Big Ten 3 Stars: Hat tricks by Michael Mersch & Ryan Dzingel rewarded

This week's Big Ten 3 Stars trio includes a pair of hat tricks.

In the first weekend all six schools played conference series, Wisconsin senior forward Michael Mersch (Los Angeles Kings), Ohio State junior forward Ryan Dzingel (Ottawa Senators) and Minnesota sophomore goaltender Adam Wilcox were honored for their performances in the week ending January 13.

The Big Ten began sponsoring men's hockey in 2013-14. In lieu of naming a player of the week, the conference is instead naming three stars.

Mersch and Dzingel each notched hat tricks, the first two in conference history, Friday at home for their second weekly honor. Mersch, this week's first star, had five points (3G-2A) in a sweep over ranked Michigan. Dzingel, the second star, had four points (3G-1A) Friday as the Buckeyes won and tied against Michigan State. (The Spartans won Saturday's shootout.)

The pair of players are also on top of the Big Ten goal scorers with 14 (Mersch) and 13 (Dzingel), respectively.

Wilcox, meanwhile, earned his first B1G honor when he was named the third star for his performance in Minnesota's road sweep over Penn State. He matched his career high Monday with 36 saves; including a breakaway that kept the Gophers ahead against the Nittany Lions.

Wisconsin is idle this week. Minnesota and Ohio State face one another both outdoors Friday at TCF Bank Stadium and indoors Saturday at Mariucci Arena.

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Nathan Wells is a college hockey columnist for SB Nation and College Hockey News. You can also follow him on Twitter -- Follow @gopherstate