Trey Augustine received the Big Ten's first star of the week for his role in a Spartan sweep of Notre Dame in East Lansing

The last week has not provided the Detroit Red Wings with their best goaltending of the season at the NHL level, but Detroit prospect Trey Augustine capped an outstanding first half to his freshman season at Michigan State by earning the Big Ten's first star of the week for his role in the Spartans' sweep of visiting Notre Dame.

First, Augustine stopped 33 of the 35 Irish shots he faced in a 5-2 victory, then one night later, he helped MSU complete the sweep by stopping 30 of 31 Notre Dame shots in a 2-1 win.  Thanks to the sweep, the Spartans close the first half of the season as Big Ten leaders with a 7-1-2 record in conference play.

Augustine—whom Detroit selected in the second round of June's NHL Draft—has been a central figure in MSU's success.  He has earned an 11-3-2 record on the strength of a .916 save percentage and 2.97 goals against average.  If there were any doubts as to whether the South Lyon native was ready to jump into being a number one starter at the NCAA level as an eighteen-year-old, he has put them to rest.

Next up for Augustine is the World Juniors for Team USA.  Augustine finished last year's WJC as the Americans' number one option in net (almost unprecedented for a 17-year-old at an under-20 tournament), and he will be vying for that same distinction this year.

When you combine Augustine's hot start with the firepower this year's American side has at its disposal (from Boston College and the Philadelphia Flyers' Cutter Gauthier to the University of Michigan and New Jersey Devils' Seamus Casey), Team USA has to be among the favorites to take home gold in Gothenburg.

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