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Goligoski and Okposo Named WCHA Players
Topic Started: Oct 31 2006, 04:04 PM (65 Views)
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For Immediate Release
Oct. 31, 2006

Alex Goligoski and Kyle Okposo Named WCHA Players of the Week

University of Minnesota junior defenseman Alex Goligoski (Grand Rapids, Minn.) has been named the WCHA Defensive Player of the Week and freshman forward Kyle Okposo (St. Paul, Minn.) has been named the WCHA Rookie of the Week, following Minnesota’s two-game sweep of Colorado College last weekend at Mariucci Arena. Goligoski recorded a four-point weekend with 0-4--4, while Okposo scored three goals in the 8-1 win over the Tigers on Saturday.

Goligoski led all players in the series last weekend with four points, tallying four assists. In Friday’s 2-0 win, Goligoski assisted on Mike Vannelli’s game-winning power-play goal at 15:46 of the second period. For the game, he had two shots. In Saturday’s 8-1 rout, Goligoski tallied three assists, getting the helpers on Minnesota’s third, sixth and seventh goals. He set up Mike Carman at 1:02 of the second period for Minnesota’s first shorthanded goal of the season, followed by an assist on Blake Wheeler's goal at 19:22 of the second period and Evan Kaufmann’s shorthanded goal at 7:02 of the third. For the game, Goligoski had two shots and was a team-best +5. With his four-assist weekend, Goligoski pushed his season totals to 3-8--11 to tie for the team and WCHA lead in points.

Okposo showed why the New York Islanders picked him with the seventh overall selection at the 2006 NHL Entry Draft with an outstanding performance in last weekend’s sweep of Colorado College. In Minnesota’s 8-1 win on Saturday, Okposo recorded his first career hat trick and the Golden Gophers’ first three-goal game since Ryan Potulny scored four goals in the 8-7 overtime loss to St. Cloud State in the semifinal of the WCHA Final Five on March 17, 2006. Okposo scored UM’s first, fourth and fifth goals (all 5-on-5 markers) to notch Minnesota’s first hat trick of the 2006-07 season. His first goal at 4:17 of the opening period was Minnesota’s 11,000th tally in school history. For the game, Okposo had three shots and was a +4. A night earlier in UM’s 2-0 win, he had five shots. With his three-goal weekend, Okposo pushed his season totals to 7-2--9 to lead the team in goals and rank second in points. His seven goals are tied for the WCHA lead, while his nine points rank second among WCHA freshmen.

The award is the second Defensive Player of the Week honor for Goligoski in his career and the first Rookie of the Week accolade for Okposo.

Second-ranked Minnesota (6-1-0, 2-0-0 WCHA) heads back on the road this weekend with a series against intrastate rival Minnesota Duluth (2-2-2, 1-2-1) on Friday-Saturday, Nov. 3-4, at the DECC in Duluth, Minn.

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