(Summaries by Brendan Price)
Forwards
Jake Meure, Ogden Mustangs
Last year, Meure scored 16 goals in 49 games. The year prior, he had 18 goals in 47 games. Meure had the most prolific scoring month of his distinguished career with a staggering 18 goals and 30 points (18-12-30) in just 13 games during October.
The 2003-born ‘Stang winger from Fremont, Calif., had three hat tricks, punctuated by a four-goal night and the game-winner in Ogden’s 6-5 win over Pueblo on Oct. 15. Meure is currently fifth in the USPHL in scoring and carries an 11-game point streak into the month of November.
Will Cohen, Utah Outliers
Cohen (‘03) began the month with an eight-game point streak and never looked back while he blitzed opponents for 15 goals and 22 points (15-7-22) to help the Outliers to an 11-1-1 record last month. Cohen had three consecutive games with hat tricks, victimizing Pueblo on all three occasions – Oct. 15, 21 and 22.
Cohen, a St. Paul, Minn., has also been a power play menace, bagging five goals on the man advantage in October. Like Meure, October was the most prolific scoring stretch of Cohen’s career thus far.
Scott Bugarin, Pueblo Bulls
Bugarin, a third-year USPHL vet, has found a comfortable home and role in Pueblo. The Moreno Valley, Calif., product leads the Bulls in scoring, thanks to an 18 point (8-10-18) month in just 13 games. Bugarin did it all for Pueblo in the month of October. He scored two game-winning goals, one of which helped the Bulls to a road win over their archrivals, the Northern Colorado Eagles. His +8 rating led the squad and he’s been strong in the faceoff circle too, winning 51 percent of his astounding 222 faceoffs taken.
Defensemen
Magnus Einarson, Utah Outliers
Nothing but good things followed the ‘02 Einarson when he was on the ice for the Outliers in October. The second-year Outlier was an eye-popping +21, which leads the Mountain Division. A big piece of that number was thanks to Einarson’s offense from the blue line. He chipped in 15 points (2-13-15) in 13 games, had an eight-game point streak, and currently leads all Mountain Division defenseman in points (16) and is fifth overall in the USPHL.
Teddie Hember, Ogden Mustangs
Hember’s offensive numbers were good (2-11-13) in 12 games, and he closed out the month with points in eight of his last nine games.
However, his defensive numbers were what stole the show. Hember led the ‘Stangs in ice time (266:52) and did not take a single penalty. Not one. What’s more, the 2003-born Stockholm, Sweden, rookie drew four opponent penalties, was a +5, and chipped in with 11 blocked shots to boot.
Goaltender
Owen Yancey, Ogden Mustangs
Yancey pitched a 25-save shutout in his season debut on Oct. 6, which set the tone for the rest of October. The Gilbertsville, Pa., ‘02 product had two shutouts and didn’t allow more than three goals in any of his seven starts; opponents lit the lamp just 11 times on 213 shots.
That translates to some very impressive numbers and company on the league leaderboards. Yancey has a top-five and otherworldly .948 save percentage, is tied for fourth with six wins, and a fifth-best and stingy 1.57 GAA.
