USPHL Elite Players Of The Week: North Region

Week of Oct. 19-25

 

North Division 

(Summaries by Joshua Boyd)

Forward: Jared Ritter, Springfield Pics

Ritter (‘06/Westfield, Mass.) was twice previously a member of the Pics’ USPHL 15U team before joining the Elite team this year. So far, in his junior debut season, he has come up with some big points in some of the Pics’ bigger games. Most recently, he posted his first two USPHL Elite assists as he and his teammates pushed an extremely tough Bridgewater Bandits team to a shootout. 

 

Defense: Nick Gutin, Springfield Pics

Gutin (‘05/Montreal, Que.) utilized a 1-2-3 performance against the Bandits in that shootout loss to become the Pics’ leading scorer this year so far even as a blueliner. He has seven points in his first nine games after joining from the NPU Rebels U16 team. 

 

Goaltender: Luca Bruns, Bridgewater Bandits 

The second-year Bandits goalie Bruns (‘03/Sydney, Australia) earned his fourth straight win when he shut out the Boston Junior Bruins, stopping all 26 shots he faced for his first career shutout. He has already equaled his 2021-22 wins output and kids haven’t even started trick-or-treating yet. 

 

Mid-Atlantic Division 

(Summaries By Marlee Bulman)

Forward: Jozef Polacek, Rockets Hockey Club

Forward Jozef Polacek (‘04/Whitehouse Station, N.J.) brought everything he had to the ice this past weekend against the New York Aviators, doing everything he could to help his team pick up a victory in the three games. Over three games, he scored two goals and added five assists for a seven-point total for the weekend. He improved to 12 points in 12 games this year. 

 

Defense: Tyler DePaola, P.A.L. Jr. Islanders 

The blueliner DePaola (‘05/Nesconset, N.Y.) helped bring the Jr. Isles two wins against the Elmira Jr. Enforcers this past weekend. On Sunday, he posted back-to-back assists in a close 5-4 victory, setting up the first two P.A.L. goals in the game in the first period. He has three assists on the season, all coming in his last three games. 

 

Goaltender: Michael Grima, Rockets Hockey Club

The ‘03 out of Staten Island, N.Y., had his first shutout this season against the New York Aviators this past Saturday. He had 31 saves, bringing them the 5-0 shutout win, improving his save percentage to a .915 mark.