Summaries by Joshua Boyd
Forwards
Raine Hodge, Seattle Totems
Hodge (‘04/Guelph, Ont.) posted multiple points in all but one game during the month of January, including two four-goal efforts and a total of 19 goals and 23 points over the course of the month. Overall, he has posted 39 points in 15 games since the start of his time in the USPHL back in December.
Alex Rene Bartakovics, Vernal Oilers
Bartakovics (‘04/Slovakia) is in good company as one of four Premier players to post 90 points or better – and with the chance to hit 100 still in sight – down the stretch. He just gets it done every time out, including the eight games in January during which he posted a line of 7-15-22. Overall, his line reads 33-57-90. With nine games left, the century mark is still in sight.
Kieran Maloney, Bellingham Blazers
Maloney (‘04/Kamloops, B.C.) has been a heart-and-soul type player all year for the Blazers, and his 6-6-12 line through just six January games is proof positive of what he can do for his team. The Blazers’ four wins in their last 10 games is second best in the Northwest Division, and Maloney is on a six-game point streak after also earning points in his first February action. In total, he has 30 goals and 54 points in 32 games.
Defense
Cole Bisson, Vernal Oilers
Bisson (‘03/Colchester, Vt.) remained a +1 in the Oilers’ toughest month of the season, as they faced some of the top teams in the Mountain Division in some of their first ventures outside of the Northwest division (aside of the USPHL Las Vegas Showcase). In eight January games, Bisson put up a pair of goals and seven assists for nine points, and he also registered seven blocked shots. He now has 10 points in nine games since arriving in Vernal from Charlotte in December.
Peter Konopka, Seattle Totems
In a 6-1 month for the Totems, Konopka (03/Kalispell, Mont.) was big on both sides of the defense/offense coin. He posted a 2-4-6 line, one of the best for a Northwest defenseman in January. He also was a +1 defensively as the Totems gave up three goals or less in all of their wins.
Goaltender
Antonio Tarantino, Vernal Oilers
You can’t keep a good goalie down, and Tarantino just keeps racking up the big honors. He stopped 169 of 180 shots for a 2-0-1-1 record during the month of January, for a .939 save percentage. The Premier veteran goalie put up a 36-save shutout over Rock Springs, and he stopped 58 of 62 in an overtime loss to the Ogden Mustangs. He has lost just once in regulation and is 17-1-1-2 overall this year, and 25-4-1-2 overall.
