MWJHL announces players of the month for October

From the Midwest Junior Hockey League’s PR office:

The Midwest Junior Hockey League announced today its players of the month for October.

Players of the month are voted on by league staff, coaches and general managers.

 

Forward of the Month: Nick Murphy, Soo Firehawks

The MWJHL’s scoring leader rang up 35 points in October on 22 goals and 13 assists through 10 games.

Murphy, a 20-year-old from Waterford, Mich., posted five hat tricks last month and scored at least one goal in all but one game.

Aside from a scoreless outing on Oct. 19 against Alpena, every one of the Firehawks’ games saw Murphy record at least two points, including a six-point effort on Oct. 4 versus the Michigan Ice Dogs.

Also Received Votes: Vaughn Clouston, Berkley Bruins; Jacob Gillis, Traverse City Hounds; Vladislav Khasanov, Alpena Street Cats; Hunter Ledgerwood, Michigan Ice Dogs; James Smith, Detroit Fighting Irish

 

Defenseman of the Month: Rob Speer, Detroit Fighting Irish

Speer, a 20-year-old native of Southgate, Mich., is more than points for Detroit, though he did notch six assists during the month of October.

Speer regularly plays 30-plus minutes a game, usually against the opponent’s top line.

Last year, Speer spent the season with the Michigan Ice Dogs before being acquired by the Fighting Irish in a late-summer trade.

Also Received Votes: Scott Luca, Traverse City Hounds; Kevin Killips, Soo Firehawks; Tim Muhsman, Berkley Bruins; Savelii Shurikhin, Alpena Street Cats; Steven Smoltz, Bloomington Jr. Blaze

 

Goaltender of the Month: David Krejcik, Traverse City Hounds

Krejcik went 4-1-0-2 in October with a shutout to lead the Hounds to the top of the MWJHL standings.

The 19-year-old native of the Czech Republic won his first four starts of the season and earned his shutout in a shootout loss to Detroit on Oct. 26. Krejcik recorded a .931 save percentage and a 1.67 goals-against average.

On the season, Krejcik is 7-1-0-2 with a 1.48 GAA and a .941 save percentage.

Also Received Votes: Vladislav Graevski, Alpena Street Cats; Cameron Lerner, Bloomington Jr. Blaze; Chris Lewis, Detroit Fighting Irish

 

Rookie of the Month: Garrison Sanipass, Traverse City Hounds

Despite playing in just five games before earning a call-up to the Johnstown Tomahawks of the North American Hockey League, Sanipass averaged better than three points a game in his brief stint with the Hounds.

Sanipass, a 19-year-old Northbrook, Ill., product, tallied six goals and 10 assists for 16 points in October.

He started the season with a 14-point weekend (five goals, nine assists) from Oct. 4-6 as Traverse City swept the Berkley Bruins. After being held off the scoresheet on Oct. 11 against Alpena, Sanipass added a goal and an assist the following night and made his NAHL debut two weekends later.

Also Received Votes: Ashton Calder, Soo Firehawks; Drew Hull, Michigan Ice Dogs; Nolan Jakrzewski, Detroit Fighting Irish; Micah Young, Bloomington Jr. Blaze