Former Trail Smoke Eaters goaltender Linden Marshall was one of four BCHL alumni named conference player of the week for their respective NCAA Div. 1 teams.
In addition to Marshall, Penticton Vees product Colton Poolman earned defenceman of the week in the NCHC with North Dakota, former Salmon Arm Silverbacks star Taro Hirose is Big 10 player of the week for Michigan State, and Powell River Kings grad Brian Wilson is Atlantic Hockey goalie of the week for Niagara.
Marshall backstopped RPI to a weekend sweep of No. 11-ranked Union College. He led all ECAC Hockey netminders for the week with 68 saves on 73 shots as the Engineers scored wins of 5-3 and 4-2 over the Dutchmen. Marshall played two seasons in Trail from 2015-17, and posted a record of 20-15-1. In his second year in Trail, he had a 2.86 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage.
Poolman scored twice, including the game-winner, in a 3-1 win over Minnesota Saturday in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game. In what was UND’s only game of the weekend, Poolman finished at +2 and had three shots on goal. He was named the game’s first star. With Penticton in the 2015-16 BCHL season, Poolman had three goals and 37 assists in 57 games.
Hirose had a huge weekend for the Spartans, racking up a pair of goals and four helpers to help them sweep No. 8-ranked Cornell. The Calgary native had a goal and two assists in the series opener, a 5-3 win and also had the same scoring line the next night in a 4-3 victory. Each goal he scored was the game-winner and Hirose now leads the Spartans with 4-5-9 in four games played. The 5-foot-10, 160-pound forward played two seasons in Salmon Arm and didn’t miss a game as he registered 33 goals and 88 assists in 116 career contests.
Wilson was busy for the Purple Eagles in a road split against conference rival Air Force. He made 39 stops in a 5-0 win to open the set and stopped 32 of 34 the next night in a 2-1 setback. Wilson, now a sophomore, had a .973 save percentage for the weekend and a 1.03 goals-against average. With Powell River in the 2016-17 season, Wilson posted a ledger of 22-11-1 while carrying a 2.70 goals against average and .917 save percentage.
