NAHL players of the week
Published on March 1, 2006 under North American Hockey League (NAHL) News Release
MARPLE'S NINE POINTS EARN SHER-WOOD NAHL OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
The Santa Fe Roadrunners are making a serious push for the playoffs in the NAHL West Division, having won three of four games last week and forward Brant Marple has been on a tear right along with his team, earning the nod as Sher-Wood NAHL Offensive Player of the Week for the week ending February 26.
The Roadrunners began the week on Monday, February 20, when Santa Fe entered the third period trailing the Fairbanks Ice Dogs 5-2. But Marple's goal at 5:25 ignited a four-goal stanza that put the home team in the lead. Fairbanks tied the score but Santa Fe finished off their dramatic come-from-behind effort with a 7-6 overtime victory.
The âRunners then took to the road for a three game set in Springfield against the Jr. Blues. On Friday, the Jr. Blues jumped to a 1-0 lead just 14 seconds into the contest, but the Apple Valley, Minnesota, native set up a Santa Fe goal around six minutes later to tie the game. Springfield jumped back into the lead late in the period, but less than a minute later, Marple set up a second goal to knot the contest. Then, at 8:37 of the second period, Marple was awarded a penalty shot and converted to put the Roadrunners into the lead and less than four minutes later he set up a goal that would prove to be the game winner as Santa Fe went on to a 6-3 victory.
The following night, the Jr. Blues took a 4-1 lead just over eight minutes into the third period, but a the halfway point, Marple got Santa Fe moving again as he set up a goal at 10:02. The Roadrunners would draw to 4-3 before the period ended, but that was as close as they could get this night.
The following afternoon, the teams traded leads into the second period and with the Jr. Blues leading 3-2, Marple once again got his team going, setting up a tying goal at 13:07, which sparked a run of five more unanswered goals as Santa Fe cruised to an 8-3 triumph - and Marple also set up the goal that made it 6-3, for his seventh assist of the week, to go along with his two goals. He was also a plus-6 over the four game span.
HONORABLE MENTIONS: Ryan Hayes (USNTDP), Kyle Kraemer (Wichita Falls), Chris McKelvie (Bozeman), Sean McWhorter (Bismarck), Karl Sellan (Texas), Jason Weeks (Texarkana), C.J. Wilms (Southern Minnesota).
JOHNSON, NUTINI SHARE SHER-WOOD NAHL DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
A strong offensive showing and an equally strong defensive showing by a pair of blueliners have earned both Santa Fe's Brandon Johnson and Wichita Falls' Chris Nutini selection as Sher-wood NAHL Defensive Players of the Week for the week ending February 26.
Johnson helped spark a strong week by Santa Fe in which they won three of four games to put pressure on Nutini's Wichita Falls Wildcats and the Springfield Jr. Blues for a playoff spot in the NAHL West Division. The Duluth, Minnesota, native set up a game tying goal with one minute and one second left in the first period. Then he picked up two big assists in the key point in the game during which Santa Fe scored three goals in just over three minutes during the second half of the third period, turning a 5-3 deficit into a 6-5 lead in a contest that the Roadrunners would eventually win 7-6 in overtime.
On Friday in Springfield, he set up a pair of goals, one of which the eventual game winner, in a four minutes span of the second period, turning a 3-2 lead into a 5-2 lead in an eventual 6-3 Santa Fe victory over the Jr. Blues.
Johnson was held pointless on Saturday and perhaps it is no coincidence that the Roadrunners lost that evening for the only time that week. But on Sunday, his early second period assist helped the Roadrunners break a 1-1 tie and go on to an 8-3 triumph. It was his sixth assist of the week and it moved him into the lead among all NAHL defensemen in scoring. To add to his big week, Johnson also announced his commitment to attend and play for the U.S. Air Force Academy next season.
Nutini's Wildcats had a tough weekend's work, traveling to Texarkana to take on the NAHL hottest team, the Bandits, and their strong group of top forwards, including Anthony Becker, Casey Haines, Aaron Lewicki, Pat Maroon and Jason Weeks.
The Wildcats coaching staff threw Nutini out there against the big guns every chance they got and the results were very impressive. "Chris was instrumental in stopping Texarkana's top line - or at least holding them down a bit," said head coach Brian Meisner. The Aurora, Colorado native was a plus-4 for the two-game series, had 22 hits and two blocked shots as the Wildcats played the Bandits to a draw though six regulation periods and two overtimes. They dropped the shootout in each of the games, but picked up a pair of valuable points in the hotly contested South Division playoff chase and the shutdown game of Chris Nutini was a big reason why.
HONORABLE MENTIONS: Brett Blatchford (Texas), Ryan Donovan (Traverse City), Tim Krystosek (Bismarck), Graham McManamin (Bozeman), Benoit Quessandier (Southern Minnesota).
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)
January 15
Offensive: Troy Matilla (Springfield Jr. Blues)
Defensive: Nick Hopper (Southern Minnesota), Davide Nicoletti (Springfield Jr.Blues)
January 22
Offense: Rhett Rakhshani (USNTDP)
Defense: Joe Palmer (USNTDP)
January 29
Offensive: Steve Mcleod (North Iowa), Scott Motz (Minnesota)
Defensive: Riley Gill (Texarkana)
February 5
Offensive: Derek Danowski (Texas)
Defensive: Dan Vasquez (Helena)
February 12
Offensive: Phil Fox (Fargo-Moorhead)
Defensive: Thomas Billick (Wichita Falls)
February 19
Offensive: Casey Haines (Texarkana)
Defensive: Matt Dalton (Bozeman), Jeff Carlson (Southern Minnesota)
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 March 1, 2006
- NAHL players of the week - NAHL
- NAHL announces 2006 playoff format, Mahoning Valley Phantoms to host Robertson Cup Tournament - NAHL
- Jets Begin Home Stand Against Bismarck This Weekend - Fargo-Moorhead Jets
- IceDiggers meet and greet at JJ's Steak and Pizza - Alpena IceDiggers
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