NAHL announces Bauer Hockey Divisional Stars of the Week
The North American Hockey League (NAHL) today announced the Divisional Stars of the Week presented by Bauer Hockey for the week ending September 15, 2019. The Divisional Stars of the Week is a weekly feature during the 2019-20 regular season that honors the top performing players in each of the four NAHL divisions. Only players that are nominated by their respective teams are considered for the Divisional Players of the Week award.
Watch: Stars of the Week video for September 9-15
Central Division Star of the Week: No Games
East Division Star of the Week: Mitch Matchlitt, forward, New Jersey Titans
It was a big opening weekend for the New Jersey Titans, who went on the road and picked up a sweep of the Maryland Black Bears in both team’s 2019-20 regular season openers. New Jersey forward Mitch Matchlitt, 20, put up a pile of points in the two wins. The 6’2/180 lbs. native of Maple Grove, Minnesota recorded seven assists in the two wins. Matchlitt, who is committed to play NCAA Division 1 hockey at Army, had three assists in a 7-5 win on Friday and four assists in an 8-5 win on Saturday. “Mitch is a returning veteran player who we have high expectations of. He’s a mature young man who had a great off-season of training and has really been good for us during camp. His offensive presence is critical to our success. Him and his line mates got off to a good start in Maryland and we will need them to continue their play throughout the season if we are going to have sustained success,” said Titans head coach Craig Doremus.
2nd Star: Lincoln Hatten, F, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights
Honorable Mention (alphabetical): Noah Basarab, F, Johnstown Tomahawks – Tyler Cooper, F, Northeast Generals – Liam Haslam, F, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights – Kyler Head, F, New Jersey Titans – Joe Nagle, D, Northeast Generals – Wilmer Skoog, F, Maryland Black Bears – Bennett Stockdale, F, Johnstown Tomahawks
Midwest Division Star of the Week: Jacob Dirks, forward, Chippewa Steel
The Chippewa Steel had an impressive opening weekend of the 2019-20 season as they picked up a home-and-home sweep of the Janesville Jets. Veteran forward Jacob Dirks, 20, had five points in the two wins. On Friday, the 6’1/190 lbs. native of Windoro, Wisconsin, had a hat-trick in a 5-2 road win in Janesville. On Saturday, he added two more assists in a 5-3 home win over the Jets. “Jacob is a great teammate who has taken on a leadership role for our team. It's nice to see him rewarded for his hard work and dedication on and off the ice early in the season,” said Steel head coach Carter Foguth.
2nd Star: Killian Kiecker-Olson, F, Chippewa Steel
Honorable Mention (alphabetical): Parker Lindauer, F, Janesville Jets – Jackson Sabo, F, Janesville Jets
South Division Star of the Week: Shane Bull, forward, Corpus Christi IceRays
It was an impressive NAHL debut for Corpus Christi forward Shane Bull, 20. The 5’11/190 lbs. native of Whitby, Ontario, helped the IceRays pick up three of four points in a weekend road series in Topeka. On Friday, Bull had a hat-trick, including the overtime-winner and an assist in a 4-3 overtime win. On Saturday night, Bull added another goal in a 4-3 shootout loss. “Shane has stepped in and been everything we’ve needed from him and more. We’ve got a bunch of new faces here in Corpus and he obviously led the way for us and played liked the veteran we needed, and our staff couldn’t be happier for him because he put the work in all through training camp so it was great to see the work pay off for both him and his teammates. He still hasn’t reached his ceiling yet either so we expect this just to be a start for him to bigger and better things,” said IceRays head coach Al Rooney.
2nd Star: Connor Zilisch, F, Topeka Pilots
Honorable Mention (alphabetical): Tyler Bost, G, Topeka Pilots – Jeremy Forman, G, Corpus Christi IceRays
