USPHL Elite 2023-24 North Region Players Of The Week

Week of Oct. 13, 2023

Games of Oct. 3-9, 2023

Atlantic Division

Forward: Jace Lombardo, Rockets Hockey Club 

The second-year ‘04 from Staten Island, N.Y., busted open the Hitmen Classic with five goals and four assists for nine points in his four games there. His highlight in Wayne, N.J., was a 2-2-4 performance against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights. He currently has 23 points in nine games this year, placing him fourth in Elite scoring. 

Defense: Christopher Kobayashi, Jersey Hitmen

Kobayashi (‘05/Hillsdale, N.J.) has been an immense contributor to the Hitmen cause already, especially after starting the Hitmen Classic with a 3-2-5 performance against the Boston Junior Bruins. The second-year Hitman currently has a 5-5-10 line in 10 games played this year. 

Goaltender: Joseph Auletti, Rockets Hockey Club 

Auletti (‘05/Staten Island, N.Y.) has had just as huge an impact on the Rockets over the last week as his former Monsignor Farrell High School teammate Jace Lombardo. In net, Auletti made 104 saves on 107 shots in three games. He went 2-1 and earned a 39-save shutout victory against last year’s Nationals runner-up Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. 

New England Division 

Forward: Simon Higgins, Springfield Pics 

The Pics only played one game between Oct. 3-9, but the second-year Pic Higgins made the most of it, scoring three goals and an assist in a win against the Boston Junior Bruins Elite team on the eve of their trip to New Jersey. Higgins (‘03/Longmeadow, Mass.) is in his second year with the Pics after scoring 42 points in 44 games in 2022-23. 

Defense: Zachary Demyk, Islanders Hockey Club 

Demyk (‘05/Montreal, Que.) scored his first two goals of his junior career at the Hitmen Classic, including the game-winner for his first against the host Jersey Hitmen. His other goal tied their game against P.A.L. 3-3 in the third period, just before two late P.A.L. goals gave the opponents the win.

Goaltender: Jason Conlan, Boston Junior Bruins

Conlan (‘05/Garrett Park, Md.) did everything he could for his team at the Hitmen Classic, stopping 153 out of 161 shots in 231 minutes of action for the Junior Bruins. He helped them earn a point against the WBS Knights in a shootout loss. He stopped all 41 shots he faced in 65 minutes of action in that game, and he also stopped 42 of 45 shots against the Rockets Hockey Club. Conlan’s first appearance was in relief and he stopped 10 of 11 shots after the Jersey Hitmen started out with a 4-1 lead by the middle of the game.