USPHL Premier Players Of The Week: West Region

Games of Jan. 17-23

Northwest Division 

Summaries by Joshua Boyd

Forward: Filip Molnar, Vernal Oilers

Molnar (‘03/Bratislava, Slovakia) posted three goals against the Mountain Division’s Ogden Mustangs and Idaho Falls Spud Kings, two teams moving up to the Tier II NCDC level next season. He now has 10 goals over his last seven games going back to December. Molnar himself is advancing to the NCDC, as he is a tender for the Provo Predators.

Defense: Cole Bisson, Vernal Oilers

Bisson has points in every game he’s played since joining the Oilers during the holiday break, coming over from the Charlotte Rush. He has posted two goals and added five assists. Two of those assists came against the Spud Kings and Mustangs. This included a helper on the tying goal to force OT against the Mustangs.

Goaltender: Felix Flodman, Seattle Totems

Flodman, an ‘03 out of Sweden, put together 34 saves on 36 shots to get his fourth straight win on Jan. 20, this time against Bellingham. The Totems are playoff-bound with Flodman putting up a 10-5 record with a .914 save percentage in this, his first North American season.

Pacific Division

Summaries By Grace Mello

Forward: Narek Aleksanyan, Las Vegas Thunderbirds

Currently leading the Tbirds in points, Aleksanyan (‘02/Sherbrooke, Qué.) is also ranked No. 5 in the USPHL Premier. After this weekend, he has 78 points in 29 games played. Aleksanyan aided the Tbird’s to a 3-game sweep over Lake Tahoe after recording five points (one goal, four assists). He has been a key component to the success of Las Vegas this season.

Defense: Lare Pahtayken, Ontario Jr. Reign

Helping the Jr. Reign to fight for their second place status in the Pacific Division, Pahtayken (‘03/Onion Lake, Sask.) recorded his highest scoring game in their 5-4 win over Bakersfield. With two points (one goal, one assist) in game one and three points (one goal, two assists) in game two he had a weekend total of five points. He finished the weekend with five hits and five blocked shots.

Goaltender: Fabian Pozzera, Lake Tahoe Lakers

Playing in two of the Lakers three games this weekend, Pizzeria (‘02/Lustenau, Aut) had his best performance so far this season in their 3-2 OT loss to Las Vegas with a 0.947 save percentage. Over the weekend he had 92 saves on 98 shots faced. He currently has the highest save percentage on the Lakers.

Mountain Division

Summaries by Brendan Price

Forward: Justin Davis, Idaho Falls Spud Kings

For many players, this time of year can mean playing for a chance to move on to the college level. Good thing then that Justin Davis is having a breakout month. The Montreal, Que., product has been nothing but bad news for opponents lately. He set a career high with six points and a hat trick in the Spud Kings’ 11-6 win over Rock Springs and finished the two game weekend with eight points (5-3-8) in just two games. Davis already has five multi-point games in eight outings in January and has doubled his career high in points from last season.

Defense: Luke Faas, Ogden Mustangs

A game-winning one timer in front of a packed house, the DanK Show, and on a theme night in front of a packed barn is special, but then again, so is Luke Faas. The ’03 Eagle, Idaho, native ran his point streak to seven games, one short of a career high, with a stellar six-point weekend (2-4-6) in two games against Northwest Division juggernaut the Vernal Oilers and Rock Springs. Faas, like Davis, has been scorching hot in January. He has 15 points already (2-13-15), a big part of the reason he currently leads all Mountain Division defenseman in scoring and is approaching a franchise record for defenseman for points in a season.

Goaltender: Nathan Dickey, Utah Outliers

Outlier goaltender Nathan Dickey (’02) only made one start, but made the most of it, as he blanked Pueblo in a 21-save shutout last weekend. The Butler, Pa., product picked up his fourth shutout of the season, which is tied for second in the USPHL Premier. The shutout also marked the fourth different opponent that Dickey has blanked in 2022-23. With 12 wins in only 16 appearances, Dickey has the highest winning percentage among qualified Mountain Division goaltenders.