University of Minnesota Duluth left winger Mike Connolly, who scored six goals – including a
school-record tying five in one game – to help the Bulldogs take three of four points from visiting Minnesota
last weekend has been named the Red Baron WCHA Offensive Player of the Week for Feb. 8, 2011.
A 5-9, 180-pound junior from Calgary, Alberta, Connolly equaled a team record by scoring five times in
UMD’s 6-4 triumph over Minnesota last Saturday (Feb. 5) night at AMSOIL Arena. He put the host Bulldogs up
3-0 with a natural hat trick (three straight goals) 21 minutes into the game, added a fourth goal with 1:17 to
go in the second period and capped off his historic night with an empty-netter at the 18:40 mark of the third.
His five-goal outburst matched the previous Bulldog single-game mark set by Steve ‘Pokey’ Trachsel on Nov.
17, 1972 against Lake Superior State. Connolly, who also fired 15 shots on goal in the series and earned a +4
plus/minus rating, also scored the game-tying goal for UMD in last Friday’s 2-2 (ot) deadlock with UM.
Connolly has now moved up to the No. 4 spot on the WCHA’s overall scoring charts this season with a teamleading
and career-best 19 goals and 16 assists.
Red Baron ® WCHA co-Defensive Players of the Week
Dan Bakala – Junior, Goaltender, Bemidji State University
Curtis Leinweber – Junior, Defenseman, University of Alaska Anchorage
A pair of three-year veterans – junior goaltender Dan Bakala of Bemidji State University and
junior defenseman Curtis Leinweber of the University of Alaska Anchorage – have been named Red Baron
WCHA co-Defensive Players of the Week for Feb. 8, 2011.
Bakala, a 5-11, 185-pounder from Calgary, Alberta, stopped 81 of 84 shots (.964 save percentage) on goal and
posted four shutout periods Feb. 4-5 as Bemidji State split a WCHA road series at Minnesota State. He turned
away a career-high 41 shots in last Friday’s 2-1 (ot) loss and then hit the 40-save plateau again last Saturday,
stopping 40-of-41 shots to lead the Beavers to a 4-1 victory. In addition, Bakala backstopped a penalty-kill unit
that held the Mavericks scoreless on 10 power-play opportunities in the series, which included a 5:00 major
and seven minutes in the third period Friday and a :70 second 5-on-3 chance Saturday.
Leinweber, a 5-8, 171-pounder from Calgary, Alberta, recorded a three-point weekend and earned a +5
plus/minus rating to lead host Alaska Anchorage to a 4-1, 4-2 league sweep over Michigan Tech. Last Friday,
Leinweber scored his first collegiate shorthanded goal and produced his first multi-goal game to double his
goal total for the season. He also scored the game-opening goal. On Saturday, he assisted on teammate Sean
Wiles’ go-ahead goal in the second period.
On the season, Leinweber owns a team-best +7 plus/minus rating and has 10 points (4g, 6a) in 24 games.