Springfield, Illinois – As we turn the page from 2021 to 2022 we take a look back at how our alumni performed across the hockey world – from the NCAA to the ECHL and beyond. Here’s today’s Alumni Report!
We begin today in Mankato, MN where Senior netminder Dryden McKay is continuing to prove why he has been a finalist for the Hobey Baker and Mike Richter Awards for the last two seasons. McKay, a native of Downers Grove, IL, is currently 18-3-0 on the season after posting two wins over Minnesota-Duluth, including a 23 save shutout on New Year’s Day. In addition to his wins he also picked up an assist in the Mavericks 3-1 victory on December 30th. He now sports a 1.25 GAA, .931 SV%, and 7 shutouts on the season as Minnesota State is currently ranked 1st in the nation with an 18-4-0 record. In his 4 seasons at Mankato he has compiled an outstanding 93-18-4 record, 1.48 GAA, .932 SV%, and 31 shutouts. McKay has already set the NCAA record for shutouts and is within striking distance of the record for career save percentage (David LeNeveau – .929; Cornell 2001-2003). McKay played for the Jr. Blues during the 2014-15 season before going on to play for Corpus Christi and then two seasons for Madison in the USHL.
Our next stop is in Toledo, OH where veteran forward Brady Tomlak has continued to produce for the Walleye of the ECHL. The Oakland, MI native is in his second professional season after four years at Air Force where he was teammates with fellow alum Trevor Stone. After playing in 61 games for the Wheeling Nailers last season, he has now appeared in 25 games for the Walleye this season. Currently he has 5 goals and 7 assists for 12 points which is good enough for 9th most on the team. Brady has now played in 86 total ECHL contests since turning pro and has scored 13 goals and added 20 assists between Wheeling and Toledo. Tomlak played here in Springfield for two seasons between 2014-15 and 2015-16 where he appeared in 118 games and tallied 30 goals and 41 assists.
The next stop on our spotlights this week is in Worcester, MA where veteran forward Ross Olsson had himself quite a Holiday season. Olsson, a native of Billerica, MA, is in his third professional season and his second with the Worcester Railers. The 6’4” power forward got his first taste of the AHL when he was called up to the Bridgeport Islanders on December 28th and was able to play in two games before being sent back down. Olsson said in an article this week that the experience of being called up helped him “see what it takes to play at a higher level”. The boost must’ve sparked something in him as he scored in his return to the lineup over the weekend. In 15 games for the Railers this season he has 7 goals and 5 assists with 45 PIMs and overall in his ECHL career he has played in 86 games and has scored 22 goals, added 18 assists, and totaled 224 PIMs. Olsson played for the Jr. Blues during the 2013-14 season where he played in 14 games and recorded 1 goal, 2 assists and 61 PIMs.
And our final spotlight this week takes us up to De Pere, WI where Junior blueliner Brendan Aird keeps producing for the St. Norbert Green Knights this season. The Orland Park, IL native tallied 2 assists for St. Norberts in their lone game over the Holidays, a 5-0 victory over Lawrence on New Years. So far this season Aird has played in 13 games and has tallied 1 goal and 5 assists to increase his NCAA DIII totals to 6 goals and 12 assists in 41 games. Before his time at St. Norberts, Aird had played parts of four seasons in the NAHL split between Janesville, Brookings and Springfield. We acquired Aird midseason during the 2018-19 season and saw him play in 22 games where he recorded 1 goal and 9 assists, ending his junior career with 6 goals and 49 assists in 148 games. He is currently teammates at St. Norberts with fellow alums Ben Schmidling, Max Brainin, and Chase Mickelson.
While these young men stood out for their performances over the Holidays, they weren’t the only alumni who shined on the ice.
Mattheson Iacopelli 1 A Kalamazoo K-Wings ECHL
Christian Simeone 1 G Utah Grizzlies ECHL
Ricards Bernhards 1 G Kiruna AIF HockeyEttan
Radim Matus 1 G Orli Znojmo ICEHL
Les Lancaster 1 A Ilves Liiga
Janis Voris 1-0-0 Donbass Donetsk Ukraine
Coale Norris 1 A Bowling Green NCAA
Mike Robinson 1-0-0 New Hampshire NCAA
Brian Rigali 2 G AIC NCAA
Matthew Cassidy 2 A Ohio State NCAA
Reed Stark 2 G, 1 A UW-Superior NCAA DIII
Ryan Murray 1 A Hamline NCAA DIII
Kyler Yeo 2 A Augsburg NCAA DIII
Dylan Rauh 1 G Aurora NCAA DIII
Zach Shapiro 1 A Middlebury NCAA DIII
Jeff Skinner 1 A UMass-Boston NCAA DIII
Ethan Heidepriem 1 A Skidmore NCAA DIII
