves’ 3-1 win over Maine he scored the game-tying goal and had an assist on the game-winner. He also had a goal and an assist as Alaska Anchorage beat Mercyhurst 3-0 the next night.

CC’s Chad Rau, the senior C from Eden Prairie, and junior C Chris VandeVelde of North Dakota were among the other players in the mix for Offensive POTW.

* The Defensive Player of the Week was junior F Zach Harrison of MSU Mankato. He had three short-handed goals as the Mavericks beat North Dakota 5-1 the first night. Harrison, from Flint, Mich., is only the third WCHA player and sixth in NCAA history to accomplish this feat.

The last WCHA player to do it was George Awada of St. Cloud State in 1998.

Harrison was a plus-3 in the series and won 15 of 17 faceoffs.

* The Rookie of the Week was freshman D Patrick Wierioch of Denver. Wierioch, 6-4, 185 pounds, is from British Columbia. He had two goals and two assists as DU swept Wisconsin. He was a plus-2 in the two games.

STICK OFF TO HALL of FAME

Harrison’s stick is on its way to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.

His goals came in a row, with the Mavericks leading 2-1. His first was at 8:25 of the second period, his second at 0:53 of the third and the last at 18:19 into an empty net.

“After hearing about Zach Harrison’s accomplishment this weekend with the shorthanded natural hat trick, we [the Hockey Hall of Fame] have checked a bit to see if we can find someone else who has done so,” said Izak Westgate, Hockey Hall of Fame Manager, Exhibit Development and Assistant Curator in an email. “As of yet, we haven’t found an instance of a shorthanded natural hat trick (although that doesn’t necessarily mean it has not happened).”

Said Harrison, “Obviously having something like this happen and then have one of my sticks sent to the Hockey Hall of Fame is pretty cool. It’s a unique thing, not only with the three shorthanded goals, but also with them coming consecutively. Undoubtedly having my stick in the Hockey Hall of Fame makes it extra special.”

Harrison played high school hockey at Shattuck St. Mary’s in Faribault.

RETRIBUTION

The night after Harrison’s feat, VandeVelde of North Dakota scored a short-handed goal with nine seconds left to beat the Mavericks 5-4.

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