Oct. 16, 2007

DETROIT - Bemidji State University men’s ice hockey goaltender Matt Climie (Sr., Leduc, Alberta) and sophomore forward Joey Moggach (Brandon, Manitoba) have been named College Hockey America Players of the Week for their performances in BSU’s conference-opening series versus Niagara (Nov. 2-3), as announced today by officials at the league office.

Climie turned away all 31 Niagara shot attempts Saturday evening en route to posting the eighth shutout of his career and marking the first time any goaltender has kept the potent Purple Eagle scoring attack off the scoreboard since Robert Morris shut NU out Jan. 29, 2005.

The 3-0 Bemidji State victory could not have come at a better time. It snapped the team’s longest losing skid since the 2002-03 season (five games), put an end to a five-game winless streak versus the Purple Eagles and reversed a three-game losing strand on the team’s home ice.

The shutout pulls Climie to within one of Jim Scanlan (1978-82) and Blaine Comstock (1967-71) on top of BSU’s all-time shutouts list (9).

The conference honor is the sixth of Climie’s career. He has been named Defensive Player of the Week on two prior occasions (11/13/06 and 12/18/06) while he was a rookie of the week pick three times during the 2004-05 campaign (1/10/05, 2/6/05 and 3/7/05).

Moggach led all BSU players with four points in the on the weekend. The sophomore had a hand in four of the Beavers’ five goals scored during the two-game set netting an assist in Friday evening’s 3-2 loss while setting a new career-high Saturday piling up three assists in BSU’s 3-0 victory as the Beavers managed a series split with the Purple Eagles. Moggach also completed the weekend with a plus/minus rating of +2.

The award marks the fourth of Moggach’s career, but is the first Offensive Player of the Week laurel for the sophomore. Last season, he was selected as CHA Rookie of the week on three occasions (12/11/06, 1/7/07 and 2/5/07).

Niagara’s Bryan Hayczk joined Climie and Moggach as league honorees Monday as he earned the Rookie of the Week pick.

This week’s selections mark the second and third of the year for Bemidji State. They follow an Oct. 16th Rookie of the Week award garnered by Jamie Ruff (Fr., F. Rochester, Minn.).

Bemidji State 3-5-0 overall and 1-1-0 in CHA play hits the road this weekend kicking off a four-game road stretch at University of Alabama-Huntsville. The CHA series is set for a 5:30 p.m. start Friday at the Von Braun Center with a 4 p.m. matinee to cap the two-game set Saturday.

2007 Bemidji State CHA Player of the Week recipients
Oct. 16 - Jamie Ruff - Rookie of the Week
Nov. 5 - Matt Climie - Defensive Player of the Week
Nov. 5 - Joey Moggach - Offensive Player of the Week

--bsu--