By Tanner Schafer
Forward of the Month – Landen Stromme, Dryden GM Ice Dogs
It was a great month for the Dryden squad and Stromme led the way on the offensive scoring 5 goals in 8 contests. Landen would also add 3 assists making him a point per game player against some very good competition. Every team the Ice Dogs played is in the current 2nd-5th battle in the standings. It was a hot start as the Dryden forward reached an 8-game point streak with 5 of those games coming at the beginning of the month. Stromme’s offensive consistency earns him Forward of the Month for December.
Honorable Mention – Ryder McMillen, Wisconsin Lumberjacks; Nathan Dann, Sioux Lookout Bombers
Past Winners
November – Jacob Lamoureux, Red Lake Miners
October – Bryce Benfield, Dryden GM Ice Dogs
Defencemen of the Month – Jack Cook, Kam River Fighting Walleye
After 2 months on the honorable mention list Jack Cook has finally broken through and won the award. Cook and the Fighting Walleye only played in 4 games this month, but the blue liner was on form for every one of them scoring 2 goals and adding 5 assists. Cook is very good in the defensive zone and creates offense from almost a full 200 feet away, rushing the puck often with great success. Cook can also be seen with a rifle of a shot at the top of the Kam River powerplay, truly fulfilling the “quarterback of the offense” stereotype. Dating back to the last game of November Cook is on a 5-game point streak and has now won Defencemen of the Month in December.
Honorable Mention – Zach Carson, Wisconsin Lumberjacks; Sebastiano Biagi, Dryden GM Ice Dogs
Past Winners
November – Nolan Palmer, Sioux Lookout Bombers
October – Dylan Jouppi, Wisconsin Lumberjacks
Goalie of the Month – Eric Clark, Dryden GM Ice Dogs
Eric Clark proved to be a cut above the rest in a month where many goalies were impressive. The Dryden netminder logged an incredible 393 minutes, 95 more than any other goalie in the month. Clark found a groove and completed the calendar year with a 1.37 Goals against average and a .955 save percentage in the last month. The man between the pipes led Dryden up the standings with a 5-1-1 record including a shutout and a scoreless outing in relief. Clark saw an average of 33 shots per contest and surrounded more than 2 goals only once. Eric Clark’s stellar month ends with him claiming Goalie of the Month in December.
Honorable Mention – Eric Vanska, Kam River Fighting Walleye; Jake Manners, Sioux Lookout Bombers
Past Winners
November – Eric Vanska, Kam River Fighting Walleye
October – Jack Osmond, Red Lake Miners
Rookie of the Month – Owen Riffel, Sioux Lookout Bombers
Owen Riffel was able to break up the hold that the Red Lake Miners had on the Rookie of the Month award early in the season. Riffel led all rookies in scoring with 7 points in 6 games. His scoring helped to stabilize the Bombers after a tough start to the month losing their first 3. Riffel would explode in the middle part of the month scoring his 4 goals and 3 assists in a 3-game span. If Riffel wasn’t scoring neither were the Bombers, as a team Sioux Lookout were only able to score 2 goals in the other 3 games Riffel participated in. Without his contributions Sioux Lookout may have fallen further in the standings. For his efforts he takes home Rookie of the Month for December.
Honorable Mention – Max Roby, Dryden GM Ice Dogs; Max Leduc, Kam River Fighting Walleye
Past Winners
November – Aiden Corbett, Red Lake Miners
October – Jacob Lamoureux, Red Lake Miners