NAHL Alumni Update

December 12, 2018

Gordon was very strong in net for Holy Cross, leading Atlantic Hockey goalies with a 0.50 goals against average and a 0.977 save percentage during a weekend split with Robert Morris. He allowed one goal in what became a 2-0 loss to the Colonials on Friday, then posted his first career shutout, also his first victory, in Saturday’s 2-0 victory. That win snapped Holy Cross’ 13-game winless streak.

 

Benson had an impressive weekend as he tallied a total of 59 saves and was earned 2 wins he now has three on the year. He tallied a GAA of 3.36 for the series and currently now has a GAA of 2.26 which is the best on the team. He also compiled a save percentage of .885 in the series while now leading the team in save percentage with .918.

 

Shortridge has been nothing short of dominant in his starts this season, and continued that trend on Friday with a shutout win over No. 1-ranked UMass. The junior saved all 32 of the shots he faced in the contest, helping the Bobcats to the huge 4-0 win. He currently paces the league in both save percentage (.966) and goals-against-average (0.83) this season.

 

Lekkas kicked out 84 of 89 shots he saw on the weekend, helping Vermont to split a weekend series at Colorado College. He made 48 saves, tying his career high, in a 2-1 win over the Tigers on Saturday. He also denied all six of Colorado College's power play opportunities on the weekend and the Catamounts are now 42 of 47 on the penalty kill this season.

 

Lizotte powered SCSU to a sweep of Omaha with a three-point weekend, helping extend the Huskies’ unbeaten streak to 10 games. On Friday, he dished out an assist on SCSU’s second goal, which came on the power play in the second period of a 2-0 shutout. The next night, Lizotte tallied two goals for his first career multi-goal game in a 7-1 victory. He opened the scoring Saturday with a steal and an unassisted goal early in the first frame, while he tacked on the Huskies sixth goal in the third period. He was +3 in the contest and was named First Star of the Game. Lizotte finished the series with two goals, an assist, a +3 plus/minus and three shots on goal. He also won an NCHC-best 33 faceoffs on the weekend, going 33-12 (.733) in the faceoff circle.

 

Combs had a banner weekend for Bemidji State, recording his first career hat trick, leading the NCAA with four goals, and tying for the WCHA and national lead with five points. The sophomore from St. Louis, Mo. posted consecutive multi-point games, while factoring in five of the Beavers' six goals during a split with Alabama Huntsville. Combs' first collegiate three-goal performance came in BSU's 4-0 win Friday and was a natural hat trick, the first by a Beavers player since 2008. With BSU ahead 1-0, Combs scored a power-play goal at 15:29 of the second period, an even-strength marker 59 seconds into the third stanza and a second power-play goal at 5:57 of the final frame. In Saturday's contest, he got the Beavers on the board with an unassisted goal 7:04 into the contest and added an assist on Dillon Eichstadt's goal 65 seconds later. This is Combs' first WCHA weekly award of the 2018-19 season and his second career honor.

 

Scheid led all NCAA skaters with a plus-6 rating, while tying for second among WCHA defensemen with three points as No. 3 Minnesota State earned a league home sweep over Alaska Anchorage. The junior from Coon Rapids, Minn. recorded all his points on assists, setting up the Mavericks' first tally in Friday's 4-1 victory before assisting on two goals – including the game-winner – in Saturday's 6-0 triumph. Scheid also blocked two shots and was part of a suffocating Minnesota State defense that held the Seawolves to just 23 shots on goal over the series. This is Scheid's first career WCHA weekly award.

 

Tolvanen literally did it all in leading Northern Michigan to a 5-3 victory over then-No. 20 Michigan Tech on Friday night, as he made 23 saves and became only the second goaltender in WCHA men's history to score a goal himself (11th in NCAA Division I men's annals). With the Wildcats leading, 4-2 and Tech having pulled its goalie with 1:07 remaining, Tolvanen corralled a loose puck and sent it the length of the ice and into the empty net – becoming just the fourth NCAA Division I men's netminder (of the 11 credited with a goal) to shoot and score himself. The senior from Vihti, Finland stopped 23 shots that contest and a game-high 36 the next night in Houghton, finishing with a WCHA-best 59 saves on the weekend. This is Tolvanen's second WCHA weekly award of the 2018-19 season and his 10th career honor.

 

Bliss tied for the NCAA freshman lead with two goals last weekend and tied for the WCHA rookie scoring lead with three points, making an impact in his first Michigan Tech vs. Northern Michigan series. The Appleton, Wis. native scored a power-play goal each night, while also adding an assist with the man advantage. Bliss had the primary assist on Seamus Donohue's first-period tally that put the Huskies up 1-0 on Saturday, then lit the lamp at 13:44 of the second period for Tech's final goal in a 3-1 victory. His two power-play goals and three man-advantage points both led NCAA rookies. This is the Bliss' first WCHA weekly award of his freshman season.

 

Billy Exell (Minnesota Wilderness) enjoying senior season at Minnesota-Duluth (read)

 

Ft. Wayne Komets rookie Jake Kamrass (Topeka RoadRunners) no longer overlooked (read)