IHL Weekly Honors For Week Twelve
January 5, 2009 - International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2) News Release
ROCHESTER, MI--- The International Hockey League (IHL) announced Monday that Muskegon left wing Chad Woollard has been named the Pepsi IHL Player of the Week, Kalamazoo forward Rick Cleaver has been named the Aquafina IHL Rookie of the Week and Port Huron goaltender Chad Alban has been named the Southern Sports Supply IHL Goaltender of the Week for the period ending Sunday, January 4th, 2009.
Woollard completed the week with seven points (6g, 1a) in four games played. On Tuesday, he netted a hat trick in the Lumberjacks 4-3 win over Bloomington. He also scored another Wednesday and two more on Friday. Wollard is currently riding a four game point streak, which began Tuesday. The 29-year-old Durham, Ontario native notched in three of his six goals last week on the Lumberjacks power play. Woollard is currently tied for first in the IHL with Bloomington's Jon Booras in power play goals scored with eight.
Other players nominated for the Pepsi IHL Player of the Week include: Bloomington forward Brett Holmberg, Flint forward Steve Rymsha, Fort Wayne left wing P.C. Drouin, Kalamazoo forward Mark Nebus and Port Huron center Kris Vernarsky.
Cleaver knocked in five goals and had one assist, scoring at least a point in each of the four games played. He scored the game-tying goal with 30 seconds left in the third period to send the K-Wings game in Fort Wayne to extra sessions. On New Year's Eve, he scored the K-Wings first and sixth goal to earn the 7-3 win over Muskegon. Cleaver had a plus-two rating for the week, which ties him for the league-high at plus-18.The 25-year-old Port McNeill, British Columbia native is the K-Wings top scoring rookie with 13 goals and 15 assists (28 points). Cleaver is currently riding a four-game goal streak, which ties the K-Wings season high.
Other players nominated for the Aquafina IHL Rookie of the Week include: Bloomington forward Adam Tomkow, Flint defenseman Kyle Deck, Fort Wayne right wing Sean O'Connor, Muskegon right wing Chad Costello and Port Huron forward Derek Patrosso.
Sterling earns the weekly honor for the first time this season. He finished the week with a 2-0-1-0 record, a 1.95 goals against average and a .926 save percentage. Wednesday, he only allowed one goal against Bloomington, turning away 26 of 27 shots he faced. He started all three of the Icehawks games this week, playing just over 184 minutes and had six goals against. The 26-year-old Lake Orion, Michigan native currently leads all IHL goaltenders in minutes played 1443:11 and is second in wins with 14.
Other players nominated for the Southern Sports Supply IHL Goaltender of the Week include: Bloomington's Ryan Ludzik, Flint's Chad Alban, Fort Wayne's Nick Boucher, Kalamazoo's Joel Martin and Muskegon's Clayton Pool.
International Hockey League 2 Stories from January 5, 2009
- Sterling Named IHL Goaltender of the Week - Port Huron Icehawks
- Woollard Named IHL Player of the Week - Muskegon Lumberjacks
- Cleaver Named Rookie of the Month and Week - Kalamazoo Wings
- K-Wings Weekly - Kalamazoo Wings
- IHL Weekly Honors For Week Twelve - IHL 2
- K-Wings Enter New Year in First - IHL 2
- Komets gain six points in week 12 - Fort Wayne Komets
- IHL names monthly honorees - IHL 2
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