Monday, February 24, 2014

USHL Honors - Week 23

Press Release

 The United States Hockey League today announced the CCM and Reebok player awards for the 23rd week of the 2013-14 USHL regular season.

Winners include Jack Eichel of Team USA, recognized as CCM Forward of the Week; Jared Kolquist of the Lincoln Stars, chosen as CCM Defenseman of the Week; and Hayden Hawkey of the Omaha Lancers, tabbed as Reebok Goaltender of the Week.

Jack Eichel, F, Team USA: The North Chelmsford, Massachusetts native had a stellar week for Team USA’s Under-18 squad, recording six points (3g, 3a) and a plus-four on-ice rating over two games.  Saturday night, the 17-year-old potted a goal and handed out a pair of assists in the 4-1 win over the Indiana Ice.  He also tied a game high with a plus-three rating.  The next night, he was a staple on the scoresheet again, tallying a pair of goals and dishing out an assist in a 5-4 loss to the Ice.  His second goal was the 30th of his USHL career.  Committed to Boston University, Eichel is on a four-game point streak in USHL play, totaling 10 points (4g, 6a) and a plus-eight rating over that span.  He leads Team USA in scoring with 33 points (17g, 16a) in just 16 USHL games this season.  He has points in 13 of those 16 contests, including multi-point efforts in 12 games.

Jared Kolquist, D, Lincoln Stars: Skating in his second USHL season, the 20-year-old registered four assists and a plus-five rating to help the Stars win two of three games during the week.  Tuesday night against the Dubuque Fighting Saints, the Hermantown, Minnesota native dished out three assists and tied a game high plus-three rating in a 6-3 win.  It was the 100th game of his USHL career.  He added another assist on Friday night in a 4-2 loss to the Tri-City Storm.  The defenseman rounded out the weekend with a game high plus-two rating in Sunday’s 5-4 win over the Storm.  He was also instrumental on special teams as the Stars finished the three-game stretch converting 4-of-12 power plays and killing off 9-of-11 shorthanded situations.  Headed to Merrimack College following his USHL career, Kolquist has 18 points (1g, 17a) in 45 games this season.

Hayden Hawkey, G, Omaha Lancers: The first-year backstop was near perfect over the weekend, stopping 68-of-69 shots over three games to help the Lancers earn five of six points in the standings and clinch a USHL playoff berth.  Friday night, he stopped all 22 shots he faced in a 1-0 win over the Dubuque Fighting Saints.  He was perfect again on Saturday, turning aside all 30 shots in a 5-0 win over the Waterloo Black Hawks to post his third shutout of the season.  His lone blemish came on Sunday as he stopped 16 of 17 shots in a 2-1 shootout loss to the Des Moines Buccaneers.  Hawkey, who celebrates his 19th birthday later this week, leads all USHL goaltenders in both goals-against average (1.66) and save percentage (.937) while compiling a stellar 17-2-1 record.  The Parker, Colorado native has won five of his last six starts, posting a 0.98 GAA and .962 SV% over that span. 

 (Nathan can be reached at nathanfournier@mainehockeyjournal.com)

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