FTP.com's Three Stars of the Week: Week 12 (Feb. 9 - Feb. 14)

1. Joey Benik - Jr. - F - St. Francis Saints

Joey Benik gets the top star of the week for breaking the single season goal scoring record with his 63rd goal against Robbinsdale Cooper. The record was previously held by Little Falls' Jared Festler in 2006-2007.

2. Zane Gothberg - Jr. - G - Thief River Falls Prowlers

Zane Gothberg had an incredible week. On Tuesday, he gave up one goal and saved 18 shots in a win against Bemidji. On Thursday, he saved 51 shots in a 4-3 overtime win against Roseau. Roseau outshot the Prowlers 54-20. And, in his final performance for the week, he saved 17 shots in a shutout of Park Rapids.

3. Schyler Adams - Sr. - F - New Prague Trojans
3. Tyler Lapic - Sr. - F - New Prague Trojans

Schyler Adams and Tyler Lapic are two names that need to be included with Ben Hanowski and Joey Benik when comparing each player's last 10 games. Adams has 23 goals and 17 assists in his last 10. Lapic has nine goals and 32 assists in his last 10. Hanowski has 20 and 25. Joey Benik 26 and nine.

In the past week, Adams had eight goals and four assists in three games. Lapic had three goals, 10 assists. They received a co-second star last week, they deserve again this week.
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Honorable mentions:

Kyle Jensen - Sr. - F - Forest Lake Rangers

Kyle Jensen scored not one, not two, but three shorthanded goals against Park of Cottage Grove on Thursday. He had not scored a shorthanded goal all season until that night. As far as I know, he is the only player to achieve that feat in one game this season.

Dan Billar - Jr. - F - Mankato East/Loyola

Dan Billar had the only second seven-goal game in the state this season against Austin in a 9-4 win. Ben Hanowski has the other seven-goal game. Billar also had 2 goals and an assist in a 7-6 loss to Luverne.

Marcus Tomsche - Sr. - G - Prairie Centre Area - 70 Save performance (4 goals allowed) against Little Falls

Brad Fisher - Sr. - F - Rochester Mayo - 5 goals, 6 assists | 1 hat trick in three Spartan wins
Alex Whitney - Sr. - F - Rochester Mayo - 2 goals, 7 assists in three Spartan wins
Tom Alexander - Sr. - F - Rochester Mayo - 5 goals, 2 assists in three Spartan wins

Dane Shaugabay - Sr. - F - Warroad - 4 goals, 2 assists in two games | 1 hat trick

Cory Kautz - Jr. - F - Rochester Century - 3 goals, 5 assists in three wins for the Panthers

Wesley Waytashek - Sr. - F - Little Falls - 4 goals, 2 assists vs. St. Cloud Tech

Kirby Horgan - So. - F - Mound-Westonka - 3 goals, 3 assists vs. Litchfield/DC

Tom Kessler - Sr. - F - St. Michael-Albertville - 2 goals, 4 assists vs. Meadow Creek

Riley Horgan - Sr. - F - Mound-Westonka - 2 goals, 4 assists vs. Litchfield/DC

Ben Hanowski - Sr. - F - Little Falls - 6 assists vs. St. Cloud Tech

A.J. Underwood - Sr. - G - Grand Rapids - 42 Save shutout against Hibbing/Chisholm

There may be more added. If you think someone should be mentioned, please email me!

FTP.com's Three Stars of the Week: Week 11 (Feb. 2 - Feb. 7)

1. Ben Hanowski - Sr. - F - Little Falls Flyers

With over 3000 high school varsity players in Minnesota playing each week, Ben Hanowski gets the top recognition for the 2nd week in a row. Hanowski had nine goals and 11 assists for 20 total points on the week. He had a five-goal game against St. Cloud Apollo and a hat trick against Wadena-Deer Creek. He then decided to be the helper instead of the scorer against Detroit by assisting on six goals and scoring once.

He exceeded my expections for the week and is now only 18 points away from tying Johnny Pohl for the career points record. If he continues his 4.5 points average per game for this season, he is poised to break the record during the very last game of the season at home against St. Cloud Apollo on Thursday, February 19th.

2-T. Schyler Adams - Sr. - F - New Prague Trojans
2-T. Tyler Lapic - Sr. - F - New Prague Trojans

Look out for those Trojans. Adams, Lapic, and Lapic is not a law firm but lately they can sure make you pay if you don't have a strong defense. In the last two weeks, Senior Schlyer Adams has scored 12 goals and 6 assists. Senior Tyler Lapic had 3 goals and 19 assists. Sophomore Darren Lapic scored 5 goals and assisted on 11 others.

This past week, Schyler had five goals, four assists (including a four goal, four assist performance against Hutchinson), and Tyler had one goal, nine assists. Between Adams, Tyler Lapic, and Darren Lapic, they had 11 goals and 15 assists between those three players in two games.

3. Kyle Rau - F - So. - Eden Prairie Eagles

Kyle Rau had five goals and four assists on the week including the game-winner in a 7-6 overtime win over Burnsville. Rau scored four goals in the game with Burnsville while scoring one goal and an assist against Lakeville North in a 6-3 win.

Honorable mention:

Goaltender of the week: John Wrolson - Junior - Albert Lea Tigers

Just when you thought Albert Lea was about to completely collapse having lost BADLY in all three games the week before, they completely went the other way this past week. In the week before last, Albert Lea gave up 19 goals while scoring just seven in three games. This week, they scored 14 goals and gave up just five in three games. The big reason for the turnaround was junior goaltender John Wrolson. Wrolson saved 78 shots out of 83 (.940 save percentage), had a 1.67 GAA, and won all three games that the Tigers played. The Tigers defeated Winona 5-3, Owatonna 6-0, and Rochester Lourdes 3-2. Albert Lea lost to Owatonna at home 5-2 the week before. The Tigers are now 15-7 on the season and currently looks to be the 2nd seed in Section 1A behind New Prague.

Jim Kruger - Minnetonka: 67 saves out of 70 shots, 1.50 GAA, in two games against Edina (4-1 win) & Hopkins (2-1 OT loss)

Alex Fons - Hopkins: 69 Saves out of 74 shots, 2.50 GAA, in two games against Eden Prairie (4-3 loss) & Minnetonka (2-1 OT win)

Tom Alexander - Rochester Mayo: 4 goals, 6 assists in two games

Alex Whitney - Rochester Mayo: 6 goals, 3 assists in two games - 1-five goal game

Josh Provo - Rogers: 7 goals, 1 assist in three games - two hat tricks

Zach May - Burnsville: 4 goals, 4 assists in two games - one hat trick

Caleb Herbert - Bloomington Jefferson: 4 goals (1 sh), 4 assists in 3 games - one hat trick

Joey Benik - St. Francis: 6 goals, 1 assist in two games - 1-five goal game

Christian Horn - Benilde-St. Margaret's: 6 goals, 1 assist in three games

Vincent Rolstad - Spring Lake Park: 5 goals, 2 assists in two games - 1-four goal game

Hampus Petterssen - Redwood Valley: 6 goals in two games - 1-five goal game

Christian Isackson - St. Thomas Academy: 2 goals, 4 assists in one game

Daniel Eldien - International Falls: 1 goal, 8 assists in two games

FTP.com's Three Stars of the Week: Week 10 (Jan. 26th - Jan. 31st)

1. Ben Hanowski - Senior - Forward - Little Falls

Hanowski had eight goals and five assists in three games for the week. Against Sartell-St. Stephen, Hanowski had four goals including a natural hat trick. One of the four goals was shorthanded.

2. Blake Schammel - Senior - Forward - Red Wing

In two games this past week, Schammel had a Hat Trick and two assists against Hutchinson and then a Hat Trick and four assists against Farmington.

3. Joey Benik - Junior - Forward - St. Francis

Benik, the new St. Cloud State University Huskies recruit, scored seven goals and added three assists in two games. In the game against St. Louis Park, Benik was masterful by scoring a Pure Hat Trick in the 2nd period of which one of the goals was shorthanded and then he added the first goal of the third period for a natural four goals.
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This past week was loaded with great performances. I had over a page of names written down to consider. Here are some others that had great weeks:

Schyler Adams - New Prague: In two games, 7 goals, 2 assists
Tyler Lapic - New Prague: In two games, 2 goals, 10 assists
Darren Lapic - New Prague: In two games, 2 goals, 9 assists

Mike Ness - Woodbury: In two games, 50 Saves, 1 goal allowed

Tyler Funk - Rochester Lourdes: In two games, 5 goals, 5 assists (Pure Hat Trick)

Adam Krause - Hermantown: In two games, 5 goals, 3 assists (One Hat Trick)

Tom Kessler - St. Michael-Albertville: In three games, 4 goals, 5 assists

Kyle Reinarts - New Ulm: In two games, 4 goals, 4 assists

Garrett Hendrickson - Virginia/MIB: In three games, 7 goals, 2 assists

Nick Maiers - St. Cloud Cathedral: In back-to-back nights, Maiers held Hermantown to one goal, saved 15 shots and then shutout Waconia on 24 shots

Peter Lindblad - Morris/Benson: In two games, 5 goals, 3 assists (One Hat Trick)

Andy Pearson - Burnsville: In two games, 4 goals, 4 assists (One Hat Trick)

Drew Wohlfield - Waseca: In two games, six goals (One Natural Hat Trick)

Cole Kostrzewski - Roseau: In two games, four goals, two assists (One Hat Trick including two shorthanded goals against St. Cloud Tech)

Tyler Grubb - Farmington: In two games, five goals, two assists (One Hat Trick)

John Russell - Breck School: In two games, 39 total saves, shutout Blake School, and gave up just one goal against Orono

Brett Larsen - Centennial: 41 Saves against Edina
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On a side note, senior captain Tom Kessler of St. Michael-Albertville is now the all-time career points leader for the Knights. He broke the record this past week against Becker/Big Lake with a two goal, 3 assist performance. The record was 114 total points. He currently has 118 points overall. He leads the team this season with 46 points (17 goals, 29 assists). He is a big reason why the Knights are 15-4-0 this season and are currently on a nine-game winning streak.

FTP.com's Three Stars of the Week: Week 9 (Jan. 19th - Jan. 24th)

1-T. Justin Crandall - Jr. - F - St. Thomas Academy Cadets
1-T. AJ Reid - So. - F - St. Thomas Academy Cadets

I had to give another co-star for the number one star this past week. Justin Crandall's and AJ Reid's terrific performances for the Cadets almost mirrored one another. St. Thomas Academy, as a team, had a very nice week. They picked up three wins agains three quality teams, 5-2 over, at the time, #12 in Class A Rochester Lourdes, 8-5 over, at the time, #8 in Class A Mahtomedi, and 2-0 over Class AA Tartan.

Crandall scored two goals, one assist against Lourdes, a Hat Trick, one assist against Mahtomedi, and scored one of the two goals against Tartan.

Reid scored two goals against Lourdes, a Hat Trick against Mahtomedi, and he scored the other goal, an empty netter, against Tartan.

Crandall and Reid scored 12 of the Cadets 15 total goals during the week, 80% of the Cadets offensive production.

2. Tyler Prihoda - Sr. - F - Albert Lea

On Thursday, Prihoda completed a hat trick, of which one goal was shorthanded, in Albert Lea's victory over Austin, 7-1. Two days prior, on Tuesday, Prihoda had a better game against Mankato East/Loyola with 4 goals, 1 shorthanded, and an assist. The Tigers won that game 10-2.

Prihoda has had multiple goals in his last five games, 3 or more goals in his last three games. Prior to that, Prihoda had only scored multiple goals three times in 11 games with no hat tricks. The week before he scored the only three goals in a 5-3 loss to Red Wing.

3. Alex Fons - Jr. - G - Hopkins

I questioned myself on whether I should give a star to Alex Fons rather than an honorable mention. He was pulled in their 7-0 loss to Minnetonka last Tuesday. But, how do you not give a star to a goaltender who stops 56 out of 60 shots against the best team in Minnesota state high school hockey, the Edina Hornets? Oh yeah, Hopkins also won the game. It may be looked back on as the Performance of the Year by a goaltender in 2009.
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Honorable mentions:

Peter Lindblad - Morris/Benson: Two four-goal games and added two assists

Tyler Hansen - Morris/Benson: In the same two games as Lindblad, Hansen had a Hat Trick and
3 assists in one and 2 goals and 3 assists in the other

Daniel Anderson - Moose Lake Area: Nine goals (1 late game-winning goal), 3 assists in three games

Cam Sellnow - Rochester Century: 48 Saves in a 3-2 win against Duluth East

Andrew Ford - Eden Prairie: Shutout Eagan on 31 saves

Ben Persian - Orono: 5 goals, 5 assists in three games

Jake Useldinger - East Grand Forks: 4 goals, 6 assists in three games

Marshall Everson - Edina: 4 goals, natural hat trick against Wayzata

Riley Horgan - Mound-Westonka: 4 goals, 3 assists against Litchfield/DC

AJ Siiro - Bloomington Jefferson: 4 goals, 1 shorthanded, 3 assists in two games

Adam Krause - Hermantown: 3 goals, 4 assists in two games

Reid Herd - Breck School: Scored the only goal in Breck's tie with Totino-Grace, produced a Hat Trick, one shorthanded, against the St. Paul Saints, and then added a goal and an assist against St. Paul Como Park

Wesley Waytashek - Little Falls: Scored the lone goal in the game against Section 6A rival and Class A #7-ranked Alexandria and had a goal and two assists against Willmar in an 8-1 win.

Michael Sperl - Little Falls: Gave up only one goal in two games with a total of 43 saves including the 1-0 win over Alexandria

I will state it every week. There are SEVERAL deserving players that should be recognized. Please realize that I have to narrow it down somewhat.

FTP.com's Three Stars of the Week: Week 8 (Jan. 12th - Jan. 17th)

1. Trent Caspar - Sr. - G - Eagan Wildcats

Trent Caspar and the Wildcats have won six out of their last seven games. Out of those six wins, Caspar had four shutouts. Last week, he blanked Apple Valley and Rosemount while stopping 35 and 30 shots respectively, 65 total shots total.

2. Danny Mattson - Sr. - F - Academy of Holy Angels Stars

Danny Mattson contributed to all five goals against Hill-Murray by scoring twice and assisting on three others in the Stars 5-3 win on Tuesday. On Friday, Mattson completed a hat trick against their visitors from Mount St Charles Academy of Rhode Island in a 4-2 win.

3. Andrew Bruggeman - Sr. - F - Mankato West Scarlets

Andrew Bruggeman completed two hat tricks this past week. Against Albert Lea on Tuesday, he finished with three goals and added an assist in a 5-8 loss. On Saturday, Bruggeman netted four goals and assisted on two others in the Scarlets 10-2 win against Northfield. These two hat tricks were Bruggeman's fifth and sixth of the year.
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Honorable mentions:

Joey Benik - Jr. - F - St. Francis - 8 goals, 4 assists in two games - the only thing that holds Benik back from being a star EVERY WEEK is the competition the Saints play. I don't doubt his talent. I doubt the production he would be getting if the Saints faced the Duluth Easts, Elk Rivers, or stronger teams in either Class AA or Class A. This past week's production came from playing Irondale and new Class A team Meadow Creek Christian. Still, the kind of numbers he puts up every week is still impressive no matter what team they are playing. I won't be surprised if he is on this list the rest of the season.

Ben Hanowski - Sr. - F - Little Falls - 2 goals, 5 assists in one game against Fergus Falls

Ryan O'Shea - Sr. - G - Eastview - 55 Saves against Lakeville South in their 4-3 win in OT | I believe that is the most saves in a win situation for any goalie this year so far.

Chris Leivermann - Sr. - F - Waconia - Hat Trick, 5 assist performance against Minneapolis West

Derek Dudgeon - Sr. - G - Bemidji - 41 Saves against Moorhead in a 3-2 win

Bryce Johnson - Jr. - G - Litchfield/D-C - 42 Save performance in a 3-2 OT win against Delano/Rockford

Joe Benert - Sr. - G - St. Paul Johnson - Pitched a shutout on 28 Saves, outdoors, in front of a early morning television audience on Saturday for Hockey Day Minnesota against Rochester John Marshall in a 4-0 win

FTP.com's Three Stars of the Week: Week 7 (Jan. 5th - Jan. 10th)

1. Alex Robb - Sr. - F | Kyle Helgestad - So. - G- Chaska Hawks

I am giving the first star to two players on the Chaska Hawks team.

Co-first star #1: If you've paid attention to Chaska this season, you would know that they have been delegating the goaltender position. There may be less delegating after this past week. After an 8-2 loss to Burnsville on Tuesday, they brought in a sophomore, Kyle Helgestad. Helgestad faced a good Owatonna team on Thursday. He stopped 30 shots and allowed just two goals in a 6-2 win over the Huskies. He topped that performance on Saturday. He faced, at the time, a ranked Apple Valley squad where he stopped 40 more shots and allowed only one goal in a Chaska 5-1 win. In recap, in Helgestad's first two varsity games of his career, two wins, stopped 70 shots, and had a 1.50 GAA against two quality teams. Nice.

Co-first star #2: The Hawks have a well kept secret in forward Alex Robb. The senior has 15 goals and nine assists in 14 games. In three games this past week, he scored seven goals and had one assist. He scored the only two Chaska goals in their loss to Burnsville, had a hat trick and one assist against Owatonna, and added two more goals in their win over Apple Valley. Impressive.

2. Reid Mimmack - Jr. - Goaltender - Brainerd/Pillager/Pierz Warriors

Brainerd/Pillager/Pierz has not had a lot to cheer about so far this season. The young Warriors are 3-7-0 and have been averaging just 1.4 goals per game prior to this past week. They scored seven total in two games against #1 in Class A Little Falls (3) and Cloquet/Esko/Carlton (4). One of those seven goals were scored by the junior goaltender Reid Mimmack. Of course, it was an empty net goal to seal the win against Cloquet. Scoring a goal was impressive in itself. He was actually more impressive in goal. In two games, Mimmack saved 92 out of 99 shots, 54 out of 59 against Little Falls and 38 out of 40 against Cloquet. That is a .929 save percentage. On the season, Mimmack is 3-7-0 with 3.52 GAA but has a .912 save percentage. Solid.

3. Blake Schammel - Jr. - Forward - Red Wing Wingers

In three wins for Red Wing last week, Schammel scored 5 goals and added 5 assists. In a 9-1 win against Farmington, he had a hat trick and three assists. Schammel has led the the Wingers back to three games above .500 and a spot back in the FollowThePuck.com Top 20 Class A Rankings.
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Honorable Mentions:

Phil Paquette - Sr. - Forward - Luverne - Nine goals in two games, six in one, three in the other

Tyler Prihoda - Sr. - Forward - Albert Lea - Five goals, one assist in three games

Connor Gaarder - Sr. - Forward - Edina - Four goals, one assist in one game

Marshall Everson - Sr. - Forward - Edina - Two goals, four assists in one game

Gus Miller - Sr. - Defenseman - St. Cloud Tech - A hat trick in one game, four assists in the other

Joe Rubbelke - Jr. - Forward - North St. Paul - A hat trick, two assists in one game and 2 goals with one assist in another

Tommy Burke - Jr. - Goaltender - Academy of Holy Angels - One shutout and 47 saves out of 48 in two games

Connor Reilly - Jr. - Forward - Academy of Holy Angels - Four goals, 2 assists in two games

Craig Lindegard - Jr. - Forward - Kittson Central - Seven goals, 3 assists in two games

Casey O'Connor - Sr. - Goaltender - Bloomington Jefferson - Two shutouts, two games, 28 saves

Trevor Ness - Sr. - Forward - Wadena-Deer Creek - Six goals, four assists in three games

Cody Hotchkin - Sr. - Forward - Duluth Denfeld - Two game-winning goals in three games

Dan DeLisle - Sr. - Forward - Totino-Grace - Five goals (1 shorthanded), 2 assists in two games
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Note: Like every week, there are several players from across the state that deserve recognition. I have to limit the list somehow. Believe me, it is not easy. The players I have chosen are ones that stuck out to me.

FTP.com's Three Stars of the Week: Week 6 (Dec. 29 - Jan. 03)

1. Ben Hanowski - Sr. - F - Little Falls Flyers

Ben Hanowski converted two hat tricks during the three-day Little Falls Tournament. He finished with seven goals and five assists overall in the Flyers three wins.

2. Tom Alexander - Sr. - F - Rochester Mayo Spartans

Tom Alexander scored six goals and assisted on two others during the Kiwanis/Wells Fargo Tournament in Rochester. One win was in the consolation semifinal against rival Rochester Century. Alexander scored the only three goals in the game in the Spartans 3-0 win. He then assisted on the game-tying goal in their regular season match-up on Saturday where they were again victorious 4-3.

3. Riley Bengsten - Sr. - F - Hutchinson Tigers

Riley Bengsten had two hat tricks, one natural, in two games and added one goal and three assists in another game while leading the 8-0 Hutchinson Tigers to a championship at the AmericInn/Silver Bay Blue Line Club Tournament in Silver Bay.

Picking three stars was not an easy task this past week. There was a long list of outstanding performances.

Some (just some) stand-out honorable mentions:

Joey Benik (again) - Jr. - F - St. Francis - Benik scored 11 goals and had seven assists for 18 total points in three games during the St. Paul Academy Tournament.

Andrew Bruggeman - Sr. - F - Mankato West - Bruggeman had two hat tricks at the Fergus Falls Tournament.

Dan Anderson - Sr. - C - Moose Lake Area - Anderson had two hat tricks at the Pine City Tournament.

Matt Straate - - Sr. - F - Wayzata - Hat Trick, short-handed goal, game-winning goal, and two assists in leading the Trojans to the Schwan Cup Silver Bracket Championship.

Other players that had very good weeks:

Riley Horgan - Mound-Westonka
Aaron Jamnick - Hibbing/Chisholm
Sam Rendle - Grand Rapids
Brock Nelson - Warroad
Chris Sylvester - Warroad
Dane Shaugabay - Warroad
Brett Hebel - Warroad
Johnny Ankeny - Edina
Anders Lee - Edina
Marshall Everson - Edina
Ben Marshall - Mahtomedi
Ben Persian - Orono
Tommy Malone - Maple Grove
Josh Gross - Maple Grove
Matt Dee - Maple Grove
Nick Eisenmenger - Windom Area
TJ Belisle - St. Francis
Chris Westin - Virginia/Mountain Iron-Buhl
Matt Grove - Crookston
Alex Whitney - Rochester Mayo
Ryan Suess - Forest Lake
Willie Corrin - International Falls
Matt Hemingway - Alexandria
Cole Peterson - Rochester Lourdes
Sam Coatta - Minnetonka
Max Gardiner - Minnetonka
Kevin Blackley - Wayzata
Max Tardy - Duluth East
Andy Osborne - Mounds View
Eric Bradley - Mounds View
Mike Seipel - Meadow Creek Christian
Joe Schlagel - Meadow Creek Christian
Andy Henkemeyer - Sauk Rapids-Rice
Jonathan Mavetz - St. Cloud Tech
Andrew Deters - Sartell-St. Stephen
Jace Leiferman - Mankato West
Wyatt Wenzel - St. Paul Academy/MPA
Logan McCallister - Moose Lake Area

I apologize if I am missing a few more deserving players, especially some worthy goaltenders and a bunch of game-winning heartattack-type performances.

FTP.com's Three Stars of the Week: Week 5 (Dec 22 - Dec 27)

1. Matt Cooper - Sr. - G - Duluth East Greyhounds

If there was an MVP for the season so far, it would have to be Matt Cooper. In seven games, Cooper has five shutouts and has given up a total of only three goals for the 6-0-1 Hounds. He has a 0.43 goals against average and a .977 save percentage. His last shutout was arguably the most impressive. Moorhead peppered Cooper with 37 shots in a 4-0 win at Moorhead. The Spuds were/are a Top 10 team in Class AA.

2. Marshall Everson - Sr. - F - Edina Hornets

Marshall Everson brought out the hats with three goals and assisted on three more in leading the #2 in Class AA Edina Hornets over the #5 in Class AA Blaine Bengals on Friday night, 8-4.

3. Connor Delaney - Jr. - F - Woodbury Royals

Connor Delaney scored four goals and added two assists in the first two games of the South St. Paul Premier Tournament. The Royals won both games in impressive fashion, 8-3 over St. Paul Johnson in the quarterfinal and 5-2 over Eagan in the semifinal contest.

Honorable mention:

Joey Benik - Jr. - F - St. Francis Saints | 5 goals, 2 assists vs. Meadow Crk Chrstn

Aaron Jamnick - Sr. - F - Hibbing/Chisholm | 4 goals, 2 assists vs. Two Harbors

Austyn Young - Fr. - F - South St. Paul | Natural hat trick, 1 assist vs. Hopkins

Ben Tessier - Sr. - G - Hermantown | 31 Saves in 5-1 win over Virginia/MIB

Nick Eisenmenger - Jr. - F - Windom | 4 goals, GWG, pure hat trick vs. Mankato East

FTP.com's Three Stars of the Week: Week 4 (Dec 15 - Dec 20)

1. Casey O'Connor - Sr. - G - Bloomington Jefferson Jaguars

O'Connor stopped 56 of 57 shots in three games at the Grand Forks Herald/Jason Stadstad Classic in Grand Forks, ND. That is good enough for a .982 save percentage. The Jaguars outscored the three North Dakota teams they faced in the three-day Classic 18 to 1.

2. Nick Bjugstad - So. - F - Blaine Bengals

The University of Minnesota Golden Gopher recruit scored a hat trick on Tuesday against Champlin Park and then scored three goals (one in each game) and added five assists to lead the Bengals sweep of three North Dakota teams at the Grand Forks Herald/Jason Stadstad Classic.

3. Tanner Lane - So. - C - Detroit Lakes Lakers

Lane scored the game-winning goal with 1:45 left in the 3rd period to defeat Park Rapids 3-2 on Tuesday and then followed that up with a four goal, five assist performance to lead the Lakers past Walker-Hackensack-Akeley 12-4 on Friday.

Honorable mention:

Ben Hanowski - Sr. - F - Little Falls | Hanowski had a six goal, four assist week while the Flyers took two more games over the week against Sartell-St. Stephen and Sauk Rapids-Rice. He had four goals and three assists against Sauk Rapids-Rice.

Ben Nelson - Sr. - F - Little Falls | Nelson scored the game-winning goal against Sartell-St. Stephen with 1:16 left in the game and had a hat trick and an assist in the Flyers 9-3 win over Sauk Rapids-Rice.

Andrew Bruggeman - Sr. - F - Mankato West | Bruggeman converted two hat tricks on the week versus Shakopee and Austin.

Logan Marks - So. - G - Moorhead | 22 Saves & a shutout of the Roseau Rams. I looked through the last few years of schedules and results for the Rams and I could only find info back to 2005-2006. I could find no evidence of the Rams not scoring from the 2005-2006 season until Tuesday, December 16th, 2008, when the Marks and the Spuds accomplished that feat. If anybody knows the last time Roseau was shutout, please email me.

Wyatt Soderquist - Jr. - G - Cambridge-Isanti | Soderquist turned away all 43 Cloquet/Esko/Carlton shots to help his team defeat the Lumberjacks 2-0. 43 saves is the most saves in a shutout by any goalie in the state so far the year.

Tyler Resch - Sr. - F - Alexandria | Resch had two hat tricks this week versus Willmar and St. Cloud Apollo.

Phil Paquette - Sr. - F - Luverne | Paquette scored three goals and assisted on eight others for 11 points for the week.

FTP.com's Three Stars of the Week: Week 3 (Dec 8 - Dec 14)

1. Adam Krause - Jr. - Center - Hermantown Hawks

Krause scored four goals on Friday night in a 6-4 win against Hopkins and scored another 1 goal and an assist in a 4-3 win against Andover on Saturday night. The Hawks defeated a very good 6AA and a decent 7AA team respectively over the weekend. The Hawks are now 5-0 and ranked #3 in Class A in this week's FollowThePuck.com rankings.

2. Ben Podobinski - Sr. - Goaltender - Roseville Area Raiders

After starting the season 0-2, Podobinski shutout both opponents faced during the week. He saved 23 shots against then unbeaten Stillwater and stopped all 18 pucks against Mounds View, 41 saves total. Both games were won by a score of 2-0.

3. Matthew Nahan - Jr. - Forward - Sartell-St. Stephen Sabres

Nahan completed two hat tricks during the week to lead the Sabres to two wins over Sauk Rapids-Rice, 6-2, and Fergus Falls, 5-3. He also added an assist against Sauk Rapids-Rice to finish with seven points for the two games. His brother Ryan had seven assists in the same two games. The Nahan brothers are a big reason why the Sabres will have something to say in the battle for Section 6A this season.

FTP.com's Three Stars of the Week: Week 2 (Dec 1 - Dec 6)

1. Tim Shaughnessy - So. - Goaltender - Hill-Murray Pioneers

Shaghnessy started his high school varsity career with a 19-save shutout against Burnsville last Tuesday and then allowed only one goal on 33 shots against Edina, who arguably has the best offense in the state of Minnesota.

2. Archie Skalbeck - Jr. - Forward - Hopkins Royals

Skalbeck scored the game-winning goal in overtime against North St. Paul last Tuesday, had a goal and three assists in a 8-5 win over Rogers on Thursday, and scored four goals in their 7-0 win over North Metro on Saturday.


3. Jordan Palusky - Jr. - Forward - S.C. Cathedral Crusaders

Palusky scored six goals and two assists in three games including the game-winner in overtime against Alexandria on Saturday.

If you know of a player that deserves to be recognized for his performance over a given week, please contact me and let me hear about it. Email me at followthepuck@gmail.com.

FTP.com's Three Stars of the Week: Week 1 (Nov 28 - Nov 29)

1. Joey Benik - Junior Forward - St. Francis

Benik had seven goals and five assists in leading the St. Francis Saints to victories over Monticello/A/ML, 8-5, and Robbinsdale Cooper 5-3. St. Francis won the Monticello Tournament.

2. Anders Lee - Senior Forward - Edina

Quarterback turned forward Anders Lee led the #2-AA Hornets to back-to-back wins over Buffalo, 11-4, and Wayzata, 4-1, over the weekend. He netted three goals and assisted on five others. Edina won the Turkey Trot Tournament.

3. John Russell - Junior Goaltender - Breck School

Russell stopped 31 shots against #5-A Duluth Marshall on Saturday while giving up just one goal. The #1-A Breck School defeated the Hilltoppers 5-1.

If you know of a player that deserves to be recognized for his performance over a given week, please contact me and let me hear about it. Email me at followthepuck@gmail.com.