Beaulieu, Loughran receive WCHA weekly awards

BLOOMINGTON — A pair of Northern Michigan University Men’s Ice Hockey (13-10-0, 12-4-0-0 WCHA) student-athletes received player of the week award the Western Collegiate Hockey Association announced Monday afternoon. Junior defenseman Philip Beaulieu (Duluth, Minnesota) was the WCHA Defensive Player of the Week for the second-consecutive week while freshman forward Griffin Loughran (West Seneca, New York) was named league Rookie of the Week.

Beaulieu scored a pair of assists in the series opener on Friday for his 21st career multi-point outing. His first assist came on what later became the game winner in the first period while his second was on the Wildcats fourth goal of the game. He also added an assist on an empty net goal on Saturday. Beaulieu led the WCHA among defensemen with his three assists and three points. His plus-five rating also tied for the conference lead among blue-liners.

Loughran continued his scoring tear with a league leading three points among WCHA rookies over the weekend. His two assists on Friday gave him is third multi-point game since December 15 and he also added an assist on Saturday’s game winning goal. Loughran now has eight points over the past five contests.

It is the sixth and seventh weekly award for the Wildcats this season with Beaulieu joining senior goaltender Atte Tolvanen (Vihti, Finland) with three weekly honors. Beaulieu also earned three of the same honors a season ago while it is the first award of Loughran’s career.

After a four-game trip to Alaska, the Wildcats get a weekend off before they return to the Berry Events Center on January 25-26. They will put their six-game win streak on the line against Minnesota State University, Mankato who currently lead the WCHA standings.

Courtesy: NMU Athletics