Spooner Named WCHA Offensive Player of the Week 

The honor is the second of the season for senior Natalie Spooner

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State women’s hockey senior forward Natalie Spooner was named WCHA Offensive Player of the Week, the league office announced Wednesday. The honor is the second of the season for Spooner and the eighth of her career.

 

Spooner, from Scarborough, Ontario, scored all four goals in Ohio State’s 4-1 over nationally-ranked Minnesota Duluth last Friday (Nov. 25) at the OSU Ice Rink. The offensive performance marked the second time this season she has scored four goals in a game. Spooner tallied three of her four goals in the second period, beginning at 5:17 to tie the game at 1-1. She notched the eventual game-winner at 10:56 and then completed the natural hat trick at 12:50. Spooner’s final goal came at 7:23 in the third when she scored on the power play.

 

The hat trick was the fifth of her collegiate career and the four-goal performance was the third of her career. In addition to her four goals, Spooner also finished with a plus-3 on-ice rating and fired 18 shots on goal over the two-game series with the Bulldogs.

 

The four goals moved Spooner to fourth overall on Ohio State’s career points list with 129. She leads the Buckeyes in scoring this season with 17 points (13g, 4a) and is four goals away from tying Jeni Creary’s team record of 86 career goals.

 

Ohio State takes a break from conference competition and hosts Niagara in a two-game series, Dec. 2-3, at the OSU Ice Rink. Puck drops at 7:07 p.m. Friday and 2:07 p.m. Saturday.

2011-12 WCHA Player of the Week Awards

Laura McIntosh – Offensive (Oct. 19 vs. St. Cloud State)

Natalie Spooner – Offensive (Oct. 12 vs. Bemidji State; Nov. 30 vs. Minnesota Duluth)

Lisa Steffes – Defensive (Nov. 2 at Minnesota State)

Taylor Kuehl – Rookie (Nov. 23 at Syracuse)