Week of Jan. 24, 2024
Games of Jan. 17-23, 2024
Summaries By Joshua Boyd / NCDCHockey.com
Forward: Braxton Powers, Islanders Hockey Club
The third-year NCDC forward Powers (‘04/Raleigh, N.C.) scored his first career hat trick on Jan. 19 in a win against the Boston Junior Bruins, including a shorthanded goal to cap the hattie. He also scored the GWG on Jan. 17 against the local area rival Northern Cyclones and also put up three assists in the IHC’s sweep of the Junior Bruins for a 4-3-7 line in just three contests. Those seven points allowed him to already improve upon his 24-point season of 2022-23 with 30 points in 35 games this year and 56 points in 89 career NCDC games.
Defense: Tommy Shore, Utica Jr. Comets
Shore (‘05/Crystal Lake, Ill.) posted three assists as the Jr. Comets got a home sweep of the Twin City Thunder last weekend. The first-year Jr. Comet and former Chicago Mission AAA standout continues to increase his contributions to the Jr. Comets as a rookie blueliner, including registering 11 takeaways and 31 accurate passes (out of 38) during last weekend’s series. He currently has 16 points, including nine over his last eight games.
Goaltender: Cameron Manley, Utica Jr. Comets
Manley (‘03/Whitesboro, N.Y.) is a great example of #USPHLAdvancement In Action. He played the full 2021-22 season with the Jr. Comets Premier team, and split last year between the Premier and NCDC squads, before going full-time this year with the NCDC team. He was in net for both victories against the Twin City Thunder, shutting them out with 26 saves on Jan. 19 and stopping 31 of 33 the next night. All told, it was 57 saves on 59 shots for a .966 save percentage and a 1.00 GAA against Twin City. For the season, he is 8-3-0-0 with a .918 save percentage and 2.80 GAA.
Rookie*: Daniel Woodford, Islanders Hockey Club
Woodford (‘04/Amherst, N.H.) is a longtime Islanders product and another #USPHLAdvancement In Action success story. He came up to the NCDC out of the IHC’s USPHL 18U (and now THF 18U) squads. He also played in 40 Premier games for IHC last year, registering 39 points. He is coming off his best three-game run in the NCDC so far, having scored three goals and two assists for five points. He has registered eight (of his total 11) points over his last six games.
* = ’04 or younger / 10 Tier II games or less in prior seasons
