Week of Oct. 12-18
South Division
Forward: Panayioti Efraimidis, Jersey Hitmen
Efraimidis (‘03/St-Laurent, Que.) put together a fantastic single-game performance of two goals and two assists for four points in a decisive win against Mercer that represented the Hitmen’s only action of the past week. He was playing in just his second game with the Hitmen after being acquired from the Junior Bruins and currently has eight points in his first six NCDC games.
Defense: Jonah Copre, Rockets Hockey Club
Copre (‘03/Elgin, Ill.) launched himself into first place in scoring among NCDC defensemen with a 2-3-5 performance in a pair of games against the Connecticut Jr. Rangers and Mercer Chiefs. He is also the Rockets’ leading scorer, one of two blueliners in the league to lead their team. He has posted 4-8-12 in nine games. Copre is a Quinnipiac University commit, having committed there in 2018-19 as a 15U player with the Chicago Mission.
Goaltender: Waylon Esche, Utica Jr. Comets
Helping the Comets in their three-game sweep of the WBS Knights, Esche was in net for two of the games and came up with 81 saves on 86 shots – including 41 on 43 in his Oct. 16 win. Esche, an ‘05 and son of former NHL goalie Robert Esche, is a Utica native and has played previously for the Jr. Comets’ USPHL 16U and USPHL Premier teams (between 2019 and 2021).
North Division
Forward: Arik Altman, Boston Advantage
Altman (‘03/Scottsdale, Ariz.) cannot be kept from the net, putting up five goals in three straight of the Advantage’s four games played over the last week. A former USPHL Premier Pacific Division All-Star from the Las Vegas Thunderbirds’ 2020-21 season, Altman’s 12 points in 10 games in this, his second season, is #USPHLAdvancement personified.
Defense: Noah-David Dayan, Boston Advantage
Dayan (‘03/St-Laurent, Que.) is a new arrival for the Advantage but he comes in with three prior seasons of NCDC experience. He proved it by putting up a pair of goals and two assists for four points in his first three games for the Advantage between Oct. 14-18. He had the game-winning goal against the Islanders Hockey Club, as well. Dayan has played in 67 regular season NCDC games since 2019-20.
Goaltender: Christopher Jackson, Twin City Thunder
Though Jackson (‘02/Charles Town, W.V.) played in just one game, he was strong in giving up just two goals on 22 shots against the Boston Advantage to give himself his third win in a 4-1-0-0 season so far. Overall, Jackson has a 2.00 goals against average and a .926 save percentage early on in the year.
