NAHL alums earn Atlantic Hockey Association honors
Several NAHL alumni have been honored on the Atlantic Hockey Association including two alumni that were selected for the All-AHA 1st team for the 2012-13 season. Air Force senior forward Kyle De Laurell (Wichita Falls Wildcats) and junior defenseman Adam McKenzie (Wenatchee Wild) were both named first-team all-Atlantic Hockey Association, as voted by the league’s coaches.
De Laurell was the top goal-scorer in AHA games with 17 goals in 27 games. He also tied for fifth in the AHA in points in conference games with 28 (17-11-28). The left winger from Mission Viejo, Calif. (Pine Creek H.S./Colorado Springs) also tied for fifth in the league with five power play goals and was tied for fifth in game-winning goals with three. He was named the AHA Player of the Week on Jan. 14 as he helped lead Air Force to three points against Army. De Laurell had a hat trick, including the game-winner, in game one and added the game-tying goal in game two. In the final 18 games of the season, he scored 15 goals and had 23 points. De Laurell was also a first-team selection as a junior. De Laurell spent two seasons playing in the NAHL for the Wichita Falls Wildcats from 2007-2009, where he recorded 47 points in 47 career regular season games.
McKenzie was fifth in the league in points by a defenseman with 17 points in 22 games. The Petaluma, Calif., native was tied for fourth in the league in power-play points with 12 and was tied for sixth in power-play goals with five. McKenzie was named the AHA Player of the Week on March 4 as he scored five points (1-4-5) as the Falcons swept the 13th-ranked Purple Eagles in the final regular-season series. He had a career-high four points (1-3-4) in the win on March 2. The conference honor was the second for McKenzie as he was also named to the AHA all-rookie team in 2010-11. McKenzie also played two seasons in the NAHL for the Wenatchee Wild from 2008-2010, where he recorded 59 points in 113 career regular season games.
NAHL alums Ryan Misiak (Mercyhurst/Motor City Machine) and Dan Weiss (Niagara/Springfield Jr. Blues) were named to the AHA 2nd team, and NAHL alums Kevin Ryan (Niagara/Topeka RoadRunners), Jeff Ceccacci (American International/St. Louis Bandits) and Matt Grogan (UCONN/Bismarck Bobcats) were named to the AHA 3rd team.
