Tuesday, October 8, 2013

MJHL Announces Three Stars of the Week

Press Release

FLORHAM PARK, NJ – The Metropolitan Junior Hockey League is pleased to announce its “Three Stars of the Week” for the period ending October 6, 2013. The three stars program is a weekly award given to the top performers in MJHL games, regardless of position, for the previous week. The awards are scored on a 5-3-1 point basis to assist in determining top performers for the year-end awards.

This week, Boston Bandits defenseman Taylor Hale (’93 birth year/Glendora, CA) is the league’s 1st Star, New Jersey Rockets forward Ryan Swain (’95 birth year/Jackson, NJ) is the league’s 2nd Star and Northern Cyclones forward Jordan Hadley (’95 birth year/Saugus, MA) is the league’s 3rd Star.

Hale picks up the first star after helping anchor a Bandits defense that spun a pair of shutouts this weekend against the Frederick Freeze and the Washington Junior Nationals. The Bandits have now spun three shutouts in a row to kick-off their 2013-2014 MJHL campaign. In addition to helping lead the Bandits defense, Hale added a pair of assists on the weekend and was a +10 over the two games.

“Taylor consistently made good outlet passes and played well in his own zone,” said Bandits Head Coach Scott Drevitch. “As a team, the Bandits are playing good team defense and Taylor is leading the way. He is making good decisions with, and without, the puck.”

The league’s second star is Swain, a second year player for the Rockets and Head Coach Bob Thornton. The two-time defending Keegan Cup Champions saw action in only one game this period, but Swain made the most of it, by picking up a hat trick, and adding an assist, in the Rockets 8-3 victory over the Jersey Wildcats. The hat trick was Swain’s third of his MJHL career, and included a pair of breakaway goals and the game-winner.

“Swain is a natural scorer who we will rely on heavily this season,” said Thornton. “He was a huge part of our success last season and he will really help shoulder the load for us this year. He has great hands and finishes well, so I fully expect an increase in goals from last year’s total of 19."

Rounding out this week’s stars of the week is Hadley, a rookie forward for the Cyclones and Head Coach Frank O’Connor. The Saugus, Massachusetts native picked up his first junior hockey points this past weekend in the Cyclones two game sweep over division rival, the Walpole Express, picking up a single point in the Cyclones 6-2 victory on Saturday and then a goal and three assists on Sunday as the Cyclones completed the sweep with a 6-1 victory, with three of the four points coming on the power play.

“Jonah brought all kinds of energy to our team this weekend,” O’Connor said. “He won battles all over the ice and his efforts are reflected on the scoresheet. He is adjusting very well to junior hockey after coming over from the Massachusetts High School leagues.”

Receiving honorable mention this week:
·       Connecticut Junior Oilers forward Todd Brown (’93 birth year/Stamford, CT)
·       Hartford Junior Wolfpack goaltender Kyle Carducci (’96 birth year/Rocky Hill, CT)
·       Central Penn Panthers goaltender Nathan Glatfelter (’96 birth year/Spring Grove, PA)
·       North Jersey Avalanche defenseman Michael Hanson (’96 birth year/Mahwah, NJ)
·       Philadelphia Junior Flyers forward Patrick Hayes (’94 birth year/Wilmington, NC)
·       North Jersey Avalanche forward Liam McLaughlin (’96 birth year/Summit, NJ)
·       Richmond Generals goaltender Tucker Murphy (’94 birth year/Chesterfield, VA)
·       Long Island Royals forward Matt O’Shaughnessy (’95 birth year/Babylon, NY)
·       Philadelphia Little Flyers defenseman Joshua Vershinski (’97 birth year/Glen Mills, PA)
·       Boston Bandits forward Davis Zembergs (’96 birth year/Riga, Latvia)

(Nathan can be reached at nathanfournier@mainehockeyjournal.com)

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