Macklin Celebrini, Nate Benoit and Bruno Bruveris Earn Weekly Honors
November 3, 2022 – United States Hockey League (USHL) News Release
The United States Hockey League (USHL) announced Thursday the Players of the Week for Week 6 of the 2022-23 regular season. For the sixth time in as many weeks this season, another trio of players earned their first Player of the Week awards of the season as Macklin Celebrini, Nate Benoit and Bruno Bruveris were awarded for their outstanding performances on the ice last week with the Forward, Defenseman and Goaltender of the Week awards, respectively.
Forward of the Week: Macklin Celebrini, Chicago Steel (Vancouver, British Columbia)
Celebrini was pivotal in Chicago’s win last week, a 7-1 Saturday night victory over the Green Bay Gamblers. The 16-year-old forward opened his night with an unassisted goal midway though the opening frame before adding his second tally seven minutes later. Then, in a span of 1:44, Celebrini picked up a pair of powerplay points, first with a primary assist, followed by his third goal of the period. The Boston University commit finished the night with four points (3-1-4), his new career-high for the USHL. Celebrini was a Tender selection of the Steel before this season and currently has 14 points (9-5-14) in nine games, including at least one point in eight of his nine games this season. The former Shattuck St. Mary’s forward is a Top Prospect for the 2024 NHL Draft. Celebrini is the third different Steel forward in the last four weeks to earn Forward of the Week honors.
Defenseman of the Week: Nate Benoit, Omaha Lancers (Bow, N.H.)
Benoit and the Lancers split their games last week but the Omaha defenseman had his name all over the scoresheet with a goal and two assists (1-2-3). The Minnesota Wild prospect (2021, Round 6, #182) scored his first goal of the season on Friday night in a 4-1 win over the Lincoln Stars. Two days later, Benoit picked up a pair of powerplay assists, factoring in two of his teams three goals for the night. The University of North Dakota commit is in his second season in the League and has appeared in 30 total games with the Lancers (1-8-9) including six points (1-5-6) in 10 games this season. Benoit split the 2021-22 season between the Lancers and Tri-City Storm, who he spent the first 42 games of his USHL career with. In 72 career games, Benoit has 15 points (2-13-15), plus three points (1-2-3) in four Clark Cup Playoff games last season with Omaha.
Goaltender of the Week: Bruno Bruveris, Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (Riga, Latvia)
Bruveris was perfect in a Saturday night shutout of he Des Moines Buccaneers. The Riga, Latvia native stopped all 20 shots the Buccaneers sent his way in an eventual 3-0 shutout. Bruveris’ fourth career USHL shutout, first of the 2022-23 season, earned him his second career USHL Goaltender of the Week award after he earned his first during Week 21 of the 2021-22 season. This season, Bruveris holds a 4-2-1-0 record in seven appearances with a 2.72 goals against average and 0.899 save percentage. The second-year netminder now holds a USHL career record of 19-14-2-2 in 38 appearances with a 2.96 goals against average and 0.879 save percentage. Bruveris is currently on a three-game winning streak between the pipes for the RoughRiders and has earned his team at least a point in five of his seven performances this season.
The USHL season continues with a busy first week of November with four-straight days of games, including a seven-game Friday night.
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