USPHL Premier 2023-24 Pacific Division Players Of The Month: October 2023

Includes stats from September and October.

 

Forward: Noak Persson, Fresno Monsters

The exact numbers could change from game to game, but the fact remains that no USPHL Premier player has ever posted a better career points per game average than Persson’s 3.56 – in other figures, that’s 121 points over just 34 games. The ‘03 from Solleftea, Sweden, has already posted 23 points off of 12 goals and 11 assists this year, in the space of just his first six games, which is a 3.83 per game average. No team has been able to figure him out yet. 

 

Forward: Francois-Xavier Marois, Bakersfield Roughnecks 

Marois (‘03/St-Lin, Que.) has been absolutely an outstanding first-year Roughneck player, ripping up 10 goals and 15 assists for 25 points in his first 12 games of his second junior season, equal to a 2.08 points per game average. He started his time in the Premier by posting three points in each of his first three games, and he ended his October output with a hat trick and three assists for a six-point night outing against Las Vegas on Oct. 29. 

 

Forward: Kaedin Larocque-Wolfe, Ontario Jr. Reign

Larocque-Wolfe (‘03/Maskwacis, Alb.) has had goalies howling in frustration, considering as he’s scored 17 goals already in just 14 games. On top of that, he’s added nine assists for 26 points through the end of October. A third-year junior with Tier II experience in the Manitoba Junior League, he’s twice hit the five-point mark this season with a hat trick and two assists. 

 

Defense: Steven Blengino, Fresno Monsters 

The ‘03 from Czechia, a returning All-Star defenseman, had points – actually multiple points – in each of his first six games to help the Monsters stay undefeated through their first six through the end of October. Blengino registered eight goals and seven assists for 15 points. He was the clear leader for ice time, putting up 28:52 per game, a good two-plus minutes more than his closest teammate. 

 

Defense: Nicholas Bonaldi, Las Vegas Thunderbirds

Another returning All-Star blueliner, Bonaldi (‘03/Las Vegas, Nev.) is doing his thing again and it’s working yet again. Over 111 games, he has posted 109 points from the blue line. Bonaldi posted two goals and added 11 assists for 13 points in nine games this year, an average of 1.44 points per game. And, also similar to Blengino, he is leading the T-Birds in ice time with 24:50 per contest. 

 

Goaltender: Connor Dumesnil, Bakersfield Roughnecks

The second-year Roughnecks goalie has a spotless record thus far, standing at 6-0 with a goals against average of 1.17 (second in the league) and a .967 save percentage (also second in the league). He has not given up any more than two goals in any one game, and he had a 34-save shutout against Rogue Valley in his second game of the year on Oct. 1.  

Method of selection: The USPHL Media Team shares a first set of nominees from among statistical leaders with division coaches and accepts alternate nominations from coaches, where applicable. From these, the USPHL Media Team selects the final “starting lineup.” 

 

Top Performers Of The Week (Oct. 24-31)

Forward: Kaedin Larocque-Wolfe, Ontario Jr. Reign – Larocque-Wolfe posted four goals and two assists for six points in just the two games against the Vernal Oilers. 

 

Defense: Tuomas Jarvenpaa, Lake Tahoe Lakers – Jarvenpaa put up two goals and two assists for the Lakers, as they got a three-game sweep against the Long Beach Shredders. 

Goaltender: Josh Henson, Ontario Jr. Reign – Henson stopped 66 of 68 shots over two starts against the Vernal OIlers, giving him a .971 save percentage and a 2-0 run.