NA3HL announces monthly player awards for January 2020

The North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) has announced its monthly player awards for the month of January. The Bauer Hockey NA3HL Forward of the Month is Luke Church of the New England Stars. The Bauer Hockey NA3HL Defenseman of the Month is Ben Cope of the Louisiana Drillers. The Vaughn NA3HL Goaltender of the Month is Devin Naidow of the Coulee Region Chill. Only players who are nominated by their respective teams are considered for the NA3HL monthly awards. 

Bauer Hockey NA3HL Forward of the Month: Luke Church, New England Stars

Church put up a remarkable month despite the change of turning in his Maine sweater for one with the New England Stars, posting nine goals and 12 assists in nine games with both teams. He started January strong with a six-game point streak that featured five multi-point games. His starring moment in January came in game five of that streak when he bagged a hat-trick and two assists for five points, followed by an impressive four-point effort in the following game. And after suffering his only game of the month without a point on the 19th, he capped January with back-to-back 1g-1a games against Elmira. Church’s 21 points were tied for the most in January among all NA3HL skaters. 

Runner-Up: Luke Hartge, Bozeman Icedogs

Honorable Mention (alphabetical): Kolye Bankauskas, Northeast Generals — Logan Bellar, Texas RoadRunners — Dillan Bentley, Peoria Mustangs — Joe Clark, L/A Nordiques — Jacob Halvorson, New Ulm Steel — Jack Harris, Yellowstone Quake — Blake Nerney, Great Falls Americans — Andrei Rusakov, Atlanta Capitals — Dylan Schneider, Rochester Grizzlies — Parker Severson, Coulee Region Chill — Blake Siewertsen, Louisiana Drillers — Bailey Sommers, Granite City Lumberjacks — Lucas Wahlin, North Iowa Bulls — Jacob Wiethaupt, St. Louis Jr. Blues — Declan Young, Gillette Wild

Bauer Hockey NA3HL Defenseman of the Month: Ben Cope, Louisiana Drillers

Cope’s offensive presence on the blue line shone through in January, as the Mississippi native knocked home a stunning seven goals in nine games from the back end. Cope logged points in seven of his nine games, and posted a three-game goal streak from the 12th to the 17th. He starred on the 15th, posting his first two-goal game of the season, and bagged a goal and two helpers the following day to close out January with multi-point outings in three of his last four games. Cope now has 12g-31a—43pts in 34 games this year. 

Runner-Up: Derek Flynn, New England Stars

Honorable Mention (alphabetical): Joey Allegrini, Atlanta Capitals — Joey Boccardi, St. Louis Jr. Blues — Gijs De Schepper, Coulee Region Chill — Zachary Eddington, Peoria Mustangs — Jacob Kaminski, Gillette Wild — Kearby Larson, Granite City Lumberjacks — Deacon More, Northeast Generals — Noel Parker, Rochester Grizzlies — Spencer Platt, Yellowstone Quake — Nick Pomerleau, L/A Nordiques — Logan Rachow, Great Falls Americans — Harrison Stewart, North Iowa Bulls — Tadeas Vicha, Texas RoadRunners

Vaughn NA3HL Goaltender of the Month: Devin Naidow, Coulee Region Chill

It was a busy month for Naidow and the Chill, as the netminder saw action in five games in January, going 3-2 and stopping a whopping 144 pucks. After a bumpy start with 24 and 20 saves in respective consecutive losses, Naidow turned his game up another level with a remarkable 54-save shutout of the high-flying Jr. Blues. He then backed that stunning effort up by allowing just a single goal in the final two outings — a 37-save performance to top Wausau, and nine saves in a win over Breezy Point. During January, Naidow put up a .947 save percentage and a 1.81 GAA in five appearances. 

Runner-Up: Evan Babekuhl, North Iowa Bulls

Honorable Mention (alphabetical): Michael Allman, Yellowstone Quake — Aaron Dickstein, Louisiana Drillers — Nate Johnston, Granite City Lumberjacks — Brogan McDonald, L/A Nordiques — Jaeger Reed, Texas RoadRunners — Shane Soderwall, Rochester Grizzlies — Brett Tome, St. Louis Jr. Blues — Cole Walter, Peoria Mustangs