USPHL Premier Players Of The Month – February 2023: Mid-Atlantic Division

Mid-Atlantic Division 

Summaries by Joshua Boyd / USPHL.com

Forwards

Nathan Garau,  Elmira Jr. Enforcers 

Garau didn’t just average three points per game during the month of February, but in the four games he played, he scored three in each one. He also scored five goals in the four games to finish exactly at the 50-goal mark, second in the league to Fresno’s Christopher Miraldo (62). All told, Garau put up a ine of 5-7-12 in the four games as he also finished with 82 points on the season. Garau also scored the Jr. Enforcers’ first two goals – one shorthanded – in a Saturday playoff game to help his team start with a 2-0 lead on the WBS Knights, who eventually came back to win their elimination game. 

Mathias Rakell, New York Aviators 

Rakell (‘02/Stockholm, Sweden) had another Mathias Rakell type of month, putting up a 6-10-16 line in just six games, including his first seven-point game on Feb. 5, which was also his fifth game of five points or more this season. Rakell continued a scoring streak that ended up adding to 19-17-36 in all but two of his January and February games, a run of 13 straight with at least a point and averaging nearly three per game. He closed the season as one of the Premier’s six players with 100 points or more, taking 102 total. 

Caleb Turner, Utica Jr. Comets

No other team played 13 games in the 28-day month of February, and only one other team (the Islanders Hockey Club) racked up as many points as the Jr. Comets did by going 10-2-1-0 last month. Turner (‘03/College Station, Pa.) was absolutely on fire for his team, posting an 8-15-23 line in all 13 games. He registered a point in 11 of the 13 games as well. In the end, Turner finished with 59 points in 35 games and also racked up five shorthanded goals, finishing just outside the top five in that category. 

Defense

Hunter Scanlon, New York Aviators 

The Aviators machine just rolled right along through another month in February, and Scanlon was one of the reasons they went 8-1-0-0. He was a goal-per-game blueliner with nine on the month, and added seven assists for 16 points in nine games. He was also a +9 defenseman, making nine blocks (that number again!) and he laid eight hits on opponents to be the ultimate two-way player. He finished as the No. 1 scoring defenseman in the Premier Division with 72 points. 

Connor Santay, Utica Jr. Comets

Santay joined Turner in helping the Jr. Comets to their 22-point month, picking up 16 points off a 5-11-16 line in 13 games. His +15 was the best rating in the Mid-Atlantic Division in February as well. With a 14-26-40 line, Santay was the leading scorer among Jr. Comets’ defensemen this year. The ‘04 from Baldwinsville, N.Y., played such heads up defense that he earned four games up with the Jr. Comets’ NCDC team this year. 

Goaltender

Tade Carman, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights

Carman (‘03/Cary, N.C.) was immense for the division’s No. 2 seed WBS Knights, putting up a 5-1-1-0 record and stopping 243 out of 256 total shots faced for a .949 save percentage. No other Premier goaltender played more than Carman’s 422 minutes last month, and only five other goalies saw more shots, but none came close to stopping the percentage that Carman did.