Truro, N.S. (February 2, 2024) – The Maritime Junior Hockey League (MHL) is pleased to name the awards for January with the Top Forward, Top Defenseman, and Top Goaltender.
Top Goaltender – Nicholas Sheehan (Edmundston Blizzard) – The 20-year-old from Moncton, N.B. has now captured the MHL’s Top Goaltending award in four of the first five months of the season. Sheehan had a record of 6-1-0-0 in January with a league-best 2.27 goals against average to go with a .918 save percentage. He also played the most minutes of any goaltender at 422, helping the Blizzard end the month atop the Eastlink North Division and riding a seven-game winning streak. For the season, Sheehan leads the MHL in wins (22), minutes played, saves, shutouts, and save percentage (.925).
Sheehan made 25 saves in a 9-1 win over Grand Falls on January 4th and 17 saves in a 5-3 loss in Summerside on the 6th. He bounced back with four straight starts where he allowed just two goals, averaging nearly 29 saves in each of those games as Edmundston beat Pictou County, Miramichi, Fredericton, and Campbellton. Sheehan’s last start of the month was on the 26th, where he made 21 saves in a 6-3 win over the Rapids.
Honourable Mention – Lyam LeBlanc (Amherst Ramblers) – The 18-year-old from Trois-Rivières, Quebec posted the fourth-best goals against average in the league for the month at 2.61 and best save percentage at .928, minimum three games played. LeBlanc had a perfect 5-0-0-0 record in January to go with a .928 save percentage and one shutout. He capped off his month with a 32-save shutout of the Mariners on the 28th.
Top Forward – Félix Bédard (Edmundston Blizzard) – The 20-year-old from Laterrière, Quebec has captured the MHL’s Top Forward award for the second month in a row. Bédard led the league in points in January with 22 in nine games, and had the most assists with fourteen. He was held off the scoresheet just once last month, while every other game saw him collect multiple points. Entering February, Bédard was second in league scoring to Fredericton’s Carter McCluskey with 74 points, was fifth in goals with 30, and had the most assists with 44.
Bédard started January with three goals and two assists in a 9-1 win over Grand Falls on the 4th. He had a powerplay goal and two assists in a loss to Summerside on the 6th and one goal and one assist in a win over Pictou County the following night. After going pointless on the 12th against Miramichi, Bédard finished the month with three goals and nine assists in five games as Edmundston ran their win streak to seven straight.
Honourable Mention – Alex Nadeau (Truro Bearcats) – The 20-year-old from Victoriaville, Quebec had ten goals and nine assists in nine games in January, tying for the second-best points per game average with Edmundston’s Philippe Collette. Nadeau’s ten goals were tied with Miramichi’s Jeremy Duhamel for the third-most last month. He had at least one point in every game this month and goals in seven of those games. Standout performances were two goals, including the game-winner, and three assists in a 6-1 win over Summerside on the 13th, two goals on both the 6th in a loss against Amherst and the 19th in a win over Valley, and three assists in a win over Pictou County on the 28th. Nadeau ended the month in third in league scoring with 69 points.
Top Defenseman – Coen Strang (Amherst Ramblers) – The 19-year-old from Moncton, N.B., who won this award in November, led all MHL defensemen with twelve points in eight games in January. Strang had points in seven of those eight games. His eleven assists were the third-most among all skaters. At the end of the month, he was tied for second among blueliners in points (40) and assists (30), sat second in goals (10) and powerplay points (17), and was one of three defensemen with three game-winning goals.
Strang started his month with back-to-back games with one assist on January 5th and 6th. After a one goal, one assist performance against Yarmouth on the 14th, Strang had three assists in back-to-back games as Amherst hit the road in Campbellton and Miramichi. He then recorded on assist on the 25th and again on the 28th.
Honourable Mention – Olivier Beaudoin (West Kent Steamers) – Last month’s Top Defenseman was second to Amherst’s Coen Strang in points for January with eleven in eight games, registering one goal and ten assists. The 20-year-old from Sherbrooke, Quebec scored the game-winner and added in assist for West Kent on the 3rd. He also had two assists in a game three times during the month. Beaudoin leads all defensemen for the season in points (41), goals (11), powerplay goals (7), powerplay assists (16), and is tied for second in assists with 30.
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Media Contact:
James Faulkner
Director of Communications
Maritime Junior Hockey League (MHL)
jfaulkner@themhl.ca