Travis Oleksuk and Kenny Reiter of Minnesota Duluth were named the WCHA's offensive and defensive players of the week, respectively.

Oleksuk, a senior center from Thunder Bay, Ontario, had two goals and two assists as UMD swept Western Michigan 4-1 and 5-2. He had the game-winning goal at 11:55 of the third period in the first game and two assists. He had 10 shots on goal in the series and was a plus-3.

He had five-game winning goals among his 15 total. He ranks second on the Bulldogs in points with 26.

North Dakota forward Carter Rowney, who had two goals in UND's 3-1 win over Clarkson, was among four other players nominated for this award.

Reiter, a senior goalie, stopped 57 of 60 shots for the Bulldogs against the Broncos. He is 14-2-3 this season with a 2.18 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage.

UND's defenseman Dillon Simpson was among the other three nominees for this award. He has 10 assists in his past 10 games.

BADGER NAMED TOP ROOKIE

Defenseman Jake McCabe of Wisconsin was named the WCHA rookie of the week. His first two goals for the Badgers last weekend were both game-winners. Wisconsin beat the Rochester Institute of Technology 6-2 and 2-1 with McCabe getting a goal early in the third period of both games.

McCabe is a 6-1, 200-pound freshman from Eau Claire. In nine games, he has two goals and one assist. He has missed 11 games because of an injury.

Forward Mark MacMillan of UND was one of two other nominees.

LONG, TWO-DAY BUS TRIP

The Bulldogs, who have a big series at Nebraska Omaha this weekend, are taking a bus there and leaving Wednesday.

UMD will stop at Mason City, Iowa -- about halfway to Omaha -- and spend Wednesday night there before completing their long journey. It is about 530 miles from Duluth to Omaha, so driving straight through -- even at 65 mph -- would take eight hours.

The body and legs might be a little tired after that, so the Bulldogs are splitting the trip up over two days. Bob Nygaard, UMD's communications director, said flying to Omaha would have cost too much.

The Bulldogs are tied for first place in the WCHA standings with the Gophers; Nebraska Omaha is in fourth place, five points behind the co-leaders.

The Gophers play at Nebraska Omaha on Feb. 24-25. For them, it is a 378-miles trip.