2016-17 WCHA WEEKLY RELEASE WEEK NINETEEN (FEB. 6-12, 2017) / wcha.com @wcha_mhockey /WCHAHockey @wcha_mhockey WCHA.tv Matt Hodson ● o: 952-818-8872 ● c: 612-801-2808 ●
[email protected] OPENING FACE-OFF WESTERN COLLEGIATE • Beavers Closing in on Cup: Following a sweep last weekend of second-place Michigan Tech, league-leading Bemidji State has a magic number of three HOCKEY ASSOCIATION points (either Beavers points earned or Huskies points lost) to clinch the program's first-ever MacNaughton Cup as men's Western Collegiate Hockey • FOUNDED 1951 • Association (WCHA) regular season champions. Suite C • Bemidji State clinches a co-championship, and thus No. 1 seed for the 2017 WCHA Tournament, with two points (either BSU points earned or Minnesota State Univ., Mankato at Edina MTU points lost). The Beavers hold the tiebreaker over the Huskies due to a 3-1-0 advantage in the season head-to-head series. Bemidji State junior goaltender , a Hobey Baker Award candidate, leads the NCAA with a 1.61 goals-against average, 7700 France Avenue South, Suite 360C • The Puck Stops Here: Michael Bitzer 18 wins and five shutouts (tied). The workhorse is also tops nationally with 31 games (and starts), and 1863:23 in the BSU net. Finally, Bitzer ranks sixth in Edina, MN 55435 the country with a .935 save percentage and 723 saves. 952-818-8869 • Wildcats on the Prowl: Northern Michigan has a seven-game unbeaten streak (5-0-2), tied for the second-longest active run in the country. The Wildcats, who earned a WCHA shootout win following one of the ties, have gained 18 league points since Jan.