Saints Boast USHL’s Defenseman of the Week
According to a press release from the Dubuque Fighting Saints, defenseman Max Burkholder has been named the USHL's Defenseman of the Week for Week 10 in the 2022-23 season. Burkholder is coming off a career night this past Saturday where he nearly single-handedly outscored the Des Moines Buccaneers by himself; netting the game winning goal in overtime and a hattrick on the evening in the process.
That was Burkholder's first recorded career hat trick in the Saints 4-3 victory over the Buccaneers. The future Colorado College Tiger scored goals in the first and third periods, and the overtime game winner for Dubuque. He became the first Fighting Saints defenseman to score a hat trick since Braden Doyle on December 6th of 2019. In addition to his three goals on Saturday, he added an assist on Friday night, had six shots on goal, for a combined +3 rating on the weekend.
Burkholder's strong play reaches far beyond last weekend's incredible performance. He is currently riding a three-game point streak with three goals and three assists in the span. In his last 12 games, he is averaging over a point per game. On the season, Burkholder is a point per game player (5-10-15) through 15 games. His 15 points are tied for the second most on the Fighting Saints and is the fourth most amongst all USHL defenseman.
Fighting Saints goaltender Marcus Brännman is the only other Saint to have earned a player of the week nomination this season. Brännman was also a nominee for this week's USHL Goaltender of the Week but did not win the award. The Swede recorded
44 saves on 47 shots on goal in the Saturday win.
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