COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Western Michigan junior
Luke Grainger has been named KJ Branding National Collegiate Hockey Conference Forward of the Week after his performance in WMU's split with Minnesota-Duluth over the weekend.
Grainger had four points in the series, netting three goals and tallying one assist. On Friday he scored a short-handed goal in the first period as a part of a three-goal run that tied the game up, tallying the second of the three goals. On Saturday he had two goals and an assist in the 5-3 win. Grainger helped create a turnover at the end of the second period, tallying an assist on Ryan McAllister's goal with 2.1 seconds left to cut UMD's lead to 3-2. The then scored midway through the third period to tie the game up at 3-3, finding the net after jumping off the bench during a delayed penalty for his fifth goal of the season. Grainger sealed the win with an empty-netter for his sixth goal of the season.
Grainger's four-point weekend pushed his season total to 15, matching his previous career-best that he posted last season.
No. 15 Western Michigan heads to Nashville, Tenn., for the Music City Hockey Classic to take on No. 18 Northeastern on Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET at Bridgestone Arena, home of the Nashville Predators. For tickets head to
https://www.bridgestonearena.com/events/detail/music-city-hockey-classic.
