NAHL alums earn weekly NCAA honors
October 24, 2013
Two North American Hockey League alums earned weekly honors in their respective NCAA Division I conferences this past week.
Northeastern men's ice hockey freshman Mike Szmatula, who leads the nation in rookie scoring, was named the Hockey East/Pro-Ambitions Co-Rookie of the Week. Szmatula had a goal and two assists last weekend, helping lead the Huskies to a pair of wins against Holy Cross.
Air Force goaltender Jason Torf was named the Atlantic Hockey/Travel Team USA/Goalie of the Week, as he stopped 59-of-62 shots to lead Air Force to a sweep of Penn State
Szmatula is averaging two points per game this season, 0.25 points better than the freshman field. He has one goal and seven assists on the young season, and is fourth in the nation in points per game among all skaters and tied for fifth in the country in assists per game (1.75). Szmatula has played a big part in Northeastern's 4-0-0 start to the season, the best for the program since the 1993-94 campaign.
Szmatula spent the 2010-11 season in the NAHL playing for the Traverse City North Stars. In 57 regular season games that season, Szmatula recorded 33 points. He also recorded a goal in four playoff games.
Torf, from Hermosa Beach, Calif., was named the Travel Team USA/AHA Goalie of the Week, as he stopped 59-of-62 shots to lead Air Force to a sweep of Penn State. His goals against average was 1.50 and save percentage of .952, in the series, allowing just one even strength goal.
Torf made 26 saves, in the 5-2 win, on Friday. He then stopped 33 shots, in the 3-1 win, on Saturday. His shutout was broken up with 2:46 left in an extra attacker situation. Torf moved into seventh place on the Air Force career saves list with 2,305 career saves.
Torf spent the 2009-10 season playing in the NAHL for the Motor City Metal Jackets. Torf appeared in 24 regular season games, posting a 9-10-2 record. He posted a 2.85 goals against average and a 91.6% save percentage. He also appeared in three playoff games that season.
