NAHL Alumni Update

Former NAHL and Aberdeen Wings goalie Henry Welsch was named the Hockey East Goalie of the Week.

CCHA Forward of the Month/Week: Jared Westcott, Lake Superior State (Lone Star Brahmas) - Westcott led the Lakers to a 3-3-0 month, recording five goals and three assists for eight points in six games. The CCHA leader in multi-point contests (3), he was second in points, power-play goals (2), game-winning goals (2), plus-minus (+5) and shooting percentage (38.5%). Highlighting his efforts was a road hat trick against St. Lawrence – the first by a Lakers skater since 2021 – that led the team to a 5-2 victory. Closing out the month on a five-game point streak, he has been even or better in plus-minus in each of Lake Superior State’s games since the season opener. Westcott led the Lakers to a 2-0 road weekend, recording a CCHA-best five points on four goals and one assist. Also leading the league in plus-minus (+6), he notched a goal and an assist in a 4-3 overtime win at Clarkson on Friday, before netting a hat trick in a 5-2 triumph at St. Lawrence on Saturday. For the week, he had eight shots on goal, with one power play and one game-winning tally.

CCHA Defenseman of the Month: Kyle Looft, Bemidji State (Austin Bruins) - Looft anchored Bemidji State’s blue line throughout October, registering five points (2 goals, 3 assists) at the offensive end, while contributing 15 blocked shots defensively, which was good for second among CCHA skaters. Fourth in plus-minus (+4), his two power-play tallies were second in the league. Third in points from defensemen, he had 11 shots on goal and contributed a three-point outing against nationally-ranked Minnesota Duluth on October 21. He was +3 with an assist in Bemidji State’s conference-opening sweep against St. Thomas last weekend.

CCHA Goaltender of the Month: Jake Sibell, St. Thomas (Aberdeen Wings) - Sibell led all conference netminders with a 1.36 goals-against average and was second with a .941 save percentage in three starts during October. Posting a 1-2-0 record, he surrendered just two goals (1 power play) to then-No. 1 Minnesota in a 3-0 defeat on October 14, before turning away 15 in a 3-1 victory over Lindenwood on October 21. He closed out the month by stopping 27-of-28 shots in a 2-0 loss at Bemidji State on Saturday. Nationally, he ranks sixth in goals-against average and 10th in save percentage.

NCHC Goalie of the Month/Week: Ludvig Persson, North Dakota (Lone Star Brahmas) - After a strong three seasons in net at Miami, Persson started his North Dakota career no differently, backstopping UND to a 4-1-1 record while starting all six games this month. He allowed two goals or less in five of six games so far this season, while winning three straight NCHC Goaltender of the Week awards, the second time in his career he’s done so. Persson leads the NCHC with a .933 save percentage, while ranking second with a 1.65 goals-against average (having played four more games) and fourth with 140 saves in October. Persson recorded his first shutout of the season on Oct. 14 against Wisconsin, making 29 saves in the Ice Breaker Tournament title game. It was the sixth shutout of his college career, while he was one of only four NCHC netminders to record a clean sheet in October. The following Saturday, the Swede stopped 21 of 22 shots in a 2-1 win over then-No. 1 Minnesota on Oct. 21. He then limited Minnesota State to two goals each night on Oct. 27-28, totaling 51 saves.

Atlantic Hockey Rookie of the Week: Chase Davis, Bentley (Amarillo Wranglers) - Bentley freshman Chase Davis had a goal and an assist in the Falcons’ road split at Robert Morris. The Alpharetta, Ga., native scored his first NCAA goal in the series opener on Friday and had an assist on Bentley's first goal in Saturday's 3-0 victory. Davis led Bentley with 18 faceoff wins in the series. This is his first career Atlantic Hockey weekly honor.

CCHA Goalie of the Week: Beni Halasz, Northern Michigan (New Mexico Ice Wolves) - Halasz posted a 1.44 goals-against average and a .955 save percentage which were both tops in the CCHA among two-start goaltenders last week. Also leading the league in saves (64), his weekend was highlighted by stopping 37-of-38 shots in a 4-1 victory over Ferris State on Saturday night. Helping the Wildcats to a perfect penalty kill, he made 10 saves while shorthanded.

CCHA Rookie of the Week: Eric Pohlkamp, D, Bemidji State (Minnesota Magicians) - Pohlkamp paced all CCHA rookies with two points last week, registering a pair of assists in the Beavers’ weekend sweep of St. Thomas. On Friday, he helped set up the eventual game-winning goal in a 3-2 win, before doing the same the following night in a 2-0 victory. For the weekend, he had five shots on goal, while blocking seven at the defensive end, which was the most among all league skaters.

ECAC Forward of the Week: Gabriel Seger, Cornell (Amarillo Bulls) - Gabriel Seger (Sr., Cornell) is lauded as the Forward of the Week, presented by Bluebird by Lark Hotels, for his commanding performance that contributed to the Big Red's impressive series sweep over 11th-ranked Minnesota Duluth. In Friday night's 4-1 triumph, the senior forward notched his first point of the season with an assist on Dalton Bancroft's goal, initiating the scoring. The following night, Seger left a mark on the scoresheet by netting two of the three goals that led to a shutout victory over the Bulldogs. Throughout the series, Seger concluded with a positive plus-minus rating of one and blocked three shots on the other end.

ECAC Goalie of the Week: Ian Shane, Cornell (Bismarck Bobcats) - Ian Shane (Jr., Cornell) is recognized as the MAC Goaltending Goaltender of the Week for his stellar performance in guiding the Big Red to a series sweep over 11th-ranked Minnesota Duluth at the season's outset. The junior netminder displayed his abilities with 18 saves during Friday's 4-1 victory, followed by a flawless performance in blanking the Bulldogs on Saturday, accumulating an additional 17 saves. Shane concluded the weekend with a remarkable 0.50 goals-against average and .972 save percentage.

ECAC Rookie of the Week: Max Scott, F, Brown (North Iowa Bulls) - Max Scott (Fr., Brown) is awarded the title of Rookie of the Week following an impressive display of high-scoring abilities in the first weekend of play for the Bears. Hailing from San Jose, the freshman forward made a significant impact, scoring his first collegiate goal in the season opener against Yale, and further contributing with four assists in the Sunday matinee against Stonehill. In the 7-2 victory, Scott registered seven shots on goal and maintained a commendable plus-minus ratio of two throughout the weekend's matchups.

Hockey East Goaltender of the Week: Henry Welsch, UMass-Lowell (Aberdeen Wings) - Henry Welsch (Sr., G; Lakeville, Minn.) played the best game of his career on Saturday night at UConn. He made a career-best 46 saves and earned a 1-0 shutout, making several crucial saves to keep UConn off the board. The 46 saves are the most by a River Hawk in a shutout, beating out the former record holder, Connor Hellebuyck, who had 40 in a 1-0 win against Notre Dame in 2013.

ECHL Player of the Week: Jalen Smereck, Cincinnati Cyclones (Odessa Jackalopes) - Cincinnati Cyclones’ defenseman Jalen Smereck is the ECHL Player of the Week for Oct. 23-29. Smereck dished out 10 assists in three games last week. The 26-year-old had three assists in a 5-4 loss at Wichita on Friday, picked up four assists in a 7-4 win at Tulsa on Saturday and added three assists in a 4-3 loss to the Oilers on Sunday. A native of Detroit, Michigan, Smereck’s 10 assists this season lead the league while his 10 points are tied for the league lead.