KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) announced its weekly awards this afternoon, with Western Michigan's Sam Colangelo and Samuel Sjolund earning individual honors.
 
Colangelo earned the league's Forward of the Week award after an excellent series against No. 4 Denver. In total, he had five points on three goals and two assists. That included his second hat trick of the season in a 7-3 victory over the Pioneers on Friday.
 
He followed that up with a two-assist night on Saturday. His two helpers came at big moments in the game, as he first assisted on Sjolund's goal to the tie the game at 4-4 in the third period. Then, Colangelo's second assist came in another game-tying situation, as he set up Joe Cassetti to knot the game at 5-5 with under 30 seconds to play in regulation.
 
On the season, he has posted 19 points on 11 goals and eight assists. He is top-10 in the conference in both points and goals.
 
Sjolund was selected as the conference's Defenseman of the Week after notching three points on one goal and two assists in the series win over Denver. The young defender had a big-time assist in Friday's win, setting up Zak Galambos on the power play to give the Broncos a lead late in the second period.
 
The following night, the Swedish defenseman had a goal and an assist to help the Broncos pick up a key point in conference play. His assist came on the Broncos' first goal of the night, which helped bring the squad back within one in the first period. In the opening stages of the third period, Sjolund collected his first career goal and tied the game at 4-4.
 
For the season, Sjolund has tallied seven points on one goal and six assists. He leads the team in shots by a defenseman and is a +2 in 16 games.
 
Western Michigan has some time off before hosting Western Ontario in an exhibition game on Dec. 30. Puck drop is set for 6 p.m. at Lawson Arena. The Broncos will return to regular season play after the new year when they travel to Lindenwood for a pair of games on Jan. 5-6.