HENNIKER, N.H. - New England College senior forward David Novotny (Boca Raton, Fla.) of the NEC men's ice hockey team was named the New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) Player of the Week for the week ending on January 19th.  

Novotny had a big weekend for the 'Grims, scoring four goals to help lead NEC to a pair of conference wins over Skidmore College on Friday and Saturday. In the Friday night matchup, Novotny scored the game's opening goal from a near impossible angle beyond the left faceoff circle. NEC would lead the rest of the way and take the game, 3-1. In the rematch on Saturday, Novotny would follow up with a career performance. The senior netted his first career hat trick, scoring all three of his goals in the second period: The first, a do-it-himself steal-and-score would tie the game up at 1-1; The second, a rebound and put-back gave the 'Grims a 2-1 advantage; The third, a rebound followed by a slap shot into the back of the net would put the game out of reach – with NEC coming away with a 5-2 win. 

On the season, Novotny leads the team with nine goals and his 13 total points is good for a tie of first with fellow senior forward Jesper Tarkiainen (Naperville, Ill.). Novotny's nine goals rank tied for third among all players in the NEHC, and his seven goals in league play also ranks tied for third. Novotny has five goals in his last three games and has now tied his career-high in goals with ten contests left in regular season play. 

After a strong home stand, Novotny and the 'Grims set out for Gorham, Maine on Friday for back-to-back NEHC matchups against the Huskies of USM. 

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