Springfield, Illinois – From the NCAA to the ECHL and beyond, the Springfield Jr. Blues are proud of the more than 150 alumni actively playing around the world! We have a lot to get to this morning so here’s this week’s Alumni Report!
We begin our journey today in Mankato, MN where Senior netminder Dryden McKay is looking to wrap up one of the all time best collegiate careers in NCAA history. After securing two wins against Bemidji State by back-to-back totals of 5-1, McKay’s record on the season stands at 29-4-0 with a 1.26 GAA, .934 SV%, and 9 shutouts – all registering in the top five in the nation. Earlier this season McKay set the NCAA record for career shutouts and has increased his total to 33. The Downers Grove, IL native stands at 104 career wins during his time with the Mavericks and is third all time in that category, trailing only Marty Turco and Steve Shields. He earned CCHA Goaltender of the Week honors for the sixth time this season while also being named a Semi-Finalist for the Mike Richter Award.
Our next stop takes us to Geneva, NY where junior forward Zach Tyson is continuing to put up numbers for the Statesmen. In their lone contest over the weekend, Tyson tallied two goals and an assist in Hobart’s 5-2 victory over Southern Maine for their fifth straight win. Hobart will next face Skidmore this weekend in the NEHC Semi-finals. Tyson, a native of Dublin, OH, has put together an impressive campaign since being named an Assistant Captain this year. In 24 games played he has 9 goals and 17 assists to bring his career totals to 26 goals and 44 assists for 70 points in 79 games – just shy of a point per game. He played here in Springfield during the 2016-17 season and accumulated 4 goals and 10 assists in 44 games.
From NCAA DIII in New York to the SPHL in beautiful Pensacola, FL, our next stop takes us back to the Ice Flyers as Captain Brennan Blaszczak had a weekend to remember. In three games against Roanoke he tallied 5 goals and 1 assist as the defending SPHL champions took two out of three against the Rail Yard Dawgs. Blaszczak, a native of Las Vegas, NV, has come into his own this year for the Ice Flyers. In 29 appearances he has scored 21 goals and added 11 assists and, despite missing nearly a month of hockey, he leads the Ice Flyers in goals and is third on the team in points overall. Additionally, since his return he has amassed 17 points on 12 goals and 5 assists in just 10 games! Blaszczak played for the Jr. Blues from 2015-2017 (pictured above) before playing parts of three seasons at the Univ. of Alaska-Fairbanks.
Our final spotlight takes us to Hradec Kralove, Czechia where veteran winger Kevin Klima registered a Hat Trick this past weekend to raise his season totals to 16 goals and 16 assists in 49 games. Klima, who is the son of long time NHLer Petr Klima, plays alongside his twin brother Kelly for HK Hradec Kralove (aka Mountfield HK) in the top league in Czechia (formerly Czech Republic). Klima played 21 games for the Jr. Blues during the 2014-15 season, compiling 3 goals and 3 assists to go along with 65 PIMs. After his time here in Springfield he played three seasons in the QMJHL split between the Moncton Wildcats and the Chicoutimi Sagueneens, finishing his major junior career with 70 goals, 102 assists, and 209 PIMs in 180 games.
While these four young men had phenomenal weekends for their respective teams, they are far from the only Alumni who excelled on the ice!
Tommy Nappier 1-0-0 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL
Ross Olsson 1 A Worcester Railers ECHL
Matheson Iacopelli 1 G, 1 A Kalamazoo Wings ECHL
Nathan Chasteen 1 G Peoria Rivermen SPHL
Timothy Faulkner 1 G Evansville Thunderbolts SPHL
Brad Denney 1 A Port Huron Prowlers FPHL
Kelly Klima 1 G HK Hradec Kralove Czechia
Ricards Bernhards 1 G Kiruna AIF HockeyEttan
Martin Liljekvist 1 G Kalix HC HockeyEttan
Radim Matus 2 A Orli Znojmo ICEHL
Les Lancaster 1 G Ilves Liiga
Bradley Marek 1 G, 1 A Ferris State NCAA
Ethan Stewart 1 A Ferris State NCAA
Coale Norris 1 G, 1 A Bowling Green NCAA
Mike Robinson 1-1-0 New Hampshire NCAA
TJ Friedmann 1 G Quinnipiac NCAA
Caden Villegas 1 G Union NCAA
Ryan Leibold 1 A Holy Cross NCAA
Jack Summers 1 A Michigan NCAA
Jack Nickels 1 G, 1 A MSOE NCAA III
Nigel Nelson 1 A MSOE NCAA III
Riley Doyon 1 A Aurora NCAA III
Dylan Rauh 1 G Aurora NCAA III
Ben Schmidling 1 A St. Norbert NCAA III
Max Osborne 2 A Saint John’s NCAA III
Kyler Yeo 1 G, 1 A Augsburg NCAA III
Andrew Erwin 1 A Hamline NCAA III
Nathan Solis 1 A Saint Mary’s NCAA III
Reed Stark 1 G UW-Superior NCAA III
Sam Sterne 1 G UW-Superior NCAA III
Andrrew McGlynn 1 G, 1 A UW-Eau Claire NCAA III
Zach Shapiro 1 A Middlebury NCAA III
Mark Leach 1 A Saint Anselm NCAA III
Kaiden Scott 1 A Nichols NCAA III
