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Players Of The Month: USPHL 18U Division

By USPHL Staff, 12/01/18, 5:45PM EST

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Forward: Jake Lanyi, P.A.L. Jr. Islanders.

The P.A.L. Jr. Islanders continue to be a force in the USPHL 18U Division and it is in large part due to a veteran presence like Lanyi, a ‘00 from North Salem, N.Y.

Lanyi is in his second year with the P.A.L. 18U squad and third in the USPHL Midget Divisions, and filled up scoresheets well for the Jr. Islanders in the month of November. His 12 points in all six of the team’s games in November helped the Islanders to an 8-0-1-1 record in their last 10 games going back to the Hitmen Classic in early October. That puts them at third in the National Division and has helped the Jr. Islanders move up 12 spots nationally in the last five weeks at MYHockeyrankings.com.

Lanyi is sixth in the entire 18U Division in scoring with 22 points and tied for second overall in league goals with 13, after a six-game goal-scoring streak that extended back into October.

 

Honorable Mention: John Gutt, Jersey Shore Whalers; Lukas Skvarek, Springfield Jr. Pics.

 

Defense: T.J. Schweighardt, New Jersey Hitmen.

A repeat Player Of The Month selection here, Schweighardt put the gear into overdrive on Day 1 of the season and hasn’t let up. He’s the league’s highest scoring defenseman by a mile and is third overall with 26 points in 20 games, and he is also the league’s assists leader with 19.

In November, the ‘01 out of the Hitmen’s home town of Wayne, N.J., scored nine points in the Hitmen’s eight games, and he has helped the Hitmen to be the highest-ranked full-time USPHL 18U member in MYHockeyrankings at 32nd overall in the nation.

The Hitmen are also the leaders of the National Division and they’ve been staunch defensively, giving up just 2.5 goals against per game on average thanks in part to Schweighardt’s two-way play.

 

Honorable Mention: Greg Japchen, P.A.L. Jr. Islanders; Matt Herrick, Jersey Shore Whalers.

 

Goal: Artem Kobylyansky, New Jersey Hitmen.

The Hitmen are a powerhouse that extends well beyond the tuition-free National Collegiate Development Conference. The depth of the program out of Wayne, N.J., extends into the Midget ranks as well, where they are first in the top division of the 18U league and the league’s highest-ranked team on MYHockeyrankings.com.

Along with Defenseman Of The Month Schweighardt, the ‘01 Ukrainian goalie Kobylyansky has launched the Hitmen to this kind of all-encompassing success. In four games, he went 2-0-2 and gave up just seven goals and registered a shutout. In his two overtime losses, he stopped more than 30 shots in each.

After learning the ropes in October, he put together a November in which his .946 save percentage in those four games helped him to a top 10 spot overall in the league, and he is also seventh in goals against average at 2.38.

 

Honorable Mention: Ben Cunneen, Boston Junior Bruins; Richard Selwa, Connecticut Jr. Rangers.