His Impact: One team likely lamenting the timing of the holiday break is Northern Michigan. The Wildcats, who followed a season-opening win by losing their next eight games, have recovered from the woeful start to put together a 6-2-1 mark over their last nine games, a stretch that ended this past weekend with a tie and win against Upper Peninsula rival Michigan Tech.
Stewart, one of three goalies to make a start for NMU this season, was the key to the 'Cats' efforts last weekend. Friday in Marquette, he stopped 29 shots — 14 in the third period alone — as Northern Michigan, in spite of being outshot by a 30-9 margin, escaped with a 1-1 tie. The following night in Houghton, Stewart turned aside 35 shots en route to the first shutout of his collegiate career, a 2-0 whitewash though the Wildcats were outshot 35-15. In his last three starts, Stewart has posted a 2-0-1 record, a 0.97 goals against average, and a .968 save percentage.
His Runners-Up: Carter Camper (Miami),
Nathan Gerbe (Boston College), Tyler Gotto (Niagara),
Chris Potts (Union), Kevin Regan (New Hampshire), Brock
Trotter (Denver).