By Joshua Boyd / NCDCHockey.com
Selection Process: The league media office sends top candidates to divisional coaches for review and coaches either approve or challenge the nominations.
Forward: Cam Bergeman, Rockets Hockey Club
Bergeman (‘03/Newark, Del.) scored four goals during the month of February and added 10 assists, becoming more of a playmaker in the month than goal-scorer, a role for which he is more well-known. As of March 4, Bergeman’s 69 career goals are second all-time, just six behind former Junior Bruin Johnny Mulera. Along with his 14 points in eight games, for 1.75 points per game, Bergeman led the Rockets in ice time with 22:14 per game last month. He also led Rockets forwards and was tied for second on the team in blocked shots with six in February.
Bergeman is not only second all-time in goals, but he is the NCDC’s active career scoring leader with 141 points in 134 regular season games, which also ranks him fourth all-time. He passed former Rocket Barron Woodring (138 points) during February to become the RHC’s all-time leading scorer, as well. Woodring (now with Army) remains fifth all-time in the NCDC, making the Rockets the only team with two top five all-time players.
Forward: Joonas Linnavuori, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights
Linnavuori (‘03/Helsinki, Finland) is in his first North American season and was a later arrival to the NCDC this year, joining the WBS Knights out of the British Columbia Hockey League in December, beginning games in January. He scored three goals and nine assists for 12 points in nine games, averaging 1.33 points per game. He currently has 19 points in 19 Knights games. His 10 blocked shots in February led all Knights forwards.
Forward: Kye Benoche, Rockets Hockey Club
Benoche (‘05/Campbell River, B.C.) is another big-time contributor to his team who came over from the BCHL, racking up four goals and seven assists for 11 points in his eight February games. Benoche has put up 17 points in the 19 games that he has played in New Jersey since joining the team right after New Year’s Day. The Rockets are in a position to finish as high as third place in the Atlantic Division this year.
Defense: Samuel Beaulne, Jersey Hitmen
Beaulne (‘03/Orleans, Ont.) was productive in basically every possible way for the Hitmen in February. Offensively, he registered a 1-10-11 line in nine games, for an average of 1.2 points per game. He skated an average of 23:50 per game for the Hitmen, which led the team, also leading in breakouts (53), successful passes (205) and takeaways (96). It’s not much of a surprise when you look at his resume, which includes four prior seasons of Tier II and Tier III hockey in Canada.
Defense: Lucas DiChiara, Jersey Hitmen
DiChiara (‘04/Fairfield, Conn.) came aboard with the Hitmen and can most often be found on the ice parallel to Samuel Beaulne, one of the Hitmen’s most frequent defensive pairings. During February, DiChiara put up seven assists and added one goal. He registered four multi-assist games last month. Defensively, he ranks second behind Beaulne in takeaways at 73. Another thing he has in common with his D partner Beaulne is that both have multiple prior Tier II seasons under their blades, even before joining the Hitmen.
Goaltender: Daniel Moor, Jersey Hitmen
Moor (‘06/Omaha, Neb.) has been – much like Benoche – one of the most electrifying junior rookies in the Atlantic Division and the NCDC overall. He was an NCDC Young Guns Game selection, playing well in that Jan. 15 event at Boston University. During January, Moor put up an outstanding 4-0-1-2 run to keep the Hitmen in the playoff hunt well into March. He stopped 272 of 294 shots for a .925 save percentage in the very busy month. For the season, he is 12-10-2-2 with a .922 save percentage.
Check back later on Monday night for the Mountain Division Players Of The Month!
Top Performers Of The Week: Feb. 24-29, 2024
Forward: Sammy Mielock, Jersey Hitmen – 2GP 2G 3A 5PTS
Defense: Samuel Beaulne, Jersey Hitmen – 2GP 1G 4A 5PTS
Goaltender: Nicholas Bevilacqua, P.A.L. Junior Islanders – 2-0, 100 saves on 102 shots, .980 save %, 1.00 GAA.
Rookie*: Tommy Holtby, Jersey Hitmen – 2GP 1G 2A 3PTS
* = ’04 or younger / 10 or fewer prior year Tier II games
