(Summaries By Grace Mello)
Forwards
Narek Aleksanyan, Las Vegas Thunderbirds
And he does it again, Aleksanyan (‘02/East Angus, Que.) has proven that he truly is on track to being one of the highest scorers not only for the T-Birds or the Pacific Division, but the entire USPHL Premier. In the month of November, he has managed to more than double his points; he now sits third in points in the league and has continued to lead the division and his team. Scoring points in eight of his nine games in the last month, this T-Birds captain picked up 32 points with 19 goals and 13 assists. Aleksanyan is no stranger to scoring points and in early November he showed out with a 4-3-7 performance over Bakersfield, his highest scoring game yet.
Antoine Tourigny, Las Vegas Thunderbirds
Year 2 in Las Vegas and Tourigny (‘04/Victoriaville, Que.) sits in the No. 2 spot for points on the T-Birds. He averaged 2.44 PPG in November as he picked up 22 points with seven goals and 15 assists, scoring in seven of his nine games. He has several multi-point games throughout the month, including a 2-3-5 performance in a T-Birds win over Long Beach and a 1-3-4 performance where he scored the GWG over Bakersfield.
Christopher Miraldo, Fresno Monsters
November was a short month for Fresno, but the assistant captain and lead scorer for the Monsters did not let that stop him from picking up points in every game. Miraldo (‘02/Montreal, Que.) earned 14 points (eight goals, six assists) in just five games played. He earned the GWG in Fresno’s shutout win over San Diego as well as two crucial goals in their 5-4 OT win over San Diego. Miraldo remains in the top five scorers in the USPHL Premier with 51 points, helping his team remain at the top of the Pacific division.
Defensemen
Nicholas Bonaldi, Las Vegas Thunderbirds
Not only did he show stellar defense in the month of November as a +9 with 11 blocked shots and five hits, Bonaldi (‘03/Las Vegas, Nev.) was also able to show off his offensive skills. In November he picked up 15 points with four goals and 11 assists putting him in the No. 3 spot for points on the T-Birds. He currently has 30 points with 5 goals and 25 assists and is a crucial part of Las Vegas getting the puck in the net.
Lare Pahtayken, Ontario Jr Reign
As a major defensive force to reckon with, Pahtayken (‘03/Onion Lake, Sask), was a crucial part of November for the Jr Reign. He finished the month with 12 hits and 10 blocks, aiding in Ontario wins over Long Beach, San Diego, and Las Vegas. The Jr Reign are just one point behind Las Vegas with 28 points. Pahtayken picked up six of his nine points in the November games with five assists and one goal.
Goaltender
Bence Pal, Fresno Monsters
Three for three in the month of November for this Fresno goalie. Pal (‘05/Romania) has now earned wins in nine of his 11 games played. He blocked 69 of the 72 shots he faced this month, including a 21-save shutout over San Diego. His current save percentage is 0.926, with 277 saves on 299 shots.
