Springfield, Illinois – The Springfield Jr. Blues are proud to have over 150 active alumni playing across all levels of junior, collegiate, and professional hockey. From the NCAA to the ECHL and beyond, here is today’s Alumni Report!
We begin this afternoon in Wheeling, WV as we look at second year netminder Stefanos Lekkas who is finding his footing with the Nailers after a whirlwind of a rookie campaign in 2020-21. Lekkas, a native of Elburn, IL, picked up a win in his lone appearance over the weekend by stopping 26 of 29 in Wheeling’s 4-3 overtime victory over Fort Wayne, his former team. On the season he has compiled an 11-9-1 record with a 3.12 GAA, .894 SV%, and 1 shutout as he’s now on his third team this season. After beginning last year in Fort Wayne, Lekkas earned a call up to the Rochester Americans of the AHL and then, finally, a chance to suit up with the Buffalo Sabres. He started this year in Fort Wayne before being traded to Orlando and then once again to Wheeling. Lekkas played in Springfield during the 2013-14 season before playing two years in the USHL for Sioux Falls and then four years at Vermont. He is one of two former Jr. Blues goaltenders in the Penguins organization this season (Tommy Nappier – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins).
Our next stop takes us to Fairbanks, AK where Senior blueliner Jordan Muzzillo doubled his season total in points in one game this past weekend as the Nanooks swept St. Thomas to extend their win streak to five. The Capron, IL had 1 goal and 2 assists coming into the weekend series but was able to grab 3 assists in Saturday 7-3 victory to give him 6 points on the season, his career high since joining the Nanooks for the 2018-19 season. He’s now appeared in 49 NCAA games and has recorded 1 goal and 8 assists and is a +8 overall. Muzzillo played for the Jr. Blues for two seasons from 2016-2018 and appeared in 112 games while scoring 13 goals and 36 assists. He was one of our Assistant Captains during the 2017-18 season (Pictured Above).
From the Great White North to Aurora, IL, our next stop takes us into the NCAA Division III world where Senior forward Riley Doyon tallied 4 goals for the Spartans in their three victories this past week. Last Wednesday the Carmel, IN native tallied 2 goals in Aurora’s 8-2 victory over Concordia-Wisconsin and then netted 2 more goals in Friday’s 6-3 victory over MSOE. He didn’t score in their Saturday victory but he will no doubt be someone the Spartans lean on heavily as they begin the NCHA Tournament this weekend. In 85 appearances for Aurora he has tallied 33 goals and 26 assists after playing here in Springfield during the 2017-18 season. He is teammates with fellow Jr. Blues Alumni Dylan Rauh.
Our final spotlight this week takes us to Worcester, MA where we take a look once again at how Senior forward Ryan Leibold is doing for the College of the Holy Cross. In two games this past weekend against Air Force, Leibold tallied 3 assists as the Crusaders swept the weekend series by final scores of 3-2 in both games. The Ashburn, VA native now has 9 goals and 15 assists in 29 games for Holy Cross this season to increase his career NCAA totals to 18 goals and 38 assists in 113 games. Leibold played for the Jr. Blues during the 2016-16 season where he tallied 13 goals and 19 assists in 60 games played.
While these young men exceeded expectations on the ice this past week, they are far from the only Alumni who had phenomenal weeks! Here are the rest of our Alumni who contributed to their teams’ success!
Devin Cooley 1-0-0 Milwaukee Admirals AHL
Tommy Nappier 1-2-0 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL
Ross Olsson 1 G Worcester Railers ECHL
Brady Tomlak 1 G, 1 A Toledo Walleye ECHL
Christian Simeone 2 A Utah Grizzlies ECHL
Timothy Faulkner 3 A Evansville Thunderbolts SPHL
Brennan Blaczszak 1 A Pensacola Ice Flyers SPHL
Kevin Klima 1 G HK Hradec Kralove Czechia
Martin Liljekvist 1 A HC Kalix HockeyEttan
Les Lancaster 1 A Ilves Liiga
Bradley Marek 1 A Ferris State NCAA
Ethan Stewart 1 A Ferris State NCAA
Coale Norris 1 G Bowling Green NCAA
Mike Robinson 1-1-0, 1 SO New Hampshire NCAA
Caden Villegas 1 A Union NCAA
Patrick Smyth 1 A Army NCAA
Todd Goehring 1 G Sacred Heart NCAA
Will Gavin 1 G, 2 A Air Force NCAA
Daniel DiGrande 1 G, 1 A Canisius NCAA
Ben Schmidling 1 G, 1 A St. Norbert NCAA DIII
Brendan Aird 3 A St. Norbert NCAA DIII
Ryan Murray 2 A Hamline NCAA DIII
Nathan Solis 1 G Saint Mary’s NCAA DIII
Andrew Erwin 1 G, 1 A Hamline NCAA DIII
Kyler Yeo 1 G, 1 A Augsburg NCAA DIII
Nick Techel 1 A UW-Eau Claire NCAA DII
Andrew McGlynn 1 G UW-Eau Claire NCAA DIII
Nikita Kozyrev 1 A Buffalo State NCAA DIII
Zach Tyson 1 A Hobart NCAA DIII
Jeffrey Skinner 1 G, 1 A UMass-Boston NCAA DIII
Callahan Johnson 1 G, 1 A Skidmore NCAA DIII
Justin Brandt 1 G, 2 A Tufts NCAA DIII
Josh Sarlo 1-0-0 Tufts NCAA DIII
Cade Groton 2 A Hamilton NCAA DIII
Zach Shapiro 1 A Middlebury NCAA DIII
