NA3HL announces Stars of the Week presented by Bauer Hockey
The North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) today announced the Divisional Stars of the Week presented by Bauer Hockey for the week ending March 28, 2021. The divisional stars of the week are awards 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: Sam VanderHoeven, F, Oregon Tradesmen
VanderHoeven found the scoresheet in each one of his team’s four games last week, notching 2g-3a—5pts as the regular season came to a close. Starting off with an assist in Wednesday’s matchup, the Beaver Dam, WI native bagged a goal on Friday, then put up another tally and a helper to pace Saturday’s win. Capping things off, VanderHoven logged an assist on Sunday to end the season on a four-game point streak and total 24g-21a—45pts in 41 games on the year as Oregon’s leading scorer.
2nd Star: Jared Bratton, F, St. Louis Jr. Blues
Honorable Mention (alphabetical): Danny Fraga, G, St. Louis Jr. Blues — Devin Hays, F, Oregon Tradesmen
East Division Star of the Week: Nick Cullinan, F, Springfield Jr. Hat Tricks
Cullinan lit up the scoresheet in a very busy week with 6g-5a—11pts in five outings for Springfield. The Ridgefield, CT native got started with an assist on Tuesday, then posted another on Wednesday before grabbing the game-winning goal in that game as well. Rolling right along, Cullinan posted another goal and two assists on Friday, then put forth his best performance of the week on Saturday — a 2g, 1a effort that included another game-winner. Closing out the regular season in style, Cullinan scored another two goals on Sunday to conclude a remarkable season with 25g-19a—44pts in just 23 outings.
2nd Star: Philippe Doucette, F, Mass Titans
Honorable Mention (alphabetical): Brandon Avezov, F, Mass Titans — John Kosa, F, Bay State Bobcats — Zan Mojzer, F, New England Sharks — Misha Mshar, F, Springfield Jr. Hat Tricks — Gordon Ogden, D, Bay State Bobcats
Frontier Division Star of the Week: Carson Kuche, F, Gillette Wild
Kuche led the Wild to a pair of wins over Bozeman with 3g-5a—8pts in two games last week. The 2001-born forward put up back-to-back four-point outings, starting with four assists in Friday’s victory. His best performance came on Saturday in a game that saw him notch his first hat-trick of the year to go with another helper in a tight 5-4 win. Kuche’s regular-season run ends with 9g-11a—20pts in 22 games as the Wild head into the Frontier Division playoffs.
2nd Star: Alex Jackson, F, Great Falls Americans
Honorable Mention (alphabetical): Tristan Baker, F, Gillette Wild — Zac Hattan, G, Great Falls Americans
South Division Star of the Week: Patrick Wyers, F, Oklahoma City Blazers
Wyers tallied four goals across a three-game road trip to Louisiana last week to help the Blazers go into the playoffs on a high note. The 2001-born Wyers was at his best on Friday, netting a hat-trick — including the game-winning goal — to pace his team’s victory. Wyers chipped in another goal on Saturday to make it three straight games with a goal, and push his final season tally to 19g-13a—33pts in 35 games.
2nd Star: Landen Sill, F, Louisiana Drillers
Honorable Mention (alphabetical): Chris Branch, G, Louisiana Drillers — Noah Roitman, D, Oklahoma City Blazers
West Division Star of the Week: Lukas Haugen, G, Willmar Warhawks
Haugen was nearly unbeatable between the pipes last week, going 2-0-0 with one shutout and totaling 84 saves on 85 shots. A native of Excelsior, MN, Haugen stopped 45 of 46 shots in a Wednesday win over Granite City, then turned aside all 39 shots thrown at him by Alexandria on Saturday to pick up his first shutout of the year in his final start of the 2020-21 regular season. Haugen finishes the year with a 7-6-0 record, a .938% save percentage, 2.06 GAA and one shutout.
2nd Star: Cal Nauss, D, North Iowa Bulls
Honorable Mention (alphabetical): Ben Anderson, F, Granite City Lumberjacks — Zach Foster, G, New Ulm Steel — Carson Simon, F, Granite City Lumberjacks — Carsen Stokes, G, North Iowa Bulls — Isaiah Thomas, F, Willmar Warhawks
