NAHL Alumni Update
Former NAHL goaltender Tommy Nappier signed with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the AHL.
The 2021 NCAA Frozen Four, the national championship for Men's Division I ice hockey, will take place April 8 and 10 at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA. The four-team field is set. Massachusetts, Minnesota Duluth, Minnesota State, and St. Cloud State are still competing for the title.
A total of 41 NAHL alumni will be taking part in the Frozen Four. All 16 teams that began the tournament two weeks ago had at least one NAHL alumni on their roster. In total, 143 NAHL alumni were on the 16 rosters of teams that began the event.
NAHL alumni breakdown of Froze Four teams:
Minnesota State: 13
Minnesota-Duluth: 11
St. Cloud State: 11
Massachusetts: 6
Four former NAHL players were named to the 2020-21 College Hockey News All-American Teams. Former Janesville Jets and current University of Minnesota goaltender Jack LaFontaine was named to the All-CHN 1st Team. Named to the All-CHN 2nd team was former Brookings Blizzard and current Bowling Green forward Brandon Kruse, along with former Corpus Christi IceRays/Springfield Jr. Blues and current Minnesota State goaltender Dryden McKay. Earning All-CHN Rookie Team honors was former Lone Star Brahmas and current Miami University goaltender Ludvig Persson.
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins announced today that they have signed former NAHL goaltender Tommy Nappier to a three-year, American Hockey League contract beginning in the 2020-21 season. Nappier, 22, had one of the most prolific goaltending careers in Ohio State University men’s hockey history. In 2018-19, he was named Big Ten Goalie of the Year after leading the conference with a .934 save percentage, 1.86 goals against average and four shutouts. His 1.86 goals against average also established a new single-season program record. One year later, Nappier was voted the Buckeyes’ Team MVP after placing second in the Big Ten in save percentage (.932), goals against average (2.04) and wins (17). Nappier played in the NAHL for the Springfield Jr. Blues during the 2015-16 season.
Former NAHL, NA3HL, and NAPHL goaltender Evan Moyse, a senior on the Ohio State men’s hockey team, has signed with the Birmingham Bulls of the SPHL to begin his professional career. Moyse, from Olmsted Falls, Ohio, saw action in six games in the Scarlet and Gray, with two starts. He is a four-time Ohio State Scholar-Athlete and a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree and will graduate this spring with a degree in marketing. Over his four years with the Scarlet and Gray Moyse was part of a Big Ten regular season title, NCAA Frozen Four trip and two NCAA Tournament appearances. Moyse played for the Wichita Falls Wildcats during the 2016-17 season, the Wisconsin Whalers in the NA3HL from 2014-16, and the Cleveland Jr. Lumberjacks in the NAPHL from 2012-14.
