ROSEMONT, Ill. – Senior Clayton Phillips (Edina, Minn.) was named Big Ten hockey's First Star of the Week while junior Connor MacEachern (Brooklin, Ontario) garnered Third Star honors following a 6-4 victory over then-No. 6 North Dakota as announced by the league office on Tuesday morning.
This marks the first weekly award for both players and is also the first time Penn State has had multiple Stars of the Week since Evan Barratt and Liam Folkes were named Second and Third Star, respectively, on December 3, 2019.
Phillips tied his career-high with three points including the first multi-goal game of his career on Saturday night in Nashville, while MacEachern also collected a pair of goals, including the game-winner, notching the second multi-goal game of his career and the season.
Phillips is currently third on the team with six points (3G, 3A) on the season which is good for third in the Big Ten among defensemen and 20th in the nation for blue-liners. His three goals lead all Big Ten defensemen and are tied for second nationally among d-men.
MacEachern's seven points on the year are tied for ninth in the Big Ten while his four goals are tied for fourth in the conference.
Phillips joins Wall, who was named Big Ten First Star last week, and becomes just the 12th different Nittany Lion to earn First Star of the week honors. Peyton Jones '20 leads Penn State with three First Star accolades during his career while Denis Smirnov '20 and Chase Berger '19 each have two to their credit.
Penn State returns to the ice this weekend as conference play begins in Columbus against the Buckeyes on Friday and Saturday evening.
For more information on the 2021-22 season presented by the Penn State Bookstore: the Official Bookstore of Penn State Athletics, visit the men's hockey page at GoPSUsports.com or call 1-800-NITTANY Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
