Beaulieu named WCHA defensive player of the week

BLOOMINGTON — Northern Michigan University Men’s Ice Hockey junior defenseman Philip Beaulieu (Duluth, Minnesota) has been named the Western Collegiate Hockey Association Defensive Player of the Week the league office announced Monday afternoon.

Beaulieu tied for the WCHA lead among defensemen over the weekend with three points. All three of those points came on Friday when he tied a career-high with three assists in the 4-1 victory over Ferris State University. Beaulieu also tied for the league lead among defensemen with a plus-4 rating. NMU went on to defeat the Bulldogs, 4-2, on Saturday for their second sweep of the season.

For the season, Beaulieu leads the Wildcats with 13 assists and is second with 14 total points. His 13 assists are the most among WCHA defensemen while his 14 points are tied for second. When Beaulieu took the ice on Saturday, he competed in his 100th game for the Wildcats where he has earned 75 career points in 15 goals and 60 assists. His career points are tied for 14th most for a Wildcat blue-liner while his career assists are 13th-most for an NMU defenseman.

It is the third weekly award for the Wildcats this season with senior goaltender Atte Tolvanen (Vihti, Finland) earning the goaltender award twice and the monthly honor for November. Beaulieu earned the same honor on three occasions last season.

The Wildcats will now get two weekends off for the holiday’s before beginning 2019 on the road. NMU will spend two weeks in Alaska for a series against the University of Alaska Fairbanks on January 4-5 and series with the University of Alaska Anchorage January 11-12.