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Chris Knowlton, Forward, Denver

Knowlton had a very respectable year in 2011-12 – he recorded 19 points in 30 games – but his stats to this point in 2012-13 are blowing those out of the water. Through 10 games, Knowlton has eight goals and 13 points, including seven points in his last three outings. His breakout is one reason why the Pioneers are the WCHA’s best team at this point in the season.

Adam Wilcox, Goaltender, Minnesota

After letting four pucks past him in a Saturday night loss in Mankato a few weeks ago, Wilcox has been lights out. In the four games since then, he’s allowed just five tallies and he’s making game-changing stops to help Minnesota pull out wins even when it hasn’t played its best hockey.

Danny Kristo, Forward, North Dakota

With North Dakota trailing UMD in Saturday night’s third period, Kristo did what Kristo does best and simply made plays. When the Danny Kristo show was over, UND had pulled out a come from behind overtime win to salvage a three-point weekend against the Bulldogs. For the series, Kristo had five points and was the best player on the ice for either team whenever he stepped on it.

Down

Josh Thorimbert, Goaltender, Colorado College

Thorimbert hasn’t seen a lot of rubber in the past four games (only 88 shots, or about 22 per night), but he’s let quite a few pucks behind him during that stretch (13 goals against, good for an .852 saves percentage). For a team that thought it had the problem of two good goalies, the Tigers have to be hoping for more out of the Thorimbert-Joe Howe duo in the near future.

John Ramage, Defenseman, Wisconsin

Wisconsin’s best defender has exactly zero points as his team reaches Thanksgiving, but that’s not the player he is asked to be and no one is expecting Ramage to be a point-per-night guy. Instead, he’s supposed to be the shutdown, in your face blue-liner that plays the hard minutes against the other team’s best forwards. So how well is Ramage doing his job lately? In the last three games, he’s been on the ice for five of the eight goals the Badgers have given up, including the game-winner on Saturday against Minnesota when he went for a big hit, missed and allowed the Gophers the time and space to capitalize in crunch time.

Tuesday, November 20th, 2012 - 4:39 pm | Blogs, Commentary, Notes, Thoughts, Ramblings, WCHA