USPHL Elite 2023-24 New England Division Players Of The Month: December 2023

Summaries by Joshua Boyd

Forward: Josh Bruno, Northern Cyclones

Bruno (‘04/Glendora, Calif.) just rejoined the Cyclones in November and already has 23 points in 15 games. He put up a nine-game point streak that bridged November and December and contributed to a 10-point month with a 2-8-10 line in December. He now has 91 points in 57 Elite games.

Forward: Bogdan Guntypov, Islanders Hockey Club

Guntypov (‘06/Astana, Kazakhstan) put up five goals and added four assists for nine points in the four games the Islanders played during December. He ended the month with a natural hat trick against the Boston Junior Bruins on Dec. 17, his second hat trick in five games. In this, his first North American season, Guntypov has 28 points in 25 games.

Forward: Adam Hadi, Islanders Hockey Club

Hadi (‘05/Coppell, Texas) registered three goals and six assists for nine points in just four games, scoring in each contest. He started with a 2-2-4 line against the rival Northern Cyclones. A first-year junior out of the Texas Tigers Midget program, Hadi currently has 25 points in 26 games.

Defense: Matthew Taylor, Northern Cyclones

Taylor (‘05/Raleigh, N.C.) returns to this honor after another huge month for the longtime Nationals staples out of Hudson, N.H., also the hosts of the 2022 USPHL Nationals and finalists that year. Taylor put up a 3-6-9 line in seven December games to bring his season total to 10 goals and 22 assists for 32 points in 24 games after a strong season last year with the Cyclones 18U AAA squad.

Defense: Nikolaos Spaniotis, Springfield Pics

Spaniotis (‘04/Cromwell, Conn.) moved a little closer to home with a trade from the Islanders to the Pics and certainly hit a home run in his first five games with his new team in December. He registered a 1-3-4 line as the Pics earned points in four of their five games last month. He now has seven points in 17 Elite games.

Goaltender: Nick Cowles, Northern Cyclones

Cowles (‘05/Irvine, Calif.) came to the Cyclones this year out of the much-renowned Anaheim Jr. Ducks program and won his first three games of December, including a huge victory against another Nationals staple in the Florida Eels. He stopped all 20 shots for a shutout of the Eels, and took his only loss of the month to another Nationals regular in Charlotte, stopping 29 of 32 in that game. Overall, he stopped 74 out of 78 shots for a .949 save percentage, a 1.01 goals against average and two shutouts.