By Joshua Boyd / NCDCHockey.com
The National Collegiate Development Conference is proud to announce that P.A.L. Jr. Islanders goaltender Nicholas Bevilacqua has been named the Atlantic Division Goaltender Of The Year.
The NCAA Division 1 Bentley University recruit set some big-time records this past year, becoming the NCDC’s all-time wins leader with 52 and games played leader at 91. His .948 save percentage is currently an all-time single season record.
A 2003-born native of Abington, Mass., he originally joined the Boston Advantage midget program in 2019-20 and played two years of Midgets with the Advantage before becoming a member of their former NCDC team in 2020-21, when the NCDC played a large portion of their season in the six-week “Hub City Tampa” event.
After splitting the 2021-22 season between Northfield Mount Hermon School and the Boston Jr. Eagles, he returned to the NCDC and the Advantage in 2022-23, winning 21 games and putting up a .919 save percentage.
He made his move to the Jr. Islanders for his final junior season and was lights out all year in 2023-24, including a winning streak of 20 straight games between Oct. 13 and Jan. 12.
“It is obviously a huge honor to be named Goaltender of the Year,” said Bevilacqua. “Going into this season, it was a goal of mine to be a top goaltender in the league, but it would’ve been much harder without the unbelievable group of guys I had in front of me this year. They made my job very easy with their continued effort and sacrifice on the ice – and an unbelievable coach with great systems that allowed us to thrive. I know how hard it is to win an award like this, so I am extremely humbled by this and cannot wait to see what the future holds.”
“We are very proud of all that Nick accomplished this season,” added Jr. Islanders Head Coach Mike Marcou. “He was a pleasure to coach and he has a very bright future at Bentley. We thank him for trusting the organization to allow him to achieve his goal of playing Division 1 hockey.”
The NCDC joins the P.A.L. Jr. Islanders in congratulating Nicholas Bevilacqua for being named Atlantic Division Goaltender Of The Year!
About The NCDC
The National Collegiate Development Conference (NCDC) was founded in 2017 as the Tuition-Free Tier II conference of the United States Premier Hockey League, itself founded in 2012. The NCDC consists of 18 teams in three divisions, two on the Eastern Seaboard and one in the Rocky Mountain states of Colorado, Utah and Idaho.
The NCDC has sent more than 250 alumni to play NCAA Division I hockey, and more than 900 overall into NCAA college hockey. There were also more than 250 alumni in pro hockey around the world during the 2023-24 season. Former NCDC player Drew O’Connor has become a regular with the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins, Collin Graf recently signed and has played with the San Jose Sharks, and there have been seven players selected in the NHL Entry Draft from the NCDC.
