Bryan Lerg named AHL Player of the Week; cousin Jeff named ECHL Goaltender of the Week
By @SKubus –
The Lerg cousins had themselves quite a week in their respective leagues, taking home weekly honors in the American Hockey League and East Coast Hockey League.
Livonia native Bryan Lerg was named the CCM/AHL Player of the Week based on his impressive body of work over the course of his team’s past three games, while cousin Jeff was named CCM/ECHL Goaltender of the Week.
With his Worcester Sharks vying for a playoff position, the 28-year-old Bryan stepped to the forefront, delivering two game-winning goals and adding three more in a total of three games.
First, with the Sharks down to Providence Wednesday evening, Lerg potted two third-period goals to give his team a chance before ultimately falling 3-2. the first two-goal game he has had since 2012. Two nights later, he started the scoring in a more timely fashion, delivering a pair in the opening frame this time in a 3-1 victory over St. John’s. To cap off the week, Lerg added one more in a 6-1 walloping of Lehigh Valley.
The five goals match his output in the previous 30 contests, while increasing his season marks to 13 to complement his 25 assists for a team-leading 38 points in 61 games.
Meanwhile, Jeff had as dominant of a week between the pipes as you could hope for from your netminder. A Livonia native, as well, Lerg went 3-0-0 with a 0.65 goals-against average and .975 save percentage to help the Toledo Walleye improve to 7-0-1 in their last eight outings.
The 28-year-old goaltender first shut out Elmira on Monday in a 3-0 victory, then made 34 saves in a 3-1 win over Missouri on Friday before he backstopped the Walleye to a 22-save, 2-1 shootout win over Florida on Sunday.
The stellar season continues for the younger Lerg, who improved to 27-7-2 in 37 games this season for the Walleye. His 27 wins are good for a share of second in the entire league, as are his four shutouts. Jeff holds the fourth-best goals-against average at 2.29, while he is tied for fourth in save percentage (.921).
The cousins are both former Michigan State Spartans, Bryan having played from 2004 to 2008, while Jeff backstopped the Spartans from 2005 t0 2009. Most notably, they were each integral parts of the 2007 NCAA National Championship team.
