DULUTH, Minn. -- Sophomore Thad Marcola (Almont, Mich.) has been named this season's final Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) Offensive Player of the Week following an impressive eight-point series against Lawrence University this past weekend.
Marcola becomes the fourth Thunder student-athlete to take home the award this season. It is the first time that the sophomore has received the award this year.
Trine finished the weekend by sweeping the Vikings and securing their first ever home Harris Cup Playoff games. The team finishes fourth in the NCHA standings and will host a pair of games for the opening round of the playoff, featuring a rematch with Lawrence. Marcola played a pivotal role in picking up those wins.
On Friday, with the team trailing the Vikings 2-0, Marcola scored a pair of goals over the end of the first period and beginning of the second to tie the game on his own. He added another goal and assist through the remainder of the game as the team picked up the 6-2 victory. The hat trick was the first of his career and just the fourth in program history.
Then to finish off the weekend, the team rolled to a 7-2 victory, with Marcola recording another four-point game. He started the game with an assist on the team's second goal and then scored what would end up being the game winner. He added another assist in the early second period before finishing off the scoring for the team in the third period with his second goal of the game.
All told he finished the weekend with five goals and three assists.
The Thunder will take the ice for the opening round of the NCHA Harris Cup Playoffs this weekend, beginning on Friday, February 18 at 7 p.m. The quarterfinal matchup against Lawrence is a best of two series moving to a mini-game following the second game if the series is tied.