Men's Ice Hockey
Athletes of the Week

Week of Feb. 11 - 17
Tyler Brigl, Sophomore (Eagan, Minn.), Goalie of UW-Eau Claire
Brigl posted his school-record fourth shutout of the season in UW-Eau Claire’s 2-0 triumph over UW-Stevens Point on Feb. 16.  He stopped 19 shots to bring his save total to 532 on the season and increase his save percentage to .903.  Brigl now has a school record five shutouts in his career.

Also nominated:
UW-River Falls, Wade Harstad, Senior, Moorhead, Minn. (St. Louis-USHL)
UW-Superior, Braden Desmet, Sophomore, Forward, Strathmore, Alberta

Week of Feb. 4 - 10
Nick Klaren, Junior (North St. Paul, Minn./Roseville-Wichita Falls-NAHL), Forward of UW-Stout
Klaren scored two goals and an assist during the weekend as UW-Stout defeated Lake Forest College (Ill.), 7-0, on February 8, and tied top-ranked St. Norbert College, 3-3, on February 9.  Against St. Norbert, Klaren gave the Blue Devils a 1-0 lead with five minutes left in the first period. He tied the game, 2-2, with a power-play goal midway through the third period. Klaren added an assist in a five-goal third period against Lake Forest the night before.

Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Sean Garrity, Senior, Forward, North St. Paul, Minn. (North)
UW-Stevens Point, Thomas Speer, Freshman, Goalie, Janesville/James Madison (Seguin Bruins-OPHL)

Week of Jan. 28 - Feb. 3
Thomas Speer, Freshman (Janesville/James Madison--Seguin Bruins-OPHL), Goalie of UW-Stevens Point
Speer had 57 saves during the weekend for the Pointers as they knocked off sixth-ranked UW-River Falls and tied 12th-ranked UW-Stout.  In Friday’s 3-2 win over the Falcons, Speer had 32 saves, including 15 in the first period.  In Saturday’s 1-1 tie with the Blue Devils he totaled 25 saves.  Speer is first in NCAA Division III  in save percentage (.943) and ranks third in goals against average (1.45). 

Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, John Kearns, Freshman, Defenseman, Park Ridge, Ill.
UW-Stout, Andy Sternberg, Sophomore, Forward, Duluth, Minn./East (Wasilla-NAHL)

Week of Jan. 21 - 27
Pat Lee, Sophomore (Schaumburg, Ill./Springfield Blues-NAHL), Forward of UW-Stevens Point
Lee scored two goals in a 4-2 win over Lake Forest College (Ill.) on January 25, including the first goal of the game at 8:31 of the first period and tallied the game-winning goal at the 7:05 mark of the second period for his 13th goal of the season.  In a 2-2 draw against No. 1-ranked St. Norbert College on January 26, Lee assisted teammate Brett Beckfeld on the first goal of the night.

Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Tyler Brigl, Sophomore, Goalie, Eagan, Minn.
UW-Stout, Mike Stone, Senior, Goalie, West St. Paul, Minn./Sibley (Minneapolis-MNJHL)

Week of Jan. 14 - 20
Patrick Borgestad, Senior (St. Paul, Minn./Des Moines-USHL), Forward of UW-River Falls
Borgestad scored two goals in the Falcons’ 4-3 win at rival UW-Stout on January 18 to help the Falcons remain in first place in the WIAC standings.  The first goal was a power play goal with 3:20 left in the first frame. On the play, TJ Dahl controlled the puck in the slot and fed Derek Hansberry witha tape-to-tape pass. Hansberry rotated to Borgestad for the one-timer. His second goal turned out to be the game winner, coming with 43 seconds left in the second period.

Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Tyler Brigl, Sophomore, Goalie, Eagan, Minn.
UW-Stevens Point, Pat Lee, Sophomore, Forward, Schaumburg, Ill. (Springfield Blues-NAHL)
UW-Stout, Bobby Kuehl, Sophomore, Defender, St. Paul, Minn./Johnson (Alexandria-NAHL)

Week of Jan. 7 - 13
Derek Hansberry, Junior (Arvada, Col./Wichita Falls-NAHL), Forward of UW-River Falls
Hansberry scored the overtime game-winner with 36 seconds left to help lead the Falcons over Saint John’s University (Minn.), 4-3, on January 10.  He also assisted line-mate Patrick Borgestad on the first Falcon goal in the contest.  In a 9-0 win over Concordia College-Moorhead (Minn.) on January 11, Hansberry put up four points, including a short-handed goal.  He currently leads the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association with 31 points, along with teammate T.J. Dahl.

Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Greg Petersen, Junior, Defenseman, Maple Grove, Minn. (Totino-Grace)
UW-Stevens Point, Garret Suter, Freshman, Defenseman, Madison/Oregon (Waterloo Black Hawks-NAHL)
UW-Stout, Luke Schroeder, Senior, Forward, Minneapolis, Minn./Edison (Minneapolis-MNJHL)

Week of Dec. 31 - Jan. 6
Thomas Speer, Freshman (Janesville/James Madison--Sequin Bruins-OPHL), Goalie of UW-Stevens Point
Speer helped the Pointers to two wins and a tie since the middle of December.  In the Pointers’ 5-0 win over UW-Eau Claire, Speer recorded 26 saves to earn his fourth shutout of the season.  He also protected the net giving up only one goal in a 1-1 tie with Finlandia University (Mich.) and the Pointers’ 2-1 win over Gustavus Adolphus College (Minn.)

Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Nate Smith, Sophomore, Center, Clayton
UW-River Falls, Pat Borgestad, Senior, Forward, St. Paul, Minn. (Des Moines-USHL)
UW-Superior, Kevin Huck, Junior, Forward, Rochester, Minn.

Week of Dec. 3 - 9
Tyler Brigl, Sophomore (Eagan, Minn.), Goalie of UW-Eau Claire
Brigl allowed just three goals in two NCHA road victories at College of St. Scholastica (Minn.) and UW-Superior last week as the Blugolds recorded back-to-back NCHA wins for the first time since Jan. 16-17, 2004.  He stopped 45 of 48 shots (.937 saves percentage) in those two triumphs after dropping a 3-1 non-conference decision to No. 7-ranked University of St. Thomas (Minn.) on Dec. 5.  For the week, Brigl stopped 55 of 61 shots (.901 saves percentage).  Three of the six goals he allowed were on the power play.  He faced nine power play situations against the Yellowjackets and gave up a lone goal.

Also nominated:
UW-River Falls, Patrick Borgestad, Senior, Forward, St. Paul, Minn. (Des Moines-USHL)
UW-Stevens Point, Thomas Speer, Freshman, Goalie, Janesville/James Madison (Sequin Bruins-OPHL)
UW-Stout, Luke Schroeder, Senior, Forward, Minneapolis, Minn./Edison (Minneapolis-MNJHL)

Week of Nov. 26 - Dec. 2
Tyler Owens, Sophomore (Detroit, Mich./Brockville-CJHL), Goalie of UW-River Falls
Owens had two excellent outings in helping the Falcons win four points in NCHA play last weekend.  On Saturday, he recorded his second shutout of the season in a 5-0 win over UW-Stevens stopping 42 of 42 shots.  On Friday, in a 5-3 win over UW-Eau Claire, he stopped 32 shots to get the win. In the two games he had a 1.50 goals against average and a .961 saves percentage.

Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Sean Garrity, Senior, Forward, North St. Paul, Minn./North
UW-Stevens Point, Tim Manthey, Junior, Defenseman, Anoka, Minn. (West Point)
UW-Stout, Jack Wolgemuth, Junior, Defenseman, Anchorage, Alaska/Dimond (Wichita Falls-NAHL)

Week of Nov. 19 - 25
Joel Gaulrapp, Sophomore (Owatonna, Minn./Owatonna-NAHL), Forward of UW-Stout
Trailing 3-1 at the start of the third period, Gaulrapp scored two goals in the period to give UW-Stout a 3-3 tie at No. 10-ranked St. Thomas on Nov. 20.  He scored five minutes into the period to pull the Blue Devils within one goal, then tied the score with 54 seconds remaining in regulation.

Also nominated:
UW-River Falls, Josh Meyers, Junior, Defenseman, International Falls, Minn. (Bozeman-NAHL)
UW-Stevens Point, Thomas Speer, Freshman, Goalie, Janesville/James Madison (Sequin Bruins-OPHL)
UW-Superior, Logan Isley, Freshman, Forward, Bonnyville, Alberta

Week of Nov. 12 - 18
Patrick Borgestad, Senior (St. Paul, Minn./Des Moines-USHL), Forward of UW-River Falls
Borgestad scored five goals and one assist in the team’s 6-3 win at College of St. Scholastica (Minn.) and 3-3 overtime tie at UW-Superior.  He scored two goals and an assist in Friday’s win over the Saints.  He scored the first goal of the game and added a game-winning power-play goal at 7:38 of the third period. Against the Yellowjackets, Borgestad scored all three Falcon goals, including two power-play efforts.  This year, he leads the Falcons with 10 goals and is tied for the team lead with 14 points. He has a team-high four power-play goals and one game winner.

Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Tyler Brigl, Sophomore, Goalie, Eagan, Minn.
UW-Stevens Point, Brett Beckfeld, Junior, Forward, Plymouth, Minn./Armstrong (Bozeman-NAHL)
UW-Stout, Jack Wolgemuth, Junior, Defender, Anchorage, Alaska/Dimond (Wichita Falls-NAHL)
UW-Superior, Logan Isley, Freshman, Forward, Bonnyville, Alberta

Week of Nov. 5 - 11
Marcus Paulson, Junior (Eden Prairie, Minn./Minnesota-NAHL), Goalie of UW-Stevens Point
Paulson had 39 saves in a 4-2 win over No. 10-ranked University of St. Thomas (Minn.) on Nov. 9.  He was also credited with three assists in the game.   Paulson assisted teammate Brett Beckfeld to give the Pointers a 2-1 advantage with just under five minutes remaining in the second period and contributed two more assists in the third period.

Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Bryan Plaszcz, Sophomore, Defenseman, Apple Valley, Minn.
UW-River Falls, Tyler Czuba, Sophomore, Forward, Kelowna, British Columbia (Swan Valley-MJHL)
UW-Stout, Derek Hanson, Sophomore, Forward, Bemidji, Minn./Danville (Winnipeg-MJHL)

Week of Oct. 29 - Nov. 4
Dustin Norman, Junior (South Delta, British Columbia/Neepawa-MJHL), Forward of UW-River Falls
Norman scored five goals in the team’s 7-0 win over Augsburg College (Minn.) on Nov. 2 and a 5-4 win over Hamline University (Minn.) on Nov. 3. Against the Auggies, Norman recorded his first career hat trick. He scored a goal in each period including the game-winner in the first period.  On Saturday night, Norman netted two more goals with both coming in the first period.  He is currently tied for third on the team with six points.

Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Tyler Brigl, Sophomore, Goalie, Eagan, Minn.
UW-Stevens Point, Sean Fish, Junior, Forward, Ramsey, Minn./Anoka (Minnesota-NAHL)
UW-Stout, Jeff Wheeler, Junior, Forward, Bainbridge, Wash. (Dubuque-MNJHL)

Week of Oct. 22 - 28
Joel Gaulrapp, Sophomore (Owatonna, Minn.), Forward of UW-Stout
Gaulrapp scored four goals and added an assist over two games during the weekend as UW-Stout defeated Northland College, 9-1, and Marian College (Wis.), 6-5.  He scored UW-Stout's third goal of the game as the Blue Devils took advantage of a 5-minute major power play opportunity against Northland College.  Gaulrapp added a goal in the third period.  Against Marian, Gaulrapp scored two first period power play goals. Gaulrapp had three power play goals on the weekend.

Also nominated:
UW-Eau Claire, Sean Garrity, Senior, Forward, North St. Paul, Minn. (North)
UW-River Falls, Derek Hansberry, Junior, Forward, Arvada, Col.

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