The Michigan Warriors of the North American Hockey League (NAHL) aren’t having to go far to find potential players for their 2013-14 roster. Head Coach Moe Mantha has invited four players that competed in the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) last season to the Michigan Warriors main camp.
Two of the players, Cody Licthenvoort (Peoria Mustangs) & Alex Berardinelli (Pittsburgh Vengeance) were acquired through a tender agreement from the 2012-13 season.
Lichtenvoort, a defenseman from Algonquin, Illinois, was a mainstay on the Peoria blue line all season long. He scored 30 points during the regular season, leading all Peoria blue liners and was fifth among defensemen in the NA3HL. His stellar play earned Cody an invite to be apart of Team Midwest at the 2013 NA3HL Top Prospects tournament. Scoring two points in four games, Cody helped Team Midwest earn the tournament title.
Berardinelli, an 18-year-old forward from Export, Pennsylvania, has been a consistent contributor for the Pittsburgh Vengeance since the 2011-12 season. As a 16-year-old he scored 50 points and earned a spot on Team East at the 2012 NA3HL Top Prospects tournament. To follow up his rookie season, he scored 64 points, ninth most among NA3HL players, with 32 goals ranking him in the top five goal scorers of the NA3HL.
During the 2013 NAHL Entry Draft, Coach Mantha used the Warriors fifth round pick to select Scott Cuthrell of the Cleveland Jr. Lumberjacks and the pick is already paying dividends.
Cuthrell, a forward from Waterford, Michigan, had a season to remember in 2012-13 including leading the NA3HL in scoring with 88 points and topping it off by winning the NA3HL Rookie of the Year award. In addition, he was selected multiple times as a member of the NA3HL Three Star’s of the Week and was chosen as the NA3HL Forward of the Month for February.
The last NA3HL player attending camp is Flint Junior Generals defenseman Conner McGovern, an Eagan, Minnesota native. McGovern tallied 14 points in 26 games with the Generals. In addition to his time in the NA3HL, Conner also has NAHL experience suiting up for one game with the Austin Bruins and four games with the Kenai River Brown Bears during the 2012-13 campaign.
