NCDC Players Of The Week: Feb. 22, 2023

Games of Feb. 15-21, 2023

South Division 

Forward: Tyler McNeil, Jersey Hitmen

McNeil (‘02/Valencia, Calif.) finished his stand at the South Shore Kings Presidents Day Showcase with a line of 3-2-5, extending a point streak to five games at that time. He scored his sixth GWG in the team’s first game, a 4-1 victory over the Northern Cyclones. For “extra credit,” he also put up two assists in the NCDC All-Stars Best of the Best Game. He improved on the season to 52 points in 45 games. 

Defense: Sean Melso, Jersey Hitmen 

Melso (‘02/Philadelphia, Pa.) helped his team to a 3-0 weekend at the Presidents Day Showcase, and currently the Hitmen’s lead in the race for the Founders Cup is eight points. Melso, the NCDC’s All-Time top scorer among defensemen, added five more assists to his lofty totals and now has 119 points in 134 games (including 45 points in 45 contests this year). 

Goaltender: Waylon Esche, Utica Jr. Comets

Esche (‘05/Westmoreland, N.Y.) put together a fantastic weekend in Foxboro, Mass., as the Jr. Comets went 2-1 – and Esche earned both the victories. He stopped a total of 75 shots out of 79 faced for a .949 save percentage. He made 37 stops on 39 Islanders Hockey Club shots, and two days later, made 38 stops on 40 Twin City attempts. To top off his time in Foxboro, Esche stopped all 12 shots he faced in his period at the NCDC All-Star Young Guns game on Feb. 21. 

North Division 

Forward: Christopher Repmann, New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs

The ‘02 from Middletown, N.J., is truly putting together a fantastic second NCDC season in Hooksett. He has put up 36 points (18-18-36) in 45 games so far and helped the Monarchs to a (slim) hold on first place in the North Division. Most recently, Repmann posted a 2-4-6 in the space of three games, including a trip to Long Island to face the P.A.L. Jr. Islanders. He had two assists to contribute to half of his team’s offense in New York. He also had a 2-2-4 line on Feb. 15 in a win against Twin City. He also represented the Monarchs at the NCDC All-Star Best of the Best game. 

Defense: Conor Lally,  Boston Advantage 

Lally (‘02/Scarborough, Maine) also hit the ice in the NCDC All-Star Best of the Best game and helped his Team American to a win, but that was only after putting together a strong three games at the SSK Showcase. There, he scored two goals and added two assists for four points, while also placing third in takeaways for the league over the last week with 35. He also blocked five shots along the way. In two NCDC seasons, Lally has 57 points in 91 games. 

Goaltender: Christopher Jackson, Twin City Thunder

Jackson got the tap on the shoulder for all three Thunder games at the SSK Showcase. The end result was that his .959 save percentage was the best for any NCDC goalie playing more than once over the last week (from Feb. 15-21). In going 2-0-1 at the event, he also led the league with 94 saves on 98 shots, including a 30-save shutout in the first game against the WBS Knights. He had 33 and 31 saves in his next two. The ‘02 out of Charles Town, W.V., is 11-9-2-1 with a 2.63 GAA and .923 save percentage.