A quartet of BCHL alums has landed recognition again after the latest round of NCAA weekly conference awards and in this latest set, three shine from one conference in particular.
In the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC), producer of the last two NCAA national champion teams, Jarid Lukosevicius – a Powell River Kings graduate at the University of Denver – was named Player of the Week and the NCAA’s overall First Star for the week while Taylor Ward – a former Penticton Vees forward at Nebraska-Omaha – earned the Rookie of the Week nod. In the goaltending department, Ward’s former Vees teammate Adam Scheel took the NCHC Goalie of the Week award for North Dakota.
Meanwhile, in the Atlantic Hockey Association, former Alberni Valley Bulldogs netminder Billy Christopoulos was named Goalie of the Week for his play at Air Force.
Lukosevicius had a hat trick, including the game-winner, to open a two-game set against Western Michigan and followed up with two more goals and an overtime winner the next night. The native of Squamish now has 7-3-10 for the Pioneers on the season and is second in team scoring. Now a senior at Denver, Lukosevicius played two full seasons in Powell River and part of another as an affiliate. In 116 career BCHL games, he racked up 59 goals and 76 assists for 135 points.
Ward notched two goals and an assist to help Nebraska-Omaha to a weekend split against Miami-Ohio. He had the lone goal in a 4-1 loss in the first game and picked up a goal and a helper the next night in a 6-3 triumph. The native of Kelowna now has 3-2-5 in seven games so far in his freshman NCAA campaign. In three full BCHL seasons with Penticton, Ward registered 36 goals and 41 assists.
Scheel recorded two victories for North Dakota in a non-conference weekend against Wisconsin. He earned the first shutout of his college career, making 24 saves in a 5-0 win in the opener and came back to make 21 saves in a 3-2 overtime win the next night. A native of Lakewood, Ohio, Scheel played just one BCHL season for the Vees and recorded a mark of 29-12-3 to go along with a .927 save percentage and a 2.08 goals-against average.
Christopoulos posted a pair of 4-2 road wins over conference rival Army West Point. He needed to make just 19 saves in the series opener but was called on for 28 stops the next night. The native of Raleigh, N.C., has played all but 12 minutes of the Air Force season so far and carries a record of 4-4 with a 2.97 goals-against average. The 6-foot-2, 192-pound netminder played one season in Alberni Valley and recorded a 22-22-1 mark, a .906 save percentage and a 3.05 goals-against average.
