NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TX – After two full seasons playing in the North American Hockey League, the Lone Star Brahmas currently have 28 active 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 second installment of the Brahmas Alumni Update brought to you by Thumbtechs, we take a look at everything from first career points to team-leaders and everything in between.
NCAA
With NCAA programs well into their seasons, many former Brahmas are flourishing across the country and a handful score their first collegiate points. Alex Carle (Merrimack), Alex Dagnal (Robert Morris), Ben Owen (Northland), Chad Guderian (Johnson & Wales), and Ludvig Larsson (Merrimack) all notched their first points of the season in November. Guderian leads this group with two assists and a plus-3 rating.
Pat Egan (SUNY-Plattsburgh) was honored as the State of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) rookie of the week during the week of November 9 – 15 after scoring a game winning goal and assisting the game-tying goal against rival Oswego. The New York native has three goals and three assists in six games this season. Egan’s teammate Ayrton Valente (SUNY-Plattsburgh) scored three goals and two assists over the month.
Sophomore forward Conner Enciso (Milwaukee School of Engineering) opened the season on a five-game point streak (five goals and three assists) and he single handedly took care of Concordia University Wisconsin in early November, notching the Brahma alumnus first hat trick performance of the year. The former double-digit scorer with Lone Star leads the team a plus-7 rating.
In four November games, Derek Barach (Mercyhurst) scored two goals and two assists. The New York native had his best weekend against Canisius, where he marked a goal, two assists, 14 penalty minutes and a plus-3 rating.
Donovan Gardiner (Westfield State) and Kellen Wasell (St. Mary’s University) exploded for a big November, The defenseman scored a goal and added four assists while Wasell exploded for five goals, seven assists and a plus-8 rating. A successful November carried into northern Wisconsin where Storm Walrab and Roman Uchyn each tallied five points in nine games for St. Norbert College.
Matt Lison (Bowdoin) has three points through five games this season and Todd Koritzinsky (Wisconsin-Eau Claire) found the back of the net once and added five assists in the month.
From a goaltending standpoint, Jacob Nehama (Colorado College) and TJ Black (St. Norbert) won their first games of the season in November. Jake Kupsky (Union) suffered a 6-3 loss to now No. 13 Saint Lawrence in his only start this month. Mattias Soderqvist (Lawrence) is 3-4-0 on the season playing in Wisconsin.
USHL
Forward AJ Vanderbeck (Sioux Falls Stampede) scored two goals this month, including one against Johan Steen’s Omaha Lancers. The Southlake, Texas resident was nursing an injury in the early part of the month, but he has shut down his opponent since returning from the injury.
NAHL
Forward Eric Carreras (Odessa Jackalopes) leads all Brahma alumni with ten goals on the season. The Brahmas will face Carreras on January 1st and 2nd in Odessa. Nick Ford (Brookings Blizzard) enjoyed a strong month tacking on four assists in just six games played. He finished second on the team in assists and penalty minutes (19) during the eleventh month. His teammate Connor Hutchins (Brookings Blizzard), a resident of North Richland Hills, has eight points on the season and three of them came in seven November games. Liam Stirtzinger scored two power play goals on the month for Fairbanks and he now has 17 points through 21 games this year.
Both Darion Hanson (Aston Rebels) and Gunner Rivers (Odessa Jackalopes) cooled off after a red-hot October. The goalies went a combined 2-5-0 this past month and both had a goals against average above a 3.00. The former Brahma backstops will look to get back on track for the holiday season.
Current List of the 2015-16 NAHL College Commits
Entering the weekend, the Brahmas remain in second place in the NAHL's South Division with a record of 15-2-4. The team will return to the NYTEX Sports Centre to take on the NAHL-leading Wichita Falls Wildcats on December 11 (Teddy Bear Toss Night and Red Hot & Blue Coozie Giveaway) and 12 (Star Wars Night). Tickets are available under the TICKETS tab at the top of your screen, over the phone at 817-336-4ICE, and at the box office.