NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TX – After two full seasons playing in the North American Hockey League, the Lone Star Brahmas currently have 29 alumni playing NCAA DI and DIII hockey and a handful of other players still competing across the country.
Each month, LoneStarBrahmas.com will help the fans keep tabs on our alumni. In our first 2016 edition of Brahmas Alumni Update brought to you by Thumbtechs, we take a look at everything from Rookie of the Week honors to Brahmas playing against each other.
NCAA
Forward Oskar Andren reported to Boston University on New Years Day and he is expected to see the ice on Thursday when the Terriers take on a fifth ranked Harvard University at 6 p.m. CST.
For the second time this season, forward Pat Egan (SUNY-Plattsburgh) was honored as the SUNYAC Rookie of the Week for his performance at the W.B. Mason Winter Classic. Egan tallied three goals this past weekend in Plattsburgh’s pair of victories, earning himself the MVP honors. Egan’s teammate Ayrton Valente also had one assist in the tournament.
Alex Dagnal (Robert Morris) had his best month of the season, scoring two goals against Canisius on five shots. The Pittsburgh, PA native has three goals in eight games played thus far.
Former NAHL MVP Sebastian Vidmar (Union) found his stride in December, netting two goals and two points in six games. Three of those points came against top-ten opponents and he scored the game-winning goal against University of Massachusetts-Lowell with seconds to play in overtime.
Viddy’s teammate Jake Kupsky started against Merrimack College on January 2 (his first appearance since November 6) and he recorded the “W.” Kupsky stopped 24 of 26 shots in the victory and he did it while facing former Topeka RoadRunner goaltender, Drew Vogler. Alex Carle (Merrimack) had a primary, power play assist against Kupsky in the game.
Carle tallied three assists in seven games after Thanksgiving and Ludvig Larsson (Merrimack) scored two goals and an assist in five games this past month. The Swede’s goals came in consecutive games against Connecticut and Canisius.
Derek Barach (Mercyhurst) and Kellen Wasell (St. Mary’s) continue to lead all Brahmas alumni in scoring. Barach registered two assists in his last four games and he now has 14 points (6 goals, 8 assists) on the year, leading all Lakers freshmen in scoring. Wasell tacked on a goal and an assist in three December games to keep pace with Barach’s 14-point campaign.
Both Todd Koritzinsky (Wisconsin-Eau Claire) and Ben Owen (Northland College) added two points in two games, Quinn Carroll (Plymouth State) recorded his second assist of the season, and the Brahmas first collegiate commit Matt Lison (Bowdoin) scored his second of the year. Defensemen Alexey Solovyev (Bentley) and Shane Joyce (Saint Anselm) are still looking for their first collegiate point. That being said, Solovyev had a very steady defensive month for the Falcons.
Brahmas leading scorer in last year’s Robertson Cup Playoffs Roman Uchyn (St. Norbert) continued his scoring touch over the holiday season potting three goals and an assist in three games played. The Chicago freshman leads the team with eight goals. Storm Wahlrab (St. Norbert) also scored over that three game stretch.
Taking a look inside the crease, TJ Black (St. Norbert) faced-off against 2013 Brahma Mattias Soderqvist (Lawrence). In Black’s only start of the month, he defeated Soderqvist by stopping 12 shots and allowing just one goal. Soderqvist went 2-3-0 in net in December. After a slow start to his freshman year, Jacob Nehama is beginning to turn things in the right direction for Colorado College. Nehama helped the Tigers sweep Miami-Ohio University, stopping 54 of 57 shots in early December. He plays No.4 St. Cloud State this weekend in Minnesota before heading to No.1 North Dakota after Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
USHL
Future Colorado College skater AJ Vanderbeck scored a goal and an assist for the Sioux Falls Stampede before the holiday break. Vanderbeck is now playing at center after spending most of last season on the wing in Brahmaland. His Stampede are currently in second place (16-12-2) in the Western Conference standings.
Defenseman Johan Steen had a quiet month in Omaha since the Lancers went just 1-6-0 over the course of the last month.
Conor O’Brien wrapped up his call-up stint in the USHL with the Youngstown Phantoms, going 0-1-1 with a 3.98 goals against average and .900 save percentage. In his first career USHL start, OB only allowed two goals on 46 shots, but the Phantoms could not give the Brahmas netminder any support during the shootout. O’Brien is currently back in Texas with the Brahmas.
NAHL
Patrick Gazich was recently acquired by the Brookings Blizzard where he will join a couple of Brahmas alumni. Nick Ford (Brookings) led the Blizzard with three goals and four points in the month and Conor Hutchins (Brookings) finished December with an assist and a plus-1 rating.
Liam Stirtzinger (Fairbanks) had a busy month in Alaska, scoring three points and adding 21 penalty minutes. Eric Carreras had a power play goal and one assist for Odessa and his teammate Gunner Rivers went 0-2-1 with a 4.02 goals against average this past month for the ‘Jacks.
Darion Hanson (Aston) was honored as the East Division Second Star of the Week on Monday and he went 2-1-0 in December with a 2.67 goals against average.
PRO
Defenseman Anton Santesson is playing professional hockey for Helsingborgs HC, a member of the highest division in Sweden. Santesson has six assists and seven points in 18 games.