Big Ten Honors Two From Gopher Hockey Squad

MINNEAPOLIS (GopherSports.com) – The Big Ten honors continue to accumulate for the top-ranked Gopher men’s hockey program.

Travis Boyd and Adam Wilcox have been honored as the Big Ten’s First Star of the Week and Third Star of the week, respectively, after leading Minnesota to a weekend sweep over Penn State.

A Hopkins, Minn., native, Boyd led all Big Ten players with four points (one goal, three assists) over the weekend for his second career conference honor (First Star of the Week on Jan. 7). The junior forward tallied a pair of assists in Friday’s 5-1 victory including a helper on the game-winning goal and followed that up by factoring into both goals during Saturday’s 2-1 win with a goal and an assist. Boyd’s 24 points, nine goals and 15 assists this season are all career highs.

Wilcox, meanwhile, stands as the most decorated player in the Big Ten this season with five weekly accolades after being named to the Big Ten’s inaugural watch list prior to the season. The sophomore earned his conference-leading 21st win of the season on Friday night, making 30 saves in a 5-1 win over Penn State. Wilcox (21-4-5) ranks third nationally in wins, sixth nationally in save percentage (.932) and seventh nationally in goals against average (1.94). The South St. Paul, Minn., native has also lost just twice in his last 19 starts.

The Gophers have now earned a total of 20 weekly Big Ten honors from nine different players this season.

Minnesota, which closed out the home schedule last weekend with a 15-1-3 mark at Mariucci Arena (the fewest losses in the venue’s 20-year history), returns to action this weekend on the road against Ohio State.