Escondido’s Austin Ortega was named the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) Offensive Player of the Week on Jan. 4 – his second such award this season.

The junior forward at the University of Nebraska-Omaha earned the nod on the basis of his work against Arizona State University on Dec. 19-20.

He tied for the team-scoring lead in the series, tallying four goals and adding an assist for five points as the Mavericks swept the Sun Devils in the first-ever meeting between the two schools.

The former San Diego Jr. Gull, Anaheim Jr. Duck and LA Hockey Club/LA Select rang up two goals, including his NCAA-leading sixth game-winner, in a 3-1 win in the series-opener.  He also assisted on UNO’s other marker.

The next night, he lit the lamp two more times as the Mavericks blanked ASU, 6-0.  He finished the weekend with a plus-2 rating.