MacNicol earns Defensive Player of the Week honors
December 17, 2004 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Cleveland Barons News Release
After going 2-7 over the previous month, the Barons needed to turn their season around and they may have found it with a two game sweep over first-place Youngstown last weekend. Backstopping Cleveland in those two games, Blake MacNicol turned aside 71 of 75 shots, a .946 save percentage, to grab Sher-Wood NAHL Defensive Player of the Week honors for Week 12 of the season. On Saturday night in Youngstown, after spotting three second period goals to the surging Phantoms, MacNicol held the fort in the third period as the Barons poured in five goals of their own for a 5-3 win. The Milan, Ohio native stopped 33 of 37 shots against one of the highest scoring teams in the NAHL. The next afternoon back home, he stopped 37 of 38 shots, including all 19 in the second period, in a 5-1 victory. MacNicol surrendered only a first period power play goal and helped kill off seven others.
Honorable Mentions: Chris Johnson, Springfield Jr. Blues defenseman, had one goal, two assists and a plus-8 rating in the weekend sweep of Central Texas; Jason Kearney, Soo Indians goaltender, allowed just two goals on 37 shots against in a weekend sweep of USNTDP;
Other nominees: Ben Bishop, Texas; Evan Case, Youngstown; Matt Cleveland, Bozeman; Aaron Walksi, Bismarck; Matt Woodard, Helena.
North American Hockey League Stories from December 17, 2004
- MacNicol earns Defensive Player of the Week honors - Cleveland Barons
- Jets promotion to benefit local organizations - Fargo-Moorhead Jets
- Colin Kingston: Jr. Blues king of the hill - Springfield Jr. Blues
- IceDiggers hope to hold off Cleveland - Alpena IceDiggers
- Kraemer takes weekly honors - Wichita Falls Wildcats
- Bobcats split on the road with Helena - Bismarck Bobcats
- Maine recruit leads Tornado to two road wins - Texas Tornado
- U-18s top Toledo, U-17s swept by Soo - U.S. National Team
- Indians leave the past, now living in the present - Soo Indians
- Bozeman battles inconsistency - Bozeman Icedogs
- Bulls soar in five-goal third period - Billings Bulls
- Phantoms hold first place despite losses - Mahoning Valley Phantoms
- NAHL announces first All-Star Festival - NAHL
- Blizzard top Bobcats, 5-2 - Alexandria Blizzard
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