Fresh off leading the U.S. Junior National team in scoring, Chris Higgins has earned ECAC Player of the Week and U.S. College Hockey Online’s Division I Offensive Player of the Week honors for his five-point performance last weekend.
Higgins earned the honors for his two goals and two assists in Yale’s 5-2 win over Brown Jan. 5 and one goal in the Eli’s 4-3 loss to Harvard Jan. 6. Higgins was previously named conference rookie of the week Dec. 2 for his three-goal performance over the Cornell-Colgate weekend.
Before returning to conference play Jan. 5, Higgins led the U.S. Junior National team at the world Junior Championships with seven points en route to a fifth-place finish for the team.
So far, Higgins has been one of the main reasons the Bulldogs are tied for second in the ECAC.
“We knew he was going to make an impact,” goalie Dan Lombard ’02 said. “He’s been great for us. It’s scary to think of what he’s going to be capable of in two or three years.”
As a part of the top scoring line for the Bulldogs, Higgins leads the team with eight goals and 16 points. Higgins is also the fifth highest U.S. college prospect for the NHL entry draft and the 17th highest overall.
Against Brown, Higgins and his linemates, captain Luke Earl ’02 and winger Vin Hellemeyer ’04, combined for nine of the Bulldogs’ 12 points.
“Those three kids made a lot of difference out there, and Higgins was a big part of that,” head coach Tim Taylor said.
–Marc Sorel