All games of September and October taken into statistical account.
Forward: John Crowdell, Rockets Hockey Club
Crowdell (‘03/Staten Island, N.Y.) continues to climb up the all-time USPHL Elite scoring charts as he was leading the league through the end of October – after also leading the league in scoring in 2022-23. This time, the lead came with a bit of a bonus – he scored the overtime game-winner in his USPHL Premier debut on Oct. 19. In Elite play, he had posted 19 goals and 23 assists for 42 points in just 15 games, an average of 2.8 points per game – and he is seventh all-time with 126 points in 60 games.
Forward: Jace Lombardo, Rockets Hockey Club
Crowdell’s old Monsignor Farrell High schoolmate Lombardo (‘04/Staten Island, N.Y.) is essentially always right there with Crowdell, points-wise. In fact, only one point separated the longtime teammates, with Lombardo registering a league-best 21 goals and 20 assists for 41 points (2.73 points per game). He has also registered a goal and an assist for two points in four games.
Forward:Justin Morrissey, P.A.L. Jr. Islanders
Morrissey (‘06/Patchogue, N.Y.) posted 12 goals and 10 assists for 22 points in 15 games, which also equates to 1.47 points per game as he helped the Jr. Islanders to the top of the standings. He started the season with a 2-2-4 line, and he had multiple points in each of the four games. He also had three points on three occasions.
Defense: Justin Modzelewski, Rockets Hockey Club
Modzelewski is another Rocket out of Staten Island and he’s picked up 17 points off of a 5-12-17 line in 15 games. He has also helped the Rockets to give up only 2.27 goals against per game, good for fourth overall in the league.
Defense: Christopher Kobayashi, Jersey Hitmen
Kobayashi (‘05/Hillsdale, N.J.) has been around the Ice Vault for many years, including time with the youth New Jersey Bandits before joining the Hitmen Elite team last season. He put up two points last year as a fully defensive defenseman, and now has added much more offense to his game, with seven goals and eight assists for 15 points in 16 games.
Goaltender: Joseph Auletti, Rockets Hockey Club
Cue up another Staten Island native on the Rockets making this honored list, as Auletti (‘05) was a huge contributor to the Rockets’ success in standing at or near the top of the standings for a month and a half. He posted an 8-2-0-0 record with a .944 save percentage and a 2.00 goals against average. A key performance was a 39-save shutout over the WBS Knights, a team that had reached the national championship game last year.
Method of selection: The USPHL Media Team shares a first set of nominees from among statistical leaders with division coaches and accepts alternate nominations from coaches, where applicable. From these, the USPHL Media Team selects the final “starting lineup.”
Top Performers Of the Week (Oct. 24-31):
Forward: Austin Hlavac, Jersey Hitmen – Hlavac put up three goals and two assists for five points in three games, over which the Hitmen registered seven goals.
Defense: Tyson Herishen, Jersey Hitmen – Herishen registered four assists in three games for the Hitmen.
Goaltender: Andrew Zang, Wilkes-Barre Scranton Knights – The Knights’ goaltender put up a 37-save shutout against the WBS Knights.
