Brendan Smith earns WCHA award
December 08, 2009 | Men's Hockey
Dec. 8, 2009
MADISON, Wis. - The Western Collegiate Hockey Association today announced its players of the week for the period Dec. 8-14, 2009. Badger junior defenseman Brendan Smith won the league's top defensive player of the week for the second week in a row. Smith accumulated seven points (two goals, five assists) on the weekend, as the Badgers swept the Michigan Tech Huskies.
For the third time this season, University of Wisconsin defenseman Brendan Smith has been named the Red Baron® WCHA Defensive Player of the Week, this time for Dec. 8, 2009. He also earned the weekly honor on Nov. 3 and Dec. 1.
A 6-2, 190-pound junior from Mimico, Ontario and a draftee of the NHL's Detroit Red Wings, Smith helped the host Badgers limit visiting league opponent Michigan Tech to just two power-play goals and 37 shots on goal in a two-game series that resulted in 8-2 and 6-0 victories for Wisconsin. Smith earned a +3 plus/minus rating in the series and also produced seven scoring points with two goals and five assists to extend his point-scoring streak to a career-high seven games. He took over the WCHA scoring lead both overall (7-17=24) and for league games only (5-11=16).
Smith equalled a collegiate career-high with four assists last Friday (Dec. 4) night at the Kohl Center in Madison, including one on the game-winning goal, and then had two goals and an assist on Saturday (Dec. 5). One of his two scores in game two was the eventual game-winner.
Smith's 1.60 points-per-game rank second in the country (men's Division 1) among all players and also leads all defensemen.
Wisconsin, standing 10-5-1 overall on the 2009-10 season, hits the road this weekend for a two-game, Dec. 11-12, WCHA series at North Dakota.
Senior forward Blake Geoffrion was also nominated for the WCHA Offensive Player of the Week. Freshman forward Derek Lee, who scored his first goal as a Badger last weekend, was nominated for the WCHA Rookie of the Week.
