Spartans’ Hildebrand, Berry claim Big Ten weekly awards

By @MichaelCaples –

After back-to-back 3-0 shutouts, two Spartans have earned Big Ten weekly honors.

The Big Ten Conference announced today that MSU goaltender Jake Hildebrand is their first star of the week, while teammate Matt Berry (Canton) claimed the third star.

This past weekend, Hildebrand became the first Michigan State goaltender to record back-to-back shutouts since Jeff Lerg (Livonia) accomplished the feat in 2008. The native of Butler, Pa., stopped 21 shots on Friday and then 38 on Saturday, leading his Spartans to a weekend sweep of Wisconsin and into the top spot in the Big Ten standings entering the final weekend of conference play.

MORE: Spartans move into first place in B1G with sweep of Wisconsin

Hildebrand has been named the first star of the week four times this season.

Meanwhile, Berry scored both of the game-winners for the Spartans on the weekend, as he was the first to the scoresheet on both nights. He scored a pair of power-play goals on Friday, then added a goal and an assist on Saturday. It’s his second Big Ten weekly star of the season.

Penn State’s David Goodwin took the second star of the week.