The Army-West Point commit, Zach Howard, played an integral role on and off the ice for his team this past weekend. Serving as the Captain of the Jr. Blues, the fourth-year veteran featured a career-high weekend against the Janesville Jets. Starting on Friday night, the 6-foot-1 forward produced two assists in the Jr. Blues’ 4-2 victory over the Jets. His first assist helped to give Springfield the lead heading into the second period, while his second assist was notched on Niko Laus’ short-handed goal in the third frame. Moving into Saturday night, the ‘05 skater from Wisconsin showed off in his home state, putting up a career-high game. He first secured a game-tying assist in the first frame on Niko Laus’ goal at the 9:08 minute mark. He then went on to give the Jr. Blues the lead in the second period with another primary assist, this time on Logan Sutton’s goal. As the contest moved into the third period, the teams were tied at two. While on the man advantage, Howard secures a goal to give his team a short-lived lead against Janesville. The Jets would tie up the matchup a few minutes later, forcing the contest to head into extra minutes. The Jr. Blues would eventually fall 4-3 in shootout fashion; however, the Captain played a role in every goal scored in regulation.
Over the weekend, Howard scored a power-play goal while notching four assists in the two-game series. Right now, the fourth-year Springfield veteran leads his roster with 12 points on the season, with all five of his goals scored for the season done on the man advantage.
Head coach of the Jr. Blues, Todd Pococke, dives into detail on Howard’s work this season.
“Zach has been playing very well for us so far this season. Not only has he been great offensively, but he’s been strong defensively as well. He’s also been a great leader both on and off the ice, and excited to see what he can do the rest of this year.”
2nd Star: Grant Dillard, F, Janeville Jets
3rd Star: Alexios Georgaklis, F, Wisconsin Windigo
