COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo – Sun Devil Hockey senior forward Bennett Schimek was named NCHC Forward of the Week following a career-best five-point performance in a 6-3 win against No. 5 Minnesota Duluth last weekend, the league office announced Tuesday morning.
Schimek scored the second hat trick of his career and added two assists on Saturday against the Bulldogs, contributing to five of the six Sun Devil goals. This is Schimek’s second career NCHC weekly honor and his first of the season. On Dec. 2, sophomore Cullen Potter was named NCHC Forward of the Week.
In the team’s third top-10 win over a ranked opponent last Saturday, Schimek scored the game-tying goal in the first period and tallied a secondary assist on Potter’s goal late in the opening period that gave ASU a 2-1 lead. Late in the second period, Schimek found the back of the net to give the Sun Devils a 3-1 lead heading into the second intermission.
In the third period, Schimek recorded a primary assist on freshman Justin Kipkie’s first career goal that gave ASU a commanding 5-2 lead and later sealed the victory with an empty net goal with three seconds left in the game, giving the Sun Devils a critical three points in NCHC play.
Hats off to Bennett Schimek!🎩🎩🎩 pic.twitter.com/rXZdJ8t1RI
The co-captain was one of two Sun Devils (along with Cruz Lucius) with a career-best +5 plus/minus in the win. Schimek’s hat trick was the 13th in program history and he became the third different Sun Devil to have multiple hat tricks, joining Dylan Jackson (2022-2025) and Johnny Walker (2017-2022).
Schimek is tied for first in the NCHC with 18 assists, which is good for second in the country. The senior forward ranks first with 17 points in 10 conference games, averaging 1.7 points per game in NCHC play. Additionally, Schimek surpassed 100 career points and is tied for the fourth most points among active DI Skaters with 101, with Lucius. Schimek is one of four active players in Division I to have 40+ goals and 50+ assists. The other three are T.J. Hughes (Michigan), Lucas Wahlin (St. Thomas) and Aiden Fink (Penn State).
The Sun Devils will return to the ice for the final time in 2025, facing No. 8 Dartmouth Saturday, Dec. 27, at 3 p.m. MST and Sunday, Dec. 28, at 1 p.m. MST at Thompson Arena. Both games will be available to watch on ESPN+.