Big Ten Hockey has awarded two Player of the Week honors to Ohio State Buckeyes for their outstanding performances against then No. 1/2 Penn State. Forward Mason Jobst earned top honors with the conference’s First Star. Goalie Christian Frey garnered his third straight B1G laurel, this week’s Third Star.
| Men's hockey bucks | week | 2016-17 accolades |
|---|---|---|
| Nick Schilkey, Sr. F | No. 3 | B1G First Star of the Week |
| Matt Weis, Jr. F | No. 4 | B1G First Star of the Week |
| Tommy Parran, So. D | No. 4 | B1G Third Star of the Week |
| Nick Schilkey, Sr. F | No. 6 | B1G First Star of the Week |
| Dave Gust, Sr. F | No. 6 | B1G Second Star of the Week |
| Matt Tomkins, Sr. G | No. 7 | B1G Second Star of the Week |
| Tanner Laczynski, Fr. F | No. 7 | B1G Third Star of the Week |
| Christian Frey, Sr. G | No. 16 | B1G Second Star of the Week |
| Christian Frey, Sr. G | No. 17 | B1G Third Star of the Week |
| Mason Jobst, So. F | No. 18 | NCAA Second Star of the Week |
| B1G First Star of the Week | ||
| Christian Frey, Sr. G | No. 18 | B1G Third Star of the Week |
And the Big Ten wasn’t the only group taking note. The NCAA dubbed Jobst its Second Star of the Week. He is the first Ohio State player to garner national recognition since Frey claimed NCAA First Star honors last January.
Jobst racked up three goals and an assist in the Buckeyes’ series against the top-ranked Nittany Lions. The Speedway, Indiana native struck twice in the third period of Friday’s contest, tying the game each time. The Bucks went on to tie Penn State and claim the bonus point in the shootout.
Jobst was a factor on Saturday as well, adding a goal and an assist on the game winner in Ohio State’s 6-3 victory. He has been a consistent scorer at a time when the Buckeyes needed someone to step up and provide dependable production. Over the last eight game stretch (during which the team was missing up to four of its top point-getters on any given night) Jobst has carried the mail, netting seven goals and nine assists. He is now the Bucks’ leading scorer with a season total of 28 points.
Frey was also a big reason OSU took five of six points from the Nittany Lions. He had his work cut out for him against the nation’s No. 1 offense, but the senior netminder stood his ground and turned aside a staggering 97 shots in the series. Since his return to regular duty the Arlington, Texas native is really finding his groove. Today’s honor is Frey’s third consecutive conference accolade.
Your player of the week honorees along with the rest of the Buckeyes are back in action on Thursday night at the Schott. Ohio State welcomes Wisconsin for a Big Ten battle. The series then shifts to a much bigger stage on Saturday. The teams face off at Madison Square Garden and on BTN at 7pm ET.
Rankings Watch
With the tie and win over Penn State, Ohio State moves up to No. 8 in both national polls. More importantly the Buckeyes take a giant step up the PairWise rankings, Going into the PSU series they were on the bubble for an NCAA tournament berth at No. 13. Now they sit a No. 8. There is still a lot of hockey to play, but if that ranking holds up the Bucks would secure an at-large bid and return to the NCAA tourney for the first time since 2009.
