Springfield, Illinois – The Springfield Jr. Blues Alumni have been performing above and beyond all season long, and this past weekend was no different! From the NCAA to the ECHL and beyond, here is this weekend’s Alumni Report!
We begin our Alumni spotlights in Colorado Springs, CO where Sophomore forward Will Gavin was named Atlantic Hockey Player of the Week after recording 3 goals and an assist in the Air Force Falcons sweep at Mercyhurst over the weekend. In Friday’s 5-2 victory the Durham, CT native recorded 2 goals including the game winner, and then on Saturday registered a goal and an assist in their 5-3 victory. It’s Gavin’s second Player of the Week honor this season as he now has 10 goals and 6 assists in 22 games, leading his team in both goals and points. Gavin played here at the beginning of the 2018-19 season before finishing up his junior career for the Northern Cyclones.
From Colorado to Milwaukee, WI, our next spotlight is on Junior forward Nigel Nelson after he recorded 3 goals for the MSOE Raiders this past week. The Chicago, IL native recorded a goal in each of the Raiders games starting with their 4-3 loss last Wednesday to Aurora and continuing into their weekend sweep of Concordia-Wisconsin. Nelson now has 4 goals and 3 assists on the season and has scored 11 goals and 13 assists in 59 games overall. He played here in Springfield during the 2018-19 season (Pictured Above) where he appeared in 51 games and scored 6 goals and 8 assists. In three NAHL seasons split between the Topeka Roadrunners, Fairbanks Ice Dogs, and the Jr. Blues, Nelson tallied 19 goals, 24 assists, and 146 PIMs in 171 career games.
Our next stop takes us to Geneva, NY where Junior forward Zach Tyson is off to a hot start to the season and continuing to produce for the Hobart Statesmen. Over the weekend Tyson had two assists, one in each game for the Statesmen in their weekend split against Elmira. On the season he now has 6 goals and 12 assists in 17 games and has the second most points on the team. The Dublin, OH native was named an Assistant Captain prior to the season and in 72 career games for Hobart he has accumulated 23 goals and 39 assists. Tyson played parts of two seasons here in Springfield (2016-18) and recorded 4 goals and 10 assists in 44 games.
And our last destination is in Beverly, MA where Sophomore blueliner Jeremy Gabriele recorded his first collegiate goal for the Endicott Gulls this past weekend. The Scottsdale, AZ native tallied a goal in the Gulls 7-0 victory over Wentworth and then picked up his first collegiate assist the next evening in their 2-1 loss to Wentworth. He’s now appeared in five games over the past two seasons and is joined on the Gulls roster by fellow alumni Ryan Wilson. Gabriele played here in Springfield during the 2019-20 campaign where he appeared in 53 games and recorded 3 goals and 13 assists.
And while these four young men performed phenomenally for their respective teams, they weren’t our only alumni who stood out!
Tyler Parks 1-0-0 Atlanta Gladiators ECHL
Ross Olsson 3 G Worcester Railers ECHL
Matheson Iacopelli 1 G Kalamazoo Wings ECHL
Kevin Klima 1 A HK Hradec Kralove Czechia
Ricards Bernhards 1 G Kiruna AIF HockeyEttan
Martin Liljekvist 1 A Kalix HockeyEttan
Dryden McKay 2-0-0 Minnesota State-Mankato NCAA
Bradley Marek 1 A Ferris State NCAA
Mike Robinson 1-0-1 New Hampshire NCAA
TJ Friedmann 1 G Quinnipiac NCAA
Ryan Leibold 2 G Holy Cross NCAA
Dylan Rauh 2 A Aurora NCAA DIII
Riley Doyon 2 G Aurora NCAA DIII
Brendan Aird 1 A St. Norbert NCAA DIII
Ben Schmidling 1 A St. Norbert NCAA DIII
Jack Nickels 1 G MSOE NCAA DIII
Jeffrey Skinner 1 G UMass-Boston NCAA DIII
Shane Haviland 1 A Elmira NCAA DIII
Kaiden Scott 1 A Nichols NCAA DIII
Zach Shapiro 1 G Middlebury NCAA DIII
Justin Brandt 1 A Tufts NCAA DIII
Cade Groton 1 A Hamilton NCAA DIII
