Wisconsin men’s hockey: Cameron Rowe named Big Ten Second Star of the Week

While the Wisconsin Badgers men’s hockey team did not play this week (their series against Michigan State from Dec. 8-9 was postponed due to COVID-19 cases among the Badgers) freshman goalie Cameron Rowe still received an honor from the Big Ten Conference.

Rowe, who got his first career start and win against the Buckeyes, was named the Big Ten Second Star of the Week, his first career conference honor. The native of Wilmette, Ill. stood tall against Ohio State last Friday, stopping 40 of 41 shots to help the Badgers win 3-1 and earn a series split. He is the eighth straight Wisconsin goalie to not lose (6-0-2) in their team debut.

On Thursday night, Rowe came on in relief of Robbie Beydoun and saved all 14 shots he faced as the Badgers mounted a comeback that fell just short. He had a conference-best .982 save percentage and a 0.62 goals-against average to go along with his 54 saves.

The Minnesota Golden Gophers took home the First and Third Star awards, with freshman forward Scott Reedy notched a goal and an assist in both games as No. 5/5 Minnesota swept Michigan State. Senior goalie Jack LaFontaine made 24 saves on 25 shots in Thursday’s victory before finishing the series with a 31-save performance on Friday to improve to 6-0-0 on the year, allowing only two goals or fewer in each of his last 11 appearances.