Week of Dec. 13, 2023
Games of Dec. 6-12, 2023
Summaries by Joshua Boyd / NCDCHockey.com
Forward: Justin Ryan, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights
Third-year USPHL and two-year NCDC veteran Ryan (‘03/Endwell, N.Y.) was huge for the Knights in their split with the Jersey Hitmen, scoring two goals and five assists for seven points in just two games. His 23:31 of ice time led all Knights forwards, while his +3 and 28 shots on goal led the team. Defensively, he also had 12 takeaways. After a 100-point career at the Premier level, he already had 30 points in 25 games in this, his first full NCDC season.
Defense: Yahor Ramanau, Jersey Hitmen
Ramanau (‘03/Minsk, Belarus) is now in his third season of NCDC hockey after signing with the Hitmen in mid-November. He registered a goal and added two assists for three points, and was also second among all Hitmen blueliners in time on ice (21:04 per game). He led the way for the Hitmen with 15 takeaways on the weekend and was second in both plus-minus (+3) and hits (three). For his career, he is at 12 points in 29 NCDC games going back to 2021-22.
Goaltender: Primo Baldassarre, Connecticut Jr. Rangers
Deja vu here, as Baldassarre gets his second straight Goaltender of the Week nod. The ‘04 from Glenolden, Pa., stopped 78 out of 83 shots that he faced against the Mercer Chiefs in a weekend split. He stopped 36 of 37 against Mercer in his third straight win, which also followed two straight shutouts from the weekend before. He is 3-2-0-0 with a 1.81 GAA and a .956 save percentage.
Rookie*: Parker Newman, Mercer Chiefs
The ‘05 from Grand Rapids, Mich., joined the Chiefs recently out of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League, and prior to that, the Fox Motors Midget AAA program. Against the Jr. Rangers, he put up a pair of goals – his first two in his fourth game – and added one assist for three points. He also tied for the team lead in plus-minus for the split weekend with a +1.
* = no more than 10 Tier II games prior to 2023-24 / ’04 or younger
