NA3HL announces Divisional Stars of the Week
The North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) today announced the Divisional Stars of the Week presented by Easton for the week ending October 26, 2014. The divisional stars of the week is an award given each week of the regular season to the top performing players in each of the five divisions of the NA3HL as nominated by their head coaches.
Central Division Star of the Week: Blake Olinyk, defense, La Crosse Freeze
La Crosse defenseman Blake Olinyk, 19, made his impact felt as the Freeze picked up a big road sweep of the West Michigan Wolves. The native of Wisconsin Rapids, WI, had four points on the weekend, including two goals and two assists from the blueline and was a +4. On Thursday, Olinyk (6’0/190) had scored two goals, including the game-winner in a 3-1 win. On Friday, he added two assists in a 6-2 win. In six games with the Freeze this season, he has four points. “We acquired Blake in a trade a few weeks ago and he has really thrived in our organization to this point. We congratulate Blake and are excited about what he brings to our team both as a player and as an individual. We look forward to watching him develop throughout the rest of the season,” said Freeze head coach Ryan Egan.
2nd Star: Jared Bromberg, D, La Crosse Freeze
Honorable Mention (alphabetical): Devin Farkas, F, West Michigan Wolves – Isaac Hale, D, Wisconsin Whalers – Ryan Martin, F, Wisconsin Whalers – Dakota Ulmer, F, West Michigan Wolves
East Division Star of the Week: Cody Maulsby, forward, Southern Tier Xpress
19-year-old Clear Lake, IA, native Cody Maulsby helped the Southern Tier Xpress to a weekend road split with the Metro Jets. In the two games, Maulsby (6’0/185) totaled five points, which included four goals and an assist. On Friday, Maulsby (6’0/185) had four goals, including the game-winner in a 7-5 win. On Saturday, he picked up an assist in a 8-5 loss. He was an impressive +6 during the weekend. In 12 games with the Xpress this season, Maulsby has 15 points. "Obviously scoring 4 goals in a game is impressive, however Cody's play away from the puck and his desire to take the puck to the net are what led to his success. Cody has been a leader for us offensively and if he continues to play the way he did last weekend he will be a big part of our teams offensive attack,” said Xpress head coach Rylan Galiardi.
2nd Star: Kyle Shreve, F, Metro Jets
Honorable Mention (alphabetical): Daniel Goodwin, F, Cleveland Jr. Lumberjacks – Cooper McLean, F, Metro Jets
Frontier Division Star of the Week: Evan Hauser, goalie, Great Falls Americans
Evan though he played in just one game, Great Falls goalie Evan Hauser, 20, made the most of it. The native of St. Paul, MN made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season as the Americans edged the previously unbeaten Helena Bighorns, 1-0 on Saturday. Hauser has a perfect 7-0 record this season and his seven wins are tied for the NA3HL lead. “Evan has been very solid and when he plays with confidence, he is hard to beat. He makes the saves look routine and is a big part of our success so far this season,” said Great Falls head coach Jeff Heimel. Helena coach Jon Jonasson added, “ “Evan is hands down one of the most skilled and competitive goaltenders that I have coached against. He plays with a great deal of poise and confidence in the crease. He did an outstanding job turning away 43 shots against us on Saturday night in GF 1-0 Victory against us. We wish him the best of luck and look forward.”
2nd Star: Cade Boreing, F, Gillette Wild
Honorable Mention (alphabetical): Trent Dillinger, F, Gillette Wild – TJ Theodosopolous, F, Billings Bulls – Ian Wiljanen, F, Billings Bulls
South Division Star of the Week: Nick Mammel, forward, Nashville Jr. Predators
Nashville flexed its South Division muscles this past weekend with a sweep of East Division foe Cincinnati. 20-year-old forward Nick Mammel (6’4/216) was a force up front as his six points in two wins lead the Jr. Predators. The native of Midland, Michigan, scored three times and assisted on three more goals as Nashville scored 15 goals in the sweep. On Saturday, Mammel had the game-winning goal and two assists in a 6-3 win. On Sunday, he had two goals and assisted on another in a 9-3 win. He was also a +7 during the weekend. In eight games this season, Mammel has nine points. “Nick has really stepped up this year with his work ethic and drive. It’s nice to see it paying off on the score sheet. He has great set up skills matched with great size, and makes it hard for the opposing team to play against him. We are proud to have Nick on our team, he has been a huge help on and off the ice, we look forward to watching his progression as the year goes on,” said Nashville head coach Karlis Zirnis.
2nd Star: Rudy Kalvitis, F, Nashville Jr. Predators
Honorable Mention (alphabetical): Tyler Valentin, F, Dallas Jr. Stars
West Division Star of the Week: Carmen Dalesandro, forward, North Iowa Bulls
It was a weekend for the record books for the North Iowa Bulls and newly acquired forward Carmen Dalesandro. The 19-year-old forward from Cannonsburg, PA, played a big part in the Bulls home sweep of the St. Louis Jr. Blues. Dalesandro (5’7/155) had a 10-point weekend, which included five goals and five assists and an amazing +10 rating. On Friday, Dalesandro had a goal and four assists in a 10-1 win. On Saturday, he scored four goals and had an assist in a 12-1 win. "Carmen instantly brought energy into our lineup. He plays the game like his hair is on fire, competing hard every shift. We are very fortunate to have him on our team right now,” said North Iowa head coach Todd Sanden.
2nd Star: Mitchell Gwost, D, Granite City Lumberjacks
Honorable Mention (alphabetical): David Horsmann, D, Granite City Lumberjacks – David Johnson, G, North Iowa Bulls – Jordan Pitlick, F, Twin City Steel – Tom Schmidt, F, Alexandria Blizzard
