USPHL Premier 2023-24 Midwest Region Players Of The Week 

Week of Oct. 12, 2023

Games of Oct. 3-9, 2023

Midwest East Division 

Forward: Thomas Cheeney, Fort Wayne Spacemen 

Cheeney (‘05/Otterburn Park, Que.) put together a fantastic weekend of posting two goals and four assists for six points, plus the shootout winner in the Spacemen’s second straight victory against the Battle Creek Kernels. On Friday, he posted a 2-3-5 line in that decisive win, and then added one assist in regulation and the shootout winner on Sunday. Cheeney improved to seven points in his first four Spacemen games. 

Defense: Jacques Lavrack, Metro Jets Development Program

The second-year MJDP blueliner from Flint, Mich., enjoyed a big couple games against the Decatur Blaze, posting a goal and three assists for four points in addition to keeping Decatur to a combined 26 shots on the weekend series. Lavrack posted 29 points in 52 combined regular season and playoff games for MJDP in 2022-23. 

Goaltender: Bennett Pieters, Chicago Cougars

In splitting the weekend against Motor City, Pieters (‘04/Buffalo, N.Y.) put forth a strong couple performances. All told on the weekend, he stopped 81 out of 86 shots for a .942 save percentage and a 2-0 record on the weekend. The highlight was in Game 1 when he stopped 33 of 34 shots. In relief work on Sunday, he stopped 21 of 22 shots. 

Midwest West Division 

Forward: Easton Parnell, Isanti Outlaws

The fourth-year team veteran Parnell (‘03/Cambridge, Minn.) led on the ice and everywhere with his two goals and five assists for seven points in two games against the Dells Ducks as the Outlaws swept Dells. He improved to a career regular season total of 128 points in 113 games and has 11 points through seven games early  on this season.  

Defense: Preston Winkler, Minnesota Moose 

Winkler (‘04/Wrightstown, Wis.), a returning Moose blueliner, posted a hat trick during the team’s weekend-opening victory against Isanti, and then he put up an additional assist in a second straight decisive win, this time against the Minnesota Mullets. He was also a +4 on the weekend. He currently stands with four goals and five points in six games.  

Goaltender: Ian Tumm, Wisconsin Rapids Riverkings

For the first time, the Riverkings went to the Jersey Hitmen Classic in Wayne, N.J., to face teams from the Atlantic Division. While in Wisconsin, the Riverkings went 3-1 and the second-year ‘04 from Carmel, N.Y. posted a .955 save percentage in his two games. He stopped 63 of 66 in total for his two appearances, including a 19-save shutout win against Brooklyn and a fantastic performance despite a loss to the Connecticut Jr. Rangers, against whom he stopped 44 of 47. 

Great Lakes Division 

Forward: Emrik Froding, Metro Jets

A second-year USPHL Premier veteran, Froding (‘03/Arboga, Sweden) was immense for his new team in Mount Clemens last weekend. He started by scoring all four of his team’s goals in a 5-4 overtime loss to Toledo. He had a 1-3-4 line the next day in a decisive win over Columbus, giving him an eight-point weekend. Froding has a 6-4-10 line in just three games so far. 

Defense: Alec Pool, Nashville Spartans 

Pool (‘04/Monrovia, Calif.) was strong all over the ice for the Spartans as they competed in the USPHL Southeast Showcase, coming up with a line of 1-3-4 in four games. After posting 10 points in 10 games so far this season, he’s on pace to shatter the 18-point total he had as a rookie with the Spartans last year. 

Goaltender: Caleb Kril, Toledo Cherokee

The ‘04 out of Dexter, Mich., and the Biggby Coffee AAA program was heroic in helping his Cherokee outlast the rival Metro Jets in their 5-4 OT win on Saturday. Kril stopped 43 out of 47 for the win. Kril improved to 3-1 personally and the Cherokee stand at 5-2 so far this season.