Springfield, Illinois – As we approach the Holidays, several players have gifted their families, the fans and their teammates with remarkable performances. From the NCAA to the ECHL and beyond, here is today’s Alumni Report!
We begin today in Schenectady, NY at Union College where Freshman forward Caden Villegas is coming off a big weekend for the Dutchmen. Villegas, a native of Plano, TX, picked up his first collegiate goal and assist as he had a hand in all three Union goals on Saturday night. For his efforts over the weekend he earned ECAC Rookie of the Week honors and became the first Union rookie to tally three points in a game since January 2020. Villy (pictured above) played for the Jr. Blues for two seasons stretching from 2018-2020, recording 25 goals and 35 assists in 104 career NAHL games. He played a season for Tri-City in the USHL after his time in Springfield and scored 8 goals and 9 assists in 42 games. Villegas is joined at Union by fellow Jr. Blues alums Fletcher Fineman, Garrett Nieto, and Joe Sharib.
Our next spotlight keeps us in the ECAC but this time we travel to Hamden, CT where Senior forward TJ Friedmann put up an outstanding performance for the Bobcats in their weekend sweep of LIU. Friedmann, a native of St. Louis, MO, scored two goals and added two helpers in the weekend series en route to being named the ECAC Player of the Week! Friedmann has now tallied 5 goals and 6 assists in 18 games this season, career highs in goals, assists, and points. He is a two-time ECAC Hockey All-Academic Team member and through 106 games for the Bobcats he has 12 goals and 12 assists. Friedmann played for the Jr. Blues during the 2014-15 season and appeared in 49 games, scoring 2 goals and 7 assists.
The next spotlight moves us out to Superior, WI where we have another alum earning a weekly award for their recent performance. Reed Stark, a Freshman forward from Suffern, NY, recorded his first collegiate goal on Saturday en route to a natural Hat Trick in the Yellowjackets 5-0 victory over Northland. Stark earned WIAC Athlete of the Week honors for his offensive performance and now has six points on the season behind three goals and three assists with a +3 rating in 9 games. He played for the Jr. Blues during the 2018-19 season and appeared in 21 games, tallying 2 goals and 3 assists. He went on to play for the Jamestown Rebels and Johnstown Tomahawks in the NAHL, finishing his NA career with 18 goals and 31 assists in 88 games.
Our final spotlight is a familiar face to this report, having shown up several times this season and in the past. Tyler Parks, a netminder from Imperial, MO, is currently playing for the Atlanta Gladiators in the ECHL and went 2-0-0 on the weekend, including a 39-save shutout as he improved his record to 9-2-2 with a 2.05 GAA, .930 SV%, and 2 shutouts. Parks has already earned one Goaltender of the Week honors from the ECHL this season and, if he continues to play the way he has been as of late, we should see more hardware coming his way. Parks played for the Jr. Blues during the 2011-12 season where he appeared in 24 games and posted a 12-9-9 record with a 2.75 GAA, .917 SV%, and 1 shutout. He went on to play two years at St. Lawrence and one season at Adrian College before embarking on a professional career that has seen him play in the SPHL, ECHL, AHL, and overseas.
Here are the rest of our Alumni who excelled on the ice this week!
Devin Cooley 1-0-0 Milwaukee Admirals AHL
Ross Olsson 1 A Worcester Railers ECHL
Matt Iacopelli 1 A Kalamazoo Wings ECHL
Christian Simeone 1 G Utah Grizzlies ECHL
Brennan Blaszczak 2 A Pensacola Ice Flyers SPHL
Kevin Klima 1 G HK Hradec Kralove Czech
Ricards Bernhards 1 A Kiruna AIF HockeyEttan
Josh Lammon 1 G Cardiff Devils EIHL
Martin Liljekvist 1 A Kalix HC HockeyEttan
Radim Matus 1 G, 1 A Orli Znojmo ICEHL
Sandro Aeschlimann 1-0-0 HC Davos NL
Sam Craggs 1 A Bowling Green NCAA
Dryden McKay 2-0-0 Minnesota-Mankato NCAA
Jordan Muzillo 1 G Alaska-Fairbanks NCAA
Patrick Smyth 1 G Army NCAA
Nigel Nelson 1 G, 1 A MSOE NCAA DIII
Dylan Rauh 2 G, 1 A Aurora NCAA DIII
Riley Doyon 1 G Aurora NCAA DIII
Max Osborne 1 G Saint John’s NCAA DIII
Shane Haviland 1 G, 1 A Elmira NCAA DIII
Cam Cervone 1 G, 1 A SUNY-Geneseo NCAA DIII
Zach Tyson 1 G Hobart NCAA DIII
Mark Leach 1 G Saint Anselm NCAA DIII
