(Summaries by Joshua Boyd)
Forwards
Alexander Clingerman, Florida Eels
Five multi-point games in a row, including a five-point effort against the Columbia Infantry, certainly helped bring Clingerman to our notice in December. All told, Clingerman (‘03/Marriottsville, Md.) wound up with four goals and nine assists for 13 points in eight December games for the Eels, bringing him to second on the team’s scoring leaderboard with 28 points in 22 games. That also gave him a better than point per game average for his season and for his Elite career (65 points in 63 games).
Lorenzo Marchetta, Florida Eels
Marchetta (‘03/Montreal, Que.) rose to the top spot in team scoring during the month of December, putting up seven goals and six assists for 13 points in the Eels’ eight games. They went 5-2-1-0 over the month of December, pushing past the former leaders the Tampa Bay Juniors into first place in the Elite Florida Division thanks in large part to his heroics and those of many other teammates listed in this space.
Jacob Gusty, Florida Jr. Blades
No Junior Blades player scored points in more games in December than the ‘02 from Whittier, Calif. Along with being a physical presence on the ice at 6-feet-5-inches, 270 pounds, Gusty also was Mr. Consistent on the scoresheet in December. He posted points in seven of the Jr. Blades’ eight games and was held scoreless only once – in one of two games on Dec. 18 against the league’s No. 2 team the Charlotte Rush. And he got one against them the second time around on the same day. For the month, Gusty had a 5-4-9 scoring line. The Blades earned both their wins on the season in December, and Gusty registered their first GWG in countering two tough losses to Atlanta with a win to close the first weekend. The four-year Jr. Blades veteran stands with 65 points in 110 career contests.
Defense
Jachym Cermak, Florida Eels
The heart and soul of the Elite Eels blue line may never leave this space the rest of this season the way he’s performing. Along with being the overall ice time leader (21:03) and plus-minus leader (+22), Cermak has also been one of the team’s go-to offensive players. He was good for five goals and three assists for eight points in the month of December, contributing to 22 points in 24 games this season. Though listed as a forward, Cermak has spent most of his time for the Eels anchoring the top defensive pairing with Julian Gagnon here in 2022-23.
Sean Burke, Florida Eels
Picked up out of Massachusetts public high school hockey, the ‘03 from Wellesley, Mass., has become so trusted and so steady, the Eels know they can put him out with almost anyone and the results will be heads-up defense. With five different defense partners in December, Burke put up six assists in eight games and was second in plus-minus at +8 (behind only Cermak’s +9). He also drew a team-leading six opponent penalties, showing how his game can frustrate those unable to solve him.
Goaltender
Olivier Dulac, Palm Beach Typhoon
No goalie in the Florida Division was called upon more in December than Dulac and he certainly lived up to the trust by helping the Typhoon to a .500 overall record. Dulac (‘04/Ste-Malachie, Que.) is a second-year Elite goalie who put up a win against his former team the Florida Eels, with 34 saves in a massive bounceback effort from an earlier loss. He also beat the Hampton Roads Whalers, with 40 saves on 41 shots, to close the month.
His maximum for saves on the month was 45 in an OT loss to the defending National Champion Richmond Generals. He also made 44 saves on 46 shots in a 2-1 loss to the league-leading Carolina Jr. Hurricanes. Stopping 179 of 197 shots in 263 minutes of action gave him a .909 save percentage for December.
