USPHL Premier Players Of The Week: North Region

(Games of Dec. 1-5) 

New England Division

(Summaries by Britt Hart)

Forward: Lode Arts, New Hampshire Jr Monarchs 

Despite coming up short against the Islanders Hockey Club and Twin City Thunder, Lode Arts (‘04/Amsterdam, Netherlands) was able to create offensive success for the Jr. Monarchs over the course of these two games. He started off scoring the lone goal for Monarchs during the eventual 5-1 loss to IHC, before having his best game to date against Twin City. During the contest with Twin City, Arts was able to net one goal and tally three assists for a four-point game. 

 

Defense: Damon Bossie, Twin City Thunder

Bossie (’04/Lewiston, Maine) and the Twin City Thunder swept their first two games of the month over the South Shore Kings and the New Hampshire Jr Monarchs. The ’04 defenseman was able to extend this personal point streak to five games as he was able to net one goal against the Kings before tallying an additional goal and assist against the Monarchs. With 15 points in 14 games, Bossie currently leads all Thunder defensemen in scoring. 

 

Goaltender: Ben Zaranek, Springfield Pics

Zaranek (’03/Springfield, Mass.) and the Pics picked up an enormous 4-1 win over their divisional rivals, the Boston Junior Bruins on Saturday. The Pics and Junior Bruins are neck and neck in the New England Division as just one point separates them in the standings. Zaranek was a huge factor in the Pics win with 40 saves between the pipes. In addition to standing tall and bringing his yearly save percentage to .939 (same as last year’s when he went 12-5-1-0), the netminder was able to tally an assist on the Pics final goal of the game. 

 

Mid-Atlantic Division

(Summaries by Patrick Ramsdale)

Forward: Mathias Rakell, New York Aviators

Rakell (‘02/Stockholm, Sweden) has been nothing short of dominant over the past month. The second year helped lead the Aviators to 3-0 weekend as he scored four goals and six assists for 10 points over three games. Rakell has posted multi-point performances in 13 of 19 games this season and has only been held off the scoresheet twice.

 

Defense: Ty Burket, Hershey Cubs

Burket (‘05/Hollidaysburg, PA) played well on both sides of the ice for the Cubs. The rookie was the overtime hero for the Cubs on Sunday as Hershey won 3-2 over Elmira. Burket recorded an average ice time of 23:53 over the weekend series. Burket also blocked two shots against the Jr. Enforcers.

 

Goaltender: Tade Carman, Wilkes-Barre Scranton Knights

Carman (‘03/Cary, N.C.) stood tall in net as the Knights took home a two-game sweep over the defending National Champion Rockets Hockey Club. He saved 52-of-56 shots faced for a .929 save percentage over the weekend. Carmen currently posts an 8-4 record this season. He has an amazing .936 save percentage for his two-year, 32-game career.