ADRIAN, Mich. – The Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) has announced their "Three Stars of the Week," with the Trine University women's hockey team becoming the first program to sweep the honors this season.
Before the beginning of the season, the NCHA announced that rather than choosing an offensive and defensive player of the week they would instead select the three starts of the week, mirroring the traditional three stars of the game.
Payton Hans, Hannah Lambers and Kailey Mleko each earned a spot on the weekly award for the first time this season. For Lambers and Mleko it is the first time in their career they have been recognized by the NCHA, while it is the third for Hans.
Hans finished the weekend with six points, including four goals and two assists, during the team's weekend sweep of Hilbert College. She split those points between the two games, finishing each with two goals and an assist. Both nights ended up being historic for the junior, as she broke the became the Trine career goal leader on Friday and career point scorer on Saturday.
Lambers also finished the weekend with six points, recording three goals and three assists in the sweep. On Friday, she led the team with four points including two goals and two assists. He first goal of the game and of her collegiate career, came near the end of the second period with her final goal sealing the game in the third. On Saturday she added two more points including an unassisted goal in the third.
Mleko joined both teammates with six points of her own, scoring a pair of goals and adding four assists. On Friday, she sparked the offense after a quiet start, scoring the first goal in the waning minutes of the first period. It would end up being the game winner, but more importantly it got the shots rolling as the team cruised to a 7-0 victory. On Saturday she opened the game with an assist before adding her goal in the second.
The Thunder finished the first half of there season with the pair of wins against Hilbert. They now enjoy a nearly month long break before returning to the ice at the end of December. Their next game is a neutral site game against the University of Dubuque on Saturday, December 30.