ITHACA, N.Y. — ECAC Hockey announced Monday that Cornell men’s hockey defenseman Sam Malinski has been named the league’s men’s Rookie of the Week.
Malinski tied with junior forward Morgan Barron for the team lead in scoring over the weekend during a two-game sweep at Michigan State, recording four points on a goal and three assists. He played a prominent role on the team’s first power-play unit and has been paired with junior Matt Cairns at even strength.
He started off on Friday by collecting an assist on sophomore forward Max Andreev’s game-winning power-play goal late in the second period of a come-from-behind 3-2 victory. The next night, Malinski saw his shot tipped in by Barron late in the second period to extend Cornell’s lead to 4-0, then he collected another assist on the second of two goals on the night from sophomore forward Michael Regush. After the Spartans scored twice to gain some traction and reignite the home crowd, Malinski essentially iced the game with his first collegiate goal – a perfectly placed shot from the left circle over the goaltender’s blocker.
Malinski’s four points led all of the league’s freshmen and all of the league’s defensemen for the week. It also marked the first time a Cornell defenseman racked up four points the first two games of a season since Brendon Nash ’10 did it in 2006.
Malinski becomes the Big Red’s first winner of an ECAC Hockey weekly award this season and the first rookie of the week accolade since Regush won it twice last season.
