(Summaries by Joshua Boyd)
Easton Ryan, Boston Junior Bruins
The top-scoring forward in the NCDC for the month of December was also the only player in the league to average two points per game last month. He posted five goals and seven assists with 12 points in six games and helped the Junior Bruins to a 4-1-1-0 month, including wins over the top two teams in the New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs and Northern Cyclones. At 80 points in 77 games, Ryan is now sixth all-time in Junior Bruins scoring and first among active players.
Paden Hicks, Northern Cyclones
There is no off switch to Hicks, who has ascended to third all-time in Cyclones goals (30) and sixth in points (56) with his 34-point season so far, already pushing well past the 22 points of his first season in 2021-22. During the month of December, Hicks posted seven goals and two assists for nine points. As a side note, he is tied at sixth in all-time Cyclones NCDC scoring with his teammate Michael Felsing, who has 56 points in 57 games. Teammate Marko Giourof is just outside the all-time top 10 with 53 points.
Bryce Bollman, New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs
Bollman picked up four goals and five assists for nine points during the month of December, helping to keep his team in the North Division lead and fending off a lot of feisty challengers. The ‘02 from Orland Park, Ill., has collected 25 points in 30 games with the Monarchs. His point production in December came from a six-game point streak, with Bollman missing the scoresheet just once on Dec. 19.
Defense
Noah-David Dayan, Boston Advantage
Dayan is another one of our #NCDCDieHards who just keeps getting better with experience, jumping out this month with a 2-3-5 line in five games. Now in his fourth NCDC season, he has passed his offensive totals from his past two seasons. Dayan also took 45 pucks away from opponents in December and finished with a +3 for a Boston Advantage team that remains in third in the North.
Charlie Killian, South Shore Kings
Killian (‘02/Mendota Heights, Minn.) is a second-year blueliner who had a fantastic seven-assist month in his seven games of December, along with 19:50 average time on ice to lead the Kings’ D corps last month and help keep a hold on the fourth playoff spot entering 2023. Killian, who has 28 points in 53 career games, is also a +3 on the season for the Kings.
Goaltender
Connor Strobel, Islanders Hockey Club
Strobel continues to blow the roof off with his play in net. To that point, he is tied for the best save percentage in all the NCDC since Nov. 1 with a .946 mark (shared with Jersey’s J.J. Cataldo). In December, he went 2-0-0-1 and is 5-2-0-1 since the start of November. From his efforts, the Islanders have the fourth most points in the North Division since Nov. 1 with 15, and since Dec. 1 with seven points in six games.
