USPHL Premier Players Of The Week: West Region

Week of Feb. 9-15, 2023 

Northwest Division

(Summaries by Joshua Boyd)

Forward: Ethan Christian, Vernal Oilers

Christian (‘03/Red Deer, Alb.) put up his first Premier hat trick, with his three goals against Rock Springs on Feb. 12. He had two additional goals on Feb. 4-5 for five of his nine tallies this year being registered in February. When he scored his hat trick, one of his goals was a shorthanded and the third was the eventual GWG. Christian has 12 points overall for Vernal this year in 30 games. 

Defense: Cole Bisson, Vernal Oilers

The ‘03 from Colchester, Vt., just keeps putting up gem after gem, a huge help for the Oilers after their previous top defenseman Kyle Russell signed a pro contract earlier in the winter. He put up a goal and three assists in the home-and-home against the Prospectors. Overall now, he has 15 points in 13 games with the Oilers, and he also played 16 earlier Premier games with the Charlotte Rush. 

Goaltender: Felix Flodman, Seattle Totems

Flodman (‘03/Sweden) is enjoying a five-game winning streak, all with allowing three goals or less per game. He most recently stopped 25 of 26 shots from the Rogue Valley Royals for consecutive win number 5. In his first year in North American, he has gone 11-5 with a .916 save percentage.

Pacific Division 

(Summaries by Grace Mello)

Forward: Noak Persson, Fresno Monsters 

Back to back player of the week for this forward who, in just 25 games in the USPHL Premier, has already earned a top 10 spot for points. Over the weekend, Persson (‘03/Sollefteå, SWE) helped the Monsters earn a three-game-sweep over Lake Tahoe. Persson scored 14 points (seven goals, seven assists), his best three-game performance yet this season. He currently has 81 points (36 goals, 45 assists). As the end of the season approaches, could he be on his way to joining the Century Club? 

Defenseman: Zach Stangness, Ontario Jr. Reign 

Recording nine blocked shots and two assists, this defenseman was able to help the Jr. Reign earn their third sweep over the Bakersfield Roughnecks this season. So far this season Zach Stangness (‘03/Strathmore, AB) is a +13 with 70 blocked shots and 40 points. 

Goaltender: Blake Micucci, San Diego Sabers 

Earning two wins over Long Beach, Micucci (‘04/Hamburg, NY) continues to be a wall for the Sabers. He has now recorded eight wins in his nine games played with San Diego. Over the weekend Micucci had 59 saves on 62 shots against and his current save percentage is 0.922.

Mountain Division

(Summaries by Brendan Price)

Forward: Dimitri Voyatzis, Ogden Mustangs

Voyatzis has marked many milestones this season and this past weekend was no different. The second-year ‘Stang notched his first career hat trick, punctuated by the overtime winner, last Saturday in Ogden’s 4-3 win over Utah and finished the weekend with four goals (4-0-4) in two games. The Fountain Valley, Calif., product has 19 points (11-8-19) during his career best 10-game point streak and is rocketing up the USPHL Premier scoring charts, sitting just outside the top-10 and is now the second-leading scorer in the Mountain Division.

Defense:  Xavier Fortin, Northern Colorado Eagles

Fortin has paced the NoCo blue line in goals, points, and minutes and did it all on both sides of the puck last weekend for the Eagles. The 2002-birth year defenseman pushed through 96:00 minutes of ice time across three games without committing a penalty while adding four hits and two shot blocks. The third-year player also continued to showcase his scoring touch while grabbing three points (1-2-3) in three games and inches closer to the 50-point threshold, with 42 points (12-30-42) in 46 games.

Goaltender: Bryson Stern, Provo Predators

Stern has been at his best against the Eagles this season and last weekend was no exception. The rookie goaltender won both his starts, going 2-0-0 with a 3.49 GAA and .917 save percentage, to key the Predators’ three-game sweep of Northern Colorado last weekend. Stern saved his best for last, stopping 30 of 33 shots in the third period across two games to help Provo hang on for back-to-back one goal wins. Stern has seven wins this season which is second among Mountain Division rookie goaltenders.