The freshman class takes centre stage in this week’s NCAA Roundup, presented by CWENCH Hydration, with BCHL alumni taking home Rookie of the Week honours in four of six conferences.
Atlantic Hockey Forward of the Week
Jack Stockfish – Sophomore – College of the Holy Cross (Prince George Spruce Kings)
Stockfish tallied three points on two goals and an assist last weekend as the Crusaders battled Omaha and Michigan Tech in the Catcus Cup in Palm Springs, Calif. Stockfish recorded a power-play assist in last Friday’s contest against Omaha, then scored twice on Saturday on his only two shots of the game against Michigan Tech. The pair of goals gave the sophomore forward his first multi-goal game of the season.
Stockfish played the 2022-23 campaign with the Prince George Spruce Kings and put up 14 goals, 18 assists and 32 points in in 47 regular-season games.
Atlantic Hockey Rookie of the Week
Matt Kursonis (F) – Freshman – College of the Holy Cross (Alberni Valley Bulldogs)
Kursonis picked up his first collegiate point and first collegiate goal last Friday against Omaha. His goal came at 6:15 of the first period on the power play, then he collected a power-play assist in the third to give Holy Cross a 3-2 lead. The performance also gave Kursonis his first multi-point game of his career.
The Worcester, Mass. native played two seasons with the Alberni Valley Bulldogs from 2022 to 2024, totaling 26 goals, 28 assists and 54 points in 73 regular-season games, and another 23 points in 34 postseason contests.
CCHA Rookie of the Week
Logan Morrell (F) – Freshman – Michigan Tech University (Coquitlam/Langley)
Morrell led CCHA rookies with three points last week, scoring a game-winning goal and recording two assists at the Cactus Cup. Posting a plus-two rating with five shots on goal, he won 58.1 per cent of his faceoffs. Last Friday, he had one assist in a 3-2 loss to UMass-Lowell. He then set up a third-period goal, before scoring the overtime winner, in a 4-3 victory over Holy Cross on Saturday.
The 21-year-old split the 2023-24 campaign with the Coquitlam Express and Langley Rivermen, putting up a combined 13 goals, 10 assists and 23 points in 43 games.
ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Week
Jagger Tapper (F) – Freshman – Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Okotoks Oilers)
Tapper produced a four-point weekend to earn Rookie of the Week honours. The 20-year-old forward scored the game-winning goal and added three assists against Brown last week. Tapper has quickly made an impact in his debut season with the Engineers, sitting as the third-highest point producer on the team (13) and second in plus/minus (plus-9).
In 20 BCHL games last season, the Calgary, Alta. native had seven goals and 12 assists for 19 points. In the playoffs, he put up 12 points in 10 contests.
Hockey East Rookie of the Week
Lee Parks (F) – Freshman – UMass-Lowell (Vernon Vipers)
Parks factored in on all three goals in a 3-2 win in game one of the Cactus Cup against Michigan Tech last week, scoring the game-winner with 1:41 remaining in regulation and assisting on the other two River Hawk goals. In game two’s tournament-clinching win against Omaha, he added an assist to finish the weekend with one goal and three assists for four points. He was named the Cactus Cup MVP for his performance.
Parks played the 2022-23 season with the Vernon Vipers where he led the team with 23 goals and tied for the team lead with 48 points in 50 games.
