Springfield, Illinois – Main Camp? Check. Training Camp? Check. NAHL Showcase? Check. Home Opener? Check. Hm, what’s left? Oh, that’s right…Jr. Blues Alumni Report…CHECK!
The Springfield Jr. Blues have successfully moved over 350 players onto the NCAA and more than 150 players onto professional hockey around the world. Currently we have 100 active alumni participating in the NCAA, Professional, or other junior hockey leagues.
Here’s this week’s Alumni Report!
We start off today at Lake Superior State University where forward Brandon Puricelli is picking up right where he left off last season for the Lakers. In their season opening series with Nebraska-Omaha, Puricelli scored twice and added a helper in their 4-3 victory on Saturday, including the game-winning goal in overtime. Although he began his NCAA career at Minnesota-Duluth, Puricelli has found his groove with the Lakers and now has 18 points in 30 games for Lake State.
Our next stop is at Minnesota State-Mankato as, once again, Dryden McKay and the Mavericks are off to a hot start for the 2021-22 season. In their opening series against the defending National Champions UMass, McKay blanked the Minutemen on Saturday and then stood tall on Sunday as the Mavs completed the sweep. Overall he stopped 34 of 37 shots over the weekend and was named the CCHA Goaltender of the Week, his first weekly award in the CCHA. McKay’s shutout on Saturday was the 25th of his career and he now sits one shy of the NCAA record (26 – Ryan Miller, Michigan State).
From a netminder who has been the epitome of consistency to a freshman looking to make his way through the NCAA, our next stop is at Ferris State University as forward Bradley Marek notched his first collegiate goal, assist, and point this past weekend! Marek notched his first helper in Saturday night’s loss and then scored his first goal in their victory on Sunday over Miami (OH). Marek leads all CCHA Freshmen in points and was named the CCHA Rookie of the Week for his performance.
We move from the NCAA to professional hockey as our next stop takes us to Finland where reigning ECHL Defensemen of the Year Les Lancaster is continuing his strong play for Ilves in Liiga. Over the weekend Les had 2 assists for Ilves to raise his total to 8 helpers through 6 games so far, he is tied for the lead in points on his team, T-8th overall in points in the league, and is tied for the most assists in the league.
And our final spotlight today takes us to Waterloo, Iowa where netminder Jack Williams has started on fire for the Blackhawks in the USHL. He stepped up on Friday and stopped all 21 shots that the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders sent his way to record his second win and his second shutout. Previously he had shut out the Youngstown Phantoms on September 24th. Williams earned USHL Goaltender of the Week honors for his performance this past weekend, his second time earning the honor already this season!
Other Alumni:
Cole Walter – 1 W, 1 SO; Bradley University, ACHA
Ben Jones – 1 G; Univ. of Arizona, ACHA
Josh Lammon – 2 G; Cardiff Devils, EIHL
Kelly Klima – 1 G; HK Hradec Kralove, Czech
Kevin Klima – 1 G, 1 A; HK Hradec Kralove, Czech
Ricards Bernhards – 1 G, 1 A; Kiruna AIF, HockeyEttan
Radim Matus – 2 A; Orli Znojmo, ICEHL
Danila Larionovs – 1 G, 1 A; Saryarka Karaganda, Kazakhstan
Sandro Aeschlimann – 1 W, 1 SO (29/29); HC Davos, NL
Juraj Ovecka – 1 W, 1 OTL; HK Brezno, Slovakia2
Janis Voris – 2 W; Donbass Donetsk, Ukraine
Congratulations to all of our Alumni around the hockey world for their hard work and commitment to their craft! We are proud and honored to call all of these men our alumni!
