Springfield, Illinois – As we get deeper into the month of October, more and more leagues and teams are beginning their 2021-22 season. From the USHL to the NCAA to the AHL, we have over 40 alumni actively playing around the United States and abroad. Here is this week’s Alumni Report!
We begin our Alumni Report in Milwaukee, WI where netminder Devin Cooley began his 2021-22 campaign on the right foot for the Admirals of the American Hockey League (AHL). Cooley, a native of Los Gatos, CA, is in his second professional season after playing three seasons for the Univ. of Denver. Cooley stopped 20 of 23 shots that he faced from the Grand Rapids Griffins in the Admirals 6-3 opening night victory. Between last season’s stint with the Chicago Wolves and the result from this weekend, Cooley’s AHL career stat line sits at 3-0-0, 3.00 GAA, and .888 SV%.
From the Midwest to the Northeast, our next stop is at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA as we take a look at how senior forward Ryan Leibold did this past weekend against Mercyhurst. The Ashburn, VA native registered a goal and two assists on Friday and tallied another assist on Saturday. He finished up the weekend with four points overall and won 20 of 26 faceoffs as well. In four seasons at Holy Cross, Leibold has tallied 10 goals and 26 assists in 88 games. Leibold played for the Jr. Blues in the 2016-17 NAHL season and won both the Jr. Blues Standard of Excellence award and the NAHL’s Academic Achievement Award that season.
We head back to the Midwest and stop in Big Rapids, MI where we once again look at how junior forward Brandon Puricelli has been doing for the Lake Superior State Lakers. Puricelli had another strong performance for the Lakers this weekend, tallying a goal and three assists in their weekend sweep of the Univ. of St. Thomas. On Friday the Ellisville, MO native scored the first goal for the Lakers and then added a helper later on. He would tack on two more assists on Saturday night to increase his point total to 9 on 4 goals and 5 assists through 6 games. Puricelli, who earned the Jr. Blues MVP as well as Midwest Division MVP and Forward of the Year in 2018-19, is tied for the points lead on the Lakers and is tied for 3rd in the NCAA overall.
Our final spotlight in this week’s Alumni Report is on Ilves blueliner Les Lancaster, who is once again having another solid professional campaign. Lancaster registered a goal, two assists, and scored the game winner in shootouts as Ilves defeated Jukurit, Assat, and IFK Helsinki. The Ypsilanti, MI product had an assist in Friday’s 5-2 victory, a goal and an assist in Saturday’s 4-2 win, and scored the deciding goal in shootouts in yesterday’s 3-2 victory. Lancaster leads Ilves in assists and points, and is T-3rd in assists and T-6th in points in the league overall.
Here’s a look at how some of our other Alumni performed this past week!
Russell Jordan 1 A Birmingham Bulls SPHL
Kelly Klima 1 A HK Hradec Kralove Czech
Kevin Klima 2 A HK Hradec Kralove Czech
Lukas Kucera 2 A HC Stadion Vrchlabi Czech2
Michael Mizerak 1 A (First Professional Point) HK Skalica Slovakia2
Danila Larionovs 1 G Saryarka Karaganda Kazakhstan
Fabio Hollenstein 1 G HC Thurgau SL
Janis Voris 1-0-0 Donbass Donetsk Ukraine
Sandro Aeschlimann 1-0-0 HC Davos NL
Dryden McKay 1-1-0-0 Minnesota State-Mankato NCAA
Todd Goehring 1 G Sacred Heart NCAA
Matthew Cassidy 1 A Ohio State NCAA
Jack Williams 1-0-0-1 Waterloo Blackhawks USHL
Congratulations to our alumni for a phenomenal week of hockey!
