After getting swept by Minnesota State, Minnesota coach Don Lucia on Saturday night declared, "I think we know who the player of the week is."
He was referring to Phil Cook, Mavericks goaltender, who stopped 49 of 50 shots in Saturday's win. But Bemidji State pulled off home sweep of a ranked team, too, beating Nebraska-Omaha twice thanks to goaltender Dan Bakala. Bakala shut out the Red Mavericks 3-0 on Friday.
So who will win WCHA defensive player of the week honors this week? The league often gives co-winners, and I'm betting that's what happens this week. But if only one could get it, who would it be? Let's compare goalies:
Phil Cook: defeated 17th-ranked Minnesota 3-2 and 3-1. He stopped 33 of 35 shots in the opener and 49 of 50 shots (including 22 of 23 in the third period) on Saturday for a weekend save percentage of .965. The Gophers were scoreless on 10 power plays.
Dan Bakala: defeated fourth-ranked Nebraska-Omaha 3-0 and 3-1. He stopped 25 shots in the shutout and 39 of 40 shots the next day for a weekend save percentage of .985. Omaha was scoreless on nine power plays.
Tough call.
Meanwhile, here are a few more notes from this weekend's series.
3 comments:
COOK should get it hands down as MN is touted to be such a strong team.
Either way, as long as he knows we all respect his play here in Kato, that is most important. We are here week in and week out.
GO MAVS...
I don't think it is a hands down for Cook as you do, BIGhkyfan. A shutout on a top 5 team is a big deal. Stopping 82 of 85 is nothing to sneeze at either so I'm good with a co-player of the week
I think they'll both get it. If not, the BSU goalie will get it. Anyone who's watched UNO play knows how good they are (WAY better than MN) and that shutting them down is huge.
Not to take credit away from Cook by any means though, he did great. I'm just guessing he didn't see as many quality shots as the BSU goalie did.
Post a Comment