NA3HL Announces Stars of the Week
The North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) is pleased to announce the Divisional Stars of the Week for the week ending in November 17th. 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: John Kriz, Forward, Wausau Cyclones
John Kriz and the Wausau Cyclones swept their series with the Peoria Mustangs, extending their record to 8-0-2-0 in their last 10 games. The second year Wausau forward had his best game of the 2024-25 campaign tallying a whopping 6 points (3 goals, 3 assists) during Friday night’s contest. All three goals came on the man advantage, including the game winner with two goals being scored in the second period. Despite slowing things down on offense for game two, Kriz dished out two assists during the team’s 8-0 victory. With a total of 8 points on the weekend, the Neenah, WI native is over a point per game player, the third leading scorer on the team overall with a total of 22 points (11 goals, 11 assists).
“Well deserved honor for Krizzer. He has been on a tear offensively for us over the past few weeks and he has earned everything he’s gotten by playing a strong two-way game, competing, and going to the right areas,” stated Wausau Head Coach Nathan Oystrick. “He is one of our leaders, who plays in all situations, and we couldn’t be happier for him.”
2nd Star: Micah Saxon, Wausau Cyclones
3rd Star: Josh Wolf, Rochester Grizzlies
East Division Star of the Week: Genrikh Rozhkov, Defenseman, Maine Nordiques
Genrikh Rozhkov and the Maine Nordiques split their weekend with the Norwich Sea Captains, picking up a huge 7-6 overtime victory on Friday. The ‘05 blueliner had by far his best game to date, scoring the first goal of every period, this being his first hat trick of the season. Despite coming up just short during game two by a final score of 3-2, the Minsk, Belarus native tallied the first goal of the game yet again. Keep an eye out for Rozhkov moving forward as he has now found the back of the net at least once in the last three contests for the Nordiques.
“Genrikh is one of our hardest working individuals. He continues to battle every practice and game. He is the player every coach wants in the locker room and on the ice,” stated Maine Head Coach Chris Pomerleau.
2nd Sar: Kameron Ragon, Long Beach Sharks
3rd Star: Liam Schaentzler, Northeast Generals
Frontier Division Star of the Week: Kaden Rhyder , Goaltender, Great Falls Americans
Kaden Rhyder and the Great Falls Americans picked up four points on the weekend with a pair of wins over the Bozeman Ice Dogs and Helena Bighorns, Rhyder extending his record 11-5 on the season. When looking at the standings, the Bighorns have only lost two games thus far, both at the hands of Great Falls. During Saturday’s 1-0 victory for the Americans, Rhyder was faced with a whopping 41 shots, turning away all 41 to pick up his first shutout of his NA3HL career. With this outstanding win in addition to Friday’s victory over Bozeman, Rhyder’s season numbers currently sit at 2.5 in the goals against average category while maintaining a .931 save percentage.
“Kaden had an unbelievable performance! To shut a team out in this division is hard to do. To put up a zero in Helena is special. We are very happy for him and his exceptional efforts,” stated Great Falls Head Coach Greg Sears.
2nd Star: Spencer Wilkinson, Bozeman Ice Dogs
3rd Star: Blayne Juszack, Great Falls Americans
South Division Star of the Week: Brody Neish, Forward, Louisiana Drillers
Not only did Brody Neish and the Louisiaina Drillers sweep the Texas RoadRunners, the Wichita, KS native had a monumental weekend in Drillers history, becoming the newest all-time point leader for the franchise. During the three game set with the RoadRunners, Neish tallied 6 points (3 goals, 3 assists), bringing his 2024-25 season point total to 30 points (13 goals, 17 assists) in 19 games, one of the top ten scorers in the NA3HL. Neish now has nine multi-point games on the year, including Friday's 4-1 game where he scored one goal and tallied two assists, and Saturday’s 8-2 game where he found the back of the net on two occasions.
“This was a special weekend for Brody. In his 3rd season with the Drillers organization, he is now the all-time points leader in program history,” stated Louisiana Head Coach Chris Francis. “It doesn’t matter where you play, if you are able to achieve that accomplishment that means you do the right things consistently. That’s exactly what Brody does for this team every weekend and we are thankful to have him as a Louisiana Driller.”
2nd Star: Nikolai Meshkantsov, Texas Brahmas
3rd Star: Koen Burkholder, New Mexico Ice Wolves
West Division Star of the Week: Aidan Callaghan, Forward, Willmar WarHawks
Aidan Callaghan and the Willmar WarHawks had an incredible weekend, picking up a pair of wins over the Granite City Lumberjacks and Minnesota Wilderness. The Chicago, IL native had his best game to date, his first three point game of the season, scoring two goals and dishing out one assist as he picked up all three possible points on the scoresheet. Callaghan followed up Friday’s stellar performance netting another pair of goals, including the game winner, his first game winning goal of the season. With these five points this weekend, the ‘05 forward has now found his way onto the scoresheet for five consecutive games.
“Cali played with heart and hustle and really stepped up this weekend. He’s starting to click on offense and contribute in key situations,” stated Willmar Head Coach Payton Ruter. “When he’s scoring goals and playing the right way, we have a chance to win very vital games.”
2nd Star: Kaden Milles, Minnesota Moose
3rd Star: Kai Girard, Willmar WarHawks
