NAHL Names Players of the Week
Published on January 18, 2006 under North American Hockey League (NAHL) News Release
MATILLA'S SEVEN POINTS SNARES SHER-WOOD NAHL OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
The Springfield Jr. Blues youngest player, forward Troy Matilla, turned 18 on January 12 and celebrated with a seven points in three games, earning Sher-wood NAHL Offensive Player of the Week honors for the week ending January 15.
The native of Rockford, Illinois, began his big week the day after his birthday against the Texarkana Bandits. He helped jumpstart the Jr. Blues on a big night at the Nelson Center as he set up the first two goals of the game, including the eventual game-winner, and then tallied one of his own in a 6-1 win.
He got the Jr. Blues off and running again on Saturday night by setting up the first two goals of the game, then adding a third assist in a 7-2 triumph over the Bandits, giving the Jr. Blues a pair of home victories over one of the NAHL's strongest clubs.
On Sunday, in a game played in the St. Louis suburb of Chesterfield, Missouri, it was Texarkana who scored first -- in fact, they scored the first four. But the Jr. Blues fought back with three straight of their own and Matilla tallied the third goal midway through the third period, to draw Springfield to within one, 4-3. Texarkana then added a pair of insurance goals for a 6-3 win, but Matilla had helped lead his team to a big week with two goals and five assists.
HONORABLE MENTIONS: Ryan Bunger (Bozeman), Mitch Kerns (Billings), Sean Murphy (Southern Minnesota), Karl Sellan (Texas).
HOPPER, NICOLETTI SHARE SHER-WOOD NAHL DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
A goaltender on a high-scoring team and a defenseman who piled up points share the Sherwood NAHL Defensive Player of the Week award for the week ending January 15.
Nick Hopper backstopped the Southern Minnesota Express to three key victories last week, stopping 70 shots in total as the second place Express closed the Central Division gap with the first place Fargo-Moorhead Jets to five points. A few weeks ago, the gap had been 10 points.
In a showdown of the two clubs on Friday, January 13, Hopper turned aside 33 of 35 shots in the Express' 3-2 victory over the Jets. The Jets fired 19 shots at Hopper in the first period and he stopped all but two, not allowing a goal the rest of the way.
The next night, the Culver City, California native blocked 18 of 21 in the Express' 5-3 win over the Minnesota Blizzard of Alexandria. The following night in Alexandria, Hopper stopped 19 of 22 in the Express' 5-3 victory. In the two games against Minnesota, Hopper did not allow a power play goal in seven attempts.
Although not frequently mentioned among the NAHL's top goaltenders, Hopper now has 19 wins this season, which is tied for the fourth best mark in the league. He is third in games and minutes played.
Defenseman Davide Nicoletti of the Springfield Jr. Blues totaled seven points this week in the three game series against the Texarkana Bandits, helping the Jr. Blues take two of three from their South Division rival.
On Friday, January 13, the native of Etobicoke, Ontario, scored the game winning goal on the power play and added an assist on an insurance goal in the Jr. Blues 6-1 win.
The next night, Nicoletti scored the first two goals of the game and had the hat trick, his three goals all coming on the power play, as the Jr. Blues triumphed 7-2. Nicoletti also added an assist in the game.
On Sunday, the two teams played in the St. Louis suburb of Chesterfield, Missouri. The Bandits jumped off to a 4-0 lead, but the Jr. Blues came storming back to make the score 4-3 and it was Nicoletti who starting the comeback, with an assist on the first Springfield goal. The Bandits would win that game, but Nicoletti (who now leads both his team and all NAHL defensemen in scoring) and the Jr. Blues had done some damage.
HONORABLE MENTIONS: Jon Cook (Billings), Lyon Messier (Texas), Brian Moore (Bozeman)
PREVIOUS WINNERS September 18
Offensive: Karl Sellan (Texas), Chris Connelly (Fargo-Moorhead)
Defensive: B.J. O'Brien (Fargo-Moorhead)
September 25
Offensive: Sean McWhorter (Bismarck)
Defensive: Kenny Reiter (Cleveland), Brett Blatchford (Texas)
October 2
Offensive: Kyle Kraemer (Wichita Falls)
Defensive: Riley Gill (Texarkana)
October 9
Offensive: Kyle Kraemer (Wichita Falls), Sean Murphy (Southern Minnesota)
Defensive: Lyon Messier (Texas)
October 16
Offensive: Anthony Ciraulo (Mahoning Valley), Dan Swanson (Minnesota)
Defensive: Matt Dalton (Bozeman), Johnny Morrow (Alpena)
October 23
Showcase MVP: Josh Heidinger (Bozeman)
Offensive: Sean Murphy (Southern Minnesota)
Defensive: Tim Krystosek (Bismarck)
October 30
Offensive: Marc Menzione (Mahoning Valley), Alex Coles (Minnesota)
Defensive: Matt Morin (North Iowa)
November 6
Offensive: Karl Sellan (Texas)
Defensive: Dennis Urban (Mahoning Valley)
November 13
Offensive: Josh Leonard (Cleveland)
Defensive: Bobby Jarosz (Cleveland), Jeff Carlson (Southern Minnesota)
November 20
Offense: Jacques Lamoureaux (Bismarck)
Defense: Drew Fortney (Mahoning Valley), Graham McManamin (Bozeman)
November 27
Offense: Blake Page (Helena), Ryan Guentzel (Southern Minnesota)
Defense: Matt Dalton (Bozeman), Troy Redmann (Texas)
December 4
Offense: Phil Fox (Fargo-Moorhead)
Defense: Mike Garman (Springfield), Jeff Carlson (Southern Minnesota)
December 11
Offense: Tibor Kutalek (Helena)
Defense: Riley Gill (Texarkana)
December 18
Offense: Anthony Becker (Texarkana)
Defense: B.J. O'Brien (Fargo-Moorhead), Dervin Stonehouse (Texas)
January 1
Offense: Travis Hamway (Billings), Casey Haines (Texarkana)
Defense: Bryce Christianson (Fairbanks), Tim Krystosek (Bismarck)
January 8
Offense: Jason Krispel (Bozeman)
Defense: Brandon Johnson (Santa Fe), Ian Wilson (Billings)
One of the great brand names in hockey equipment, Sher-wood is the exclusive Official Equipment Supplier of the North American Hockey League. Sher-wood sticks, gloves and pants are provided to NAHL clubs by the company, which also sponsors the NAHL Players of the Week awards. Each week, NAHL coaches nominate offensive and defensive players for these awards and winners are selected for their outstanding play and recognized on NAHL.com. The teams and players of the NAHL thank Sher-wood for their support of the oldest and largest Junior A hockey league in the United States.
North American Hockey League Stories from January 18, 2006
- NAHL Names Players of the Week - NAHL
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- U.S. National Under-18 Team Travels to NAHL Showcase - U.S. National Team
- Dog Pound Weekly - Bozeman Icedogs
- First Home Game in Three Weeks for FM Jets on Friday - Fargo-Moorhead Jets
- FM Jets Outdoor Skate for Kids - Fargo-Moorhead Jets
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