This week, we highlight seven BCHL alumni who were given weekly awards in college hockey last week in the NCAA Roundup, presented by Johnston Meier Insurance.
NCHC Forward of the Week
Massimo Rizzo – Sophomore – University of Denver (Penticton Vees, Coquitlam Express, Chilliwack Chiefs)
Rizzo recorded three points in a split with Alaska last weekend, while stretching his point streak to a career-long nine games. In Friday’s opener with the Nanooks, Rizzo scored DU’s lone goal on the power play in a 3-1 loss. A night later, the Carolina Hurricanes draft pick tallied a goal and an assist in a 7-2 victory. His goal broke a 1-1 tie in the first period, while he had the primary assist on a power-play goal to make it a 4-1 contest in the third period.
The 21-year-old from Burnaby, B.C. started his BCHL career with the Penticton Vees where he played for two years. He moved on to the Coquitlam Express the following season and joined the Chilliwack Chiefs during his final year, but missed the pod season due to injury. He notched 123 points in 132 games over his career in the league.
Atlantic Hockey Goaltender of the Week
Tommy Scarfone – Sophomore – Rochester Institute of Technology (Surrey Eagles)
Scarfone stopped 58 of 59 shots faced during RIT’s road sweep at Bentley, including all 29 he saw in Friday’s 3-0 victory for his first shutout of the season. The Montreal, Que. native also made 29 saves in Saturday’s 3-1 victory to improve to a league-best 13-4-0 this season, which includes an 11-1-0 mark in Atlantic Hockey play. Scarfone’s conference-play save percentage and goals-against average stand at .939 and 1.82 respectively.
The 22-year-old played for the Surrey Eagles for two seasons from 2019 to 2021. He finished his BCHL stint with a career save percentage of .922 and a goals-against average of 2.50. He backstopped the 2020-21 Eagles team to first place in the Coquitlam Pod.
Atlantic Hockey Rookie of the Week
Marcus Joughin – Freshman – Sacred Heart University (West Kelowna Warriors)
Joughin dished out four assists in the Pioneers 5-0 win over Army West Point on Thursday, tying for the most assists in a single-game in Atlantic Hockey play this season. The Tecumseh, Ont. native finished the weekend with two shots on goal, six faceoff wins and a blocked shot in SHU’s two outings.
The 2001-born forward played two years in the BCHL with the West Kelowna Warriors from 2020 to 2022. He led the team in scoring during the pod season in 2020-21 with 23 points in 15 games, then put up 47 points in 49 games in 2021-22.
CCHA Defenceman of the Week
Jake Livingstone – Junior – Minnesota State University (Langley Rivermen)
Livingstone helped Minnesota State to a road sweep of Northern Michigan last week, recording two goals and two assists for four points. He was +3 with four shots on goal and three blocks at the defensive end of the ice. Highlighting his weekend was a three-point game (one goal, two assists) on Friday, as the Mavericks won 5-2. He followed that up by netting one goal in a 5-3 victory over the Wildcats on Saturday.
The Creston, B.C. native played four seasons in the BCHL with the Langley Rivermen. Over his 185 regular-season games, Livingstone notched 104 points. In his final year in the league in 2019-20, he finished as the BCHL’s second-highest scoring blueliner with 49 points in 52 games and was named a Second-Team All-Star and a finalist for the league’s Top Defenceman award.
ECAC Hockey Forward of the Week
Ben Berard – Senior – Cornell University (Powell River Kings)
Berard had six points last weekend in Cornell’s games against Union and Rensselaer, tallying two goals and adding four helpers en route to two wins. On Friday, Berard assisted on the first goal of the game less than two minutes into the opening frame, then added a goal of his own to put Cornell up by three. Saturday’s contest saw him have a hand in four of the team’s six goals, scoring one of his own in the first period and assisting on three more, including the power-play game-winner in the second period.
The 23-year-old played with the Powell River Kings for three seasons from 2016 to 2019, notching 115 points in 135 regular-season games. His best year came in 2017-18 when he finished in a tie for sixth in league scoring with 67 points in 58 games.
ECAC Hockey Goaltender of the Week
Yaniv Perets – Junior – Quinnipiac University (Penticton Vees)
Perets stayed hot for the Bobcats, extending his undefeated streak to 16 games with a perfect 2-0-0 record last weekend. In 120 minutes between the pipes, Perets allowed just one goal and had a 35-save weekend, taking down both Dartmouth and Harvard at home. On Friday, Perets earned his fourth shutout of the season when he made 14 saves to blank the Big Green.
The 22-year-old played the 2019-20 season with the Penticton Vees, posting the third-best goals-against average in the league at 2.19, the second most shutouts with five and a .918 save percentage.
ECAC Hockey Defenceman of the Week
Luc Salem – Junior – St. Lawrence University (Prince George Spruce Kings/Alberni Valley Bulldogs)
Salem registered five points in the Saints’ weekend split with Niagara. On Friday, he assisted on two goals for his first multi-point contest of the season. Saturday saw Salem repeat the performance, assisting on both of St. Lawrence’s equalizer and go-ahead power-play goal in the third period, then scoring the overtime game-winner in dramatic fashion to knock off Niagara.
Salem played in the BCHL during the 2017-18 campaign, splitting time between the Prince George Spruce Kings and Alberni Valley Bulldogs. He totaled a goal and 12 assists for 13 points in 45 games played.
