(Summaries By Joshua Boyd/USPHL.com)
Forwards
Caden Cranston, Rockets Hockey Club
How about an ‘04 leading the way in scoring? The young Rochester, N.Y., native Cranston played out of his head for the Rockets in November. In helping his team become the only squad to go 3-0 at the Islanders Hockey Club Showcase, he put up a league-best 12 points off a 3-9-12 line in the month of November alone. His 21 points in 11 games between Oct. 22 and Nov. 16 gave him the league’s most productive points streak of the season so far. Overall, he has improved to 10-20-30, with those 30 points ranking No. 1 among all NCDC players. Cranston, a USPHL Premier Atlantic West Division All-Star last year with the Buffalo Stampede is a true #USPHLAdvancement In Action Success Story!
D.J. Walsh, P.A.L. Jr. Islanders
Walsh (‘03/Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.) seemed to come out of nowhere in November. He had been in the lineup from the start of the season for the Jr. Islanders and put up four points in his first 11 contests. Then November happened, and a switch was flicked on, as Walsh scored in every single contest for the Jr. Isles. He put up a 3-8-11 line in seven games last month, good for a 1.6 points per game average. That streak remains active here to start December, including an active seven-game assist streak, the longest active helper streak in the league. Overall, Walsh has 15 points in 18 games to rank third on the Jr. Islanders leaderboard.
Panayioti Efraimidis, Jersey Hitmen
A major score in terms of being picked up via trade in October, Efraimidis has soared to second on the Hitmen scoring leaderboard with 22 points in 16 games this season. His 1.38 points per game average is No. 1 in the league, and his 1.5 points per game in November (2-7-9 in six games) ranked third in the division behind only Cranston and Walsh. The ‘03 from St-Laurent, Que., came into the NCDC with prior Tier II experience in the AJHL last season.
Defensemen
Jack Barbro, Rockets Hockey Club
Barbro (‘02/Loudonville, N.Y.) has emerged as a game-breaking goal-scorer for the Rockets, who have two of the top five point-scoring blueliners in the league between Barbro with 16 points and Quinnipiac recruit Jonah Copre with 22 points. Out of his league-leading nine goals as a defenseman this season, Barbro has three game-winning goals. Barbro put up a 4-4-8 line in his seven November games, including back-to-back three-point efforts at the IHC Showcase, which the Rockets swept 3-0. His second goal against the Boston Advantage on the opening day of Nov. 15 was his first OT game-winner.
Trevor Davis, Mercer Chiefs
Davis (‘02/Byron Center, Mich.) has been an offensive force from the blue line ever since stepping on the ice for the Chiefs. For quite some time this year, he was the first-year Chiefs’ leading scorer, helping the inaugural season squad to second overall in the entire NCDC. Davis was one of only three players to score a league-best six goals in November, along with teammate Frank Jirak and North Forward of the Month Luke Panchisin, of the Boston Advantage. And Davis definitely gets it done defensively, too – his 88 takeaways were second for November only to teammate Alex Keskinteppe, and his +8 was second in the league for November, behind only teammate Peter Poulianas’ +11.
Goaltender
J.J. Cataldo, Jersey Hitmen
October 1, November 1 and now December 1 have all seen the same name at the top of the NCDC goaltending leaderboard. The second-year ‘03 Hitman from Stuart, Fla., has simply dominated from the start of the season to the present day. November was no different than the prior months, as he posted a league-best .968 save percentage among goalies with at least 180 minutes played. In his four games in November, he went 4-0-0-0, stopped 151 of 156 shots and registered his seventh shutout of the season, which ties former Hitman Damon Beaver’s 2020-21 shutout count for the league record. Along with a 2021-22 shutout, his eight career shutouts is also a league record. And the beat goes on.
