Following a weekend sweep over Miami, a pair of North Dakota players were honored by the National Collegiate Hockey Conference on Monday afternoon, as announced by the league office.
Fifth year goaltender Drew DeRidder and junior forward Riese Gaber were each selected as NCHC Goaltender of the Week and NCHC Forward of the Week, respectively, after helping the Fighting Hawks capture all six points over Miami in convincing fashion.
For the second time in six weeks, DeRidder earned the league’s top goaltender crown for the week following a pair of sparkling performances on the road at Miami. The Fenton, Mich., native stopped 50 of the 51 shots fired his way to close the series with a 2-0-0 record, 0.50 GAA and a .980 save percentage. Following a 27-save night in Friday’s 4-1 opening win, DeRidder collected his fourth shutout of the season with 23 stops in the 8-0 onslaught in the finale. The four shutouts on the year for DeRidder tie him with Adam Scheel for the most in a single season by a UND goaltender since 2016-17.
The netminder has settled into the pipes for North Dakota as the season wears on, posting a 4-1-1 record with a 1.63 GAA, .938 save percentage and two shutouts over his last seven starts.
Gaber powered North Dakota to a sweep at Miami with a five-point weekend. In Friday’s opener, the junior helped jumpstart UND’s offense with the primary assist on the game’s opening goal. It came on a power play tally only 4:18 into the contest as the Fighting Hawks went on to win, 4-1. The next night, Gaber erupted for a career-high four points, including his first collegiate hat trick. Gaber opened the scoring with a power play goal midway through the first, which served as the game-winning goal. He then scored again midway through the second stanza to make it 3-0 and completed North Dakota’s first hat trick since Nov. 2, 2018 with another power play tally in the final minute of the game, which capped an 8-0 thumping. Gaber also assisted on UND’s fourth goal, with three of his four points Saturday on the man advantage.
Gaber finished the weekend with three goals, two assists and a NCHC-best 13 shots on goal, including a career-high 12 in Saturday’s win. Gaber was also +1 in the sweep. He now has 16 career points (10g, 6a) in nine career games against Miami.
On the season, Gaber leads the Fighting Hawks and is tied for fourth in the NCHC with 16 goals, while his 28 points are second on the team and seventh in the NCHC.
(UND NCHC release)
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