Photo by: Jason Soria
Shostak and Smolinski Earn NCHC Weekly Honors
1/20/2026 10:55:00 AM | Men's Hockey
Shostak blanked the Bulldogs on Friday, Smolinski scored three points in series split
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – St. Cloud State Men's Hockey freshman goaltender Yan Shostak (Minsk, Belarus) and senior defenseman Max Smolinski (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) both earned National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) weekly honors, as announced by the league on Tuesday. Shostak was named the Goaltender of the Week after a 42-save shutout on Friday while Smolinski was named the Defenseman of the Week after a three-point performance in SCSU's series split with No. 6 Minnesota Duluth.
The weekly honor is the second career honor for both Huskies after Shostak was named the Rookie of the Week on Oct. 21 and Smolinski was named the ECAC Defender of the Week on Oct. 14, 2025. It marks the fourth and fifth honors this season for the Huskies.
NCHC Weekly Honors in 2025-26:
Shostak stopped 66 of 70 shots, posting a 2.01 GAA and .943 save percentage against UMD. He made a career-high 42 saves in a 6-0 shutout of the Bulldogs on Friday, ending UMD's perfect 11-0-0 mark on Fridays while earning his second shutout of the season. The 6-0 win was SCSU's first shutout win over UMD since a 2-0 win at Duluth on March 5, 2022, and its largest margin of victory against the Bulldogs since an 8-2 win in Duluth on Feb. 11, 2011. Shostak's 42 saves in the shutout were the most saves by a Husky goaltender in a shutout since Jeff Smith had 42 in a 4-0 win over Minnesota State on Oct. 7, 2017. The Minsk, Belarus native is the first Husky freshman netminder to record multiple shutouts in a season since David Hrenak had three in 2017-18. Shostak then stopped 24 of 28 shots in a 5-3 setback on Saturday, allowing one power play goal. After the back-to-back impressive showings, Shostak lowered his GAA from 3.11 to 2.93 while raising his save percentage from .885 to .897. On the season, he is 5-8-0 with a 2.93 GAA and .897 S% with two shutouts.
Smolinski scored three points (1-2—3) with a +1 mark on the ice and three shots on goal in the series split. He had two assists with a +3 mark on the ice in Friday's 6-0 win and a goal in Saturday's game, his fourth goal of the season. He also helped SCSU finish 5-for-6 on the penalty kill against the nation's-leading power play goal while averaging 21:14 time on the ice in the two games. On the season, Smolinski has scored four goals and 11 assists for 15 points, with the last two matching his career-highs for a single season. He leads all SCSU blue liners in goals, assists and points.
For all the latest on St. Cloud State Men's Hockey, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Tickets for the 2025-26 season are available at www.scsutickets.com, downloading the St. Cloud State Huskies app or by calling 1-877-SCSUTIX / 320-308-2137.
The weekly honor is the second career honor for both Huskies after Shostak was named the Rookie of the Week on Oct. 21 and Smolinski was named the ECAC Defender of the Week on Oct. 14, 2025. It marks the fourth and fifth honors this season for the Huskies.
NCHC Weekly Honors in 2025-26:
- Yan Shostak – NCHC Rookie of the Week: Oct. 21
- Nolan Roed – NCHC Rookie of the Week: Oct. 28
- Finn Loftus – NCHC Defenseman of the Week: Jan. 6
- Yan Shostak – NCHC Goaltender of the Week: Jan. 20
- Max Smolinski – NCHC Defenseman of the Week: Jan. 20
Shostak stopped 66 of 70 shots, posting a 2.01 GAA and .943 save percentage against UMD. He made a career-high 42 saves in a 6-0 shutout of the Bulldogs on Friday, ending UMD's perfect 11-0-0 mark on Fridays while earning his second shutout of the season. The 6-0 win was SCSU's first shutout win over UMD since a 2-0 win at Duluth on March 5, 2022, and its largest margin of victory against the Bulldogs since an 8-2 win in Duluth on Feb. 11, 2011. Shostak's 42 saves in the shutout were the most saves by a Husky goaltender in a shutout since Jeff Smith had 42 in a 4-0 win over Minnesota State on Oct. 7, 2017. The Minsk, Belarus native is the first Husky freshman netminder to record multiple shutouts in a season since David Hrenak had three in 2017-18. Shostak then stopped 24 of 28 shots in a 5-3 setback on Saturday, allowing one power play goal. After the back-to-back impressive showings, Shostak lowered his GAA from 3.11 to 2.93 while raising his save percentage from .885 to .897. On the season, he is 5-8-0 with a 2.93 GAA and .897 S% with two shutouts.
Smolinski scored three points (1-2—3) with a +1 mark on the ice and three shots on goal in the series split. He had two assists with a +3 mark on the ice in Friday's 6-0 win and a goal in Saturday's game, his fourth goal of the season. He also helped SCSU finish 5-for-6 on the penalty kill against the nation's-leading power play goal while averaging 21:14 time on the ice in the two games. On the season, Smolinski has scored four goals and 11 assists for 15 points, with the last two matching his career-highs for a single season. He leads all SCSU blue liners in goals, assists and points.
For all the latest on St. Cloud State Men's Hockey, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Tickets for the 2025-26 season are available at www.scsutickets.com, downloading the St. Cloud State Huskies app or by calling 1-877-SCSUTIX / 320-308-2137.
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