EDINA, Minn – The league's top opening-weekend scorer and a pair of netminders highlight the first men's Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) Players of the Week for the 2015-16 campaign. The honorees for the week of October 4-11, 2015 are: Alabama Huntsville sophomore forward Brennan Saulnier (Offensive Player of the Week), Bemidji State sophomore goaltender Michael Bitzer (Defensive Player of the Week) and Northern Michigan freshman goaltender Atte Tolvanen (Rookie of the Week).
One of only nine players across the country to record at least five points during the season's opening weekend, Saulnier tallied three goals and two assists as Alabama Huntsville rallied to split a pair of games with visiting Connecticut. The sophomore from Halifax, Nova Scotia lifted the Chargers to a 5-2 victory Saturday by assisting on UAH's first goal, notching the tying marker to knot the game 2-2, assisting on the second-period game-winner and scoring an insurance marker in the third. Saulnier also recorded an unassisted goal Friday, finishing the weekend with a +1 rating. Alabama Huntsville opened 1-1-0 for the first time since the 2010-11 season.
Saulnier is an alumnus of the Fort McMurray Oil Barons from 2013-2014.