3HL announces Combat Hockey 3 Stars of the Week
The North American 3 Hockey League (3HL) today announced the Three Stars of the Week presented by Combat Hockey for the week ending October 7, 2012. The three stars of the week is an award given each week of the regular season to the top performing players in the 3HL as nominated by their head coaches.
1st Star: Cory Kettler, forward, Peoria Mustangs
It was a banner weekend for Peoria forward Cory Kettler, 18. The native Wentzville, Missouri, helped Peoria to a weekend home-and-home sweep of the Quad City Jr. Flames. In the two weekend games, Kettler (5’9/170) had three goals and two assists for five points and was a +5. He also managed to score the game-winning goals in both of the wins. On Friday, he had the game-winning goal and an assist in a 4-2 win at Quad City. On Saturday, he had two goals, including another game-winner and an assist in a 5-2 win at home against the Flames. “His entire line has been playing well all season long and Cory has been a great addition to the team,” said Mustangs head coach Jean-Guy Trudel. “He has great vision of the ice and once he masters his skating, he is going to be a really good player.”
2nd Star: Ed Osowski, forward, Flint Jr. Generals
Flint posted a weekend home sweep of the Three Rivers Vengeance, scoring seven goals in the process. Forward Ed Osowski, 19, had points in five of those seven goals over the weekend, which included two-goals and three assists. The Montclair, New Jersey native started the weekend scoring the game-winning goal and adding an assist in a 4-3 win on Saturday. Osowski (5’8/145) then followed that up with a goal and two assists in a 3-1 win on Sunday. His six goals and +6 rating leads Flint, who sit in a tie for 2nd place in the East Division. “There are certain players that find themselves around the puck and Ed is one of those guys. He has a sense about where to be and it helps him and his teammates. He is very creative with and without the puck,” said Flint head coach Steve Howard.
3rd Star: Nathan Kohlenhoefer, forward, Granite City Lumberjacks
The lone remaining undefeated team in the 3HL is the defending Silver Cup Champion Granite City Lumberjacks, thanks to their weekend sweep at previously unbeaten St. Louis over the weekend. Forward Nathan Kohlenhoefer, 19, who is from the St. Louis, Missouri area and a former member of the Jr. Blues, picked the perfect time to put up points as he led the Jacks with two goals, an assist and a +3 rating over the weekend. After losing his grandfather to cancer the week before, Kohlenhoefer (6’0/200) scored the game-winning goal on Saturday in a 6-1 win and added another goal and assist in Granite City’s 6-2 win on Sunday. “Nathan understands this level of hockey. He had the opportunity to go back home and play against the team he used to play for, so there was plenty of motivation there. He added the energy we needed and also had a calming presence, and do to that a few days after having his grandpa pass away was pretty special for him,” said Granite City head coach Brad Willner.
Honorable Mention (alphabetical order): Doug Andrews, forward, Metro Jets – Alex Berardinelli, forward, Three Rivers Vengeance – Taylor Brown, forward, North Iowa Bulls – Peter Coppola, forward, Quad City Jr. Flames - Connor Crowe, forward, Toledo Cherokee – Nicholas Goettel, defenseman, Flint Jr. Generals – Easton Halbert, forward, Quad City Jr. Flames - Isaac Hoagland, defenseman, Granite City Lumberjacks – Trey Hughes, forward, Twin City Steel – Trace Jablin, forward, St. Louis Jr. Blues – Trevor Kalinowski, goaltender, Metro Jets – Mike Lozano, forward, St. Louis Jr. Blues – Lucas McCammant, forward, Queen City Steam – Tomohiko Minase, defenseman, Minnesota Flying Aces – Andrew Mitch, forward, Cleveland Jr. Lumberjacks – Stephen Pack, forward, Queen City Steam – Matt Pinel, goaltender, Peoria Mustangs – Marvin Powell, forward, Twin City Steel – Tim Santopoalo, forward, North Iowa Bulls - Austin Sartorius, forward, Michigan Mountain Cats – Guy Soulliere, forward, Michigan Mountain Cats – Jared Sprink, forward, Minnesota Flying Aces – Dallas Szustak, forward, Cleveland Jr. Lumberjacks – Nico Vecchio, forward, Three Rivers Vengeance – Tyler Zalecki, forward, Toledo Cherokee.
