Forwards
Preston Lundbohm, Northwest Express
Lundbohm (‘05/Roseau, Minn.) put up six goals and added 16 assists for 22 points in the space of just nine games, giving him a per-game average of 2.44 points. His season average is over 2.00 now, as he has 70 points in 34 games, after coming in with Tier II experience from the MJHL this season.
Harrison Browning, Northwest Express
Browning (‘05/Minnetonka, Minn.) scored nine goals in nine games, and also added 11 assists for 20 points, putting him at 2.22 points per game, close to his teammate Lundbohm’s production rate. Both were at the top of the division in that respect. A former Minnetonka High standout, Browning has 31 goals and 64 points in 33 games.
Owen Atkins, Wisconsin Rapids Riverkings
Atkins (‘04/Kitchener, Ont.) is a third-year Riverking who has improved his points total dramatically each season. This year is his best with 28 points in 30 games. He recently passed his 100th career game milestone, all with Wisconsin Rapids. Atkins put up a 4-5-9 line in just five January games.
Honorable Mention: Cannon Bonifay, Minnesota Squatch
Defense:
Connor Corcoran, Northwest Express
Corcoran (‘05/Haverhill, Mass.) was having such a great season that he was named to the USPHL All-Stars event. He registered a 4-11-15 line in January working up to that event, and then added two assists over the two days of games in Foxboro, Mass. All told, he has 57 points this year in 37 games, second among all Premier blueliners.
Jake Knieling, Dells Ducks
Another USPHL All-Stars selection, Knieling (‘05/Arlington Heights, Ill.) put up three points twice for his team in January – and did the same in his first two February games. This past month, he registered a 6-7-13 line in 12 games, and the second-year Premier veteran has improved to 39 points in 37 games. He also had an assist during the USPHL Premier All-Stars event.
Honorable Mention: Xavier Beauchamp, Wisconsin Rapids Riverkings
Goaltender:
Rylan Freshwater, Northwest Express
Freshwater (‘05/McDonough, Ga.) had a huge month of January, showing a 6-1-0-0 record over 424 minutes of action. He gave up just 10 goals for the month, registering three shutouts along the way. He currently stands at 18-5-2-0 for the season with a .926 save percentage and a 2.36 GAA this year.
Honorable Mention: Avery Smith, Minnesota Squatch
Selection Process: The division’s coaches are presented with a ballot form with statistical leaders (ranked by points per game average for skaters and save percentage for goaltenders) and vote on that form. The league takes the results of that vote and presents the coaches with the finalists, who are able to vote on further changes if desired.
Summaries by Joshua Boyd
