Note: October Players Of The Month Includes September statistics.
Forwards
Chris Foster, Springfield Pics
Early in November, Foster (‘04/Amherst, Mass.) hit the 100-point mark for his three-year Premier career. But even before the last candy bar hit the bottom of the last bag on Halloween, Foster had already been a major leader within the New England Division. He put up 10 goals and 13 assists for 23 points in 13 games, an average of 1.77 points per game. Add in his early November output, and he has 34-66-100 in 88 games going back to 2022.
Jacob Carey, Springfield Pics
Carey (‘05/Christchurch, New Zealand) has been on fire to start his second Premier season and first in Springfield. He registered 12 goals and added 11 assists for 23 points in 15 games to average 1.77 points per game out of the gate. His 12-game point streak from Sept. 29 to Oct. 26 was tied for second-longest in the Premier this year as of the end of October.
Jack Roberts, Islanders Hockey Club
Roberts (‘04/Middlefield, Conn.) is, like Foster, a dynamic third-year Premier player who’s always been a top contributor for his team. In fact, his 8-12-20 line for a 1.82 points per game average in 11 games helped him to move into third on the IHC all-time points leaderboard going back to the first USPHL Premier season in 2017-18, with 86 points in 91 games.
Honorable Mention: Justin Hooper, Springfield Pics
Defensemen
Jack O’Connor, Boston Junior Bruins
O’Connor (‘05/Canton, Ga.) started out red-hot this season, posting a seven-game point streak out of the gate featuring four goals and six assists for 10 points in 10 games. He is a veteran of the Junior Bruins’ 19U split-season team, as well.
Nick Zanin, Springfield Pics
Zanin (‘04/West Stockbridge, Mass.) finished October as the Premier’s third-leading scorer among defensemen with a line of four goals and 16 assist for 20 points in just 13 games, good for 1.54 points per game on average. Zanin was also ranked second in assists as November dawned, and has played in 101 regular season games in three seasons.
Honorable Mention: Trevor Belak, Northern Cyclones
Goaltender
Kai Rivas, Islanders Hockey Club
A third-year Premier veteran, Rivas (‘05/Surrey, B.C.) has experienced great success in his first season in Massachusetts with the Islanders. The Islanders saw him post a 4-0-0-1 record, stopping 125 of 132 shots for a .947 save percentage through five games. He also put up a 22-save shutout to begin his time with the Islanders on Sept. 28. He has improved his three-season save percentage to .917.
Honorable Mention: Ethan Jourden, Northern Cyclones
Selection Process: The division’s coaches are presented with a ballot form with statistical leaders (ranked by points per game average for skaters and save percentage for goaltenders) and vote on that form. The league takes the results of that vote and presents the coaches with the finalists, who are able to vote on further changes if desired.
Summaries by Joshua Boyd
