The North American Hockey League (NAHL) has announced its monthly player awards for the month of December. The Bauer Hockey NAHL Forward of the Month is Peter Morgan from the Kenai River Brown Bears. The Bauer Hockey NAHL Defenseman of the Month is Luc Salem from the Topeka Pilots. The Vaughn NAHL Goaltender of the Month is Henry Welsch from the Aberdeen Wings. Only players who are nominated by their respective teams are considered for the NAHL monthly awards.
Bauer Hockey NAHL Forward of the Month: Peter Morgan, Kenai River Brown Bears
Brown Bears forward Peter Morgan, 19, has transformed his game since arriving in Kenai River back in late October and has resulted in his best month to date in December. The 5’6/155 lbs. native of Sarasota, Florida, posted 12 points in just seven games during the month, which included eight goals, four assists and a +11 rating. Morga, who is also an NAPHL grad, recorded at least a point in all seven games and had three multi-point games during the month. For the season, Morgan has 30 points in 34 games played and 29 points in 25 games since joining the Brown Bears. “Peter has been extremely consistent for us these last few months. After starting out this season slow, he has really hit his stride throughout the month of December. He has really made the most of his opportunities this year and continues to get better everyday. He is very competitive and holds himself to a high standard of play every night. We are very happy for Peter to win this honor and look for him to continue to pick up steam as we head into the second half of the season,” said Brown Bears head coach Kevin Murdock.
“Since I got to Kenai River, I have been lucky enough to be paired with some great linemates in Porter Schachle and Cody Moline and that has made all the difference in the world and helped me a ton. My confidence really went up when all that happened and I was happy I started scoring some goals in December. We have a great team here and the coaches have been awesome, so we want to keep that going and keep our focus on trying to win the division. I just hope to continue to improve a player and keep my team winning. We would like a good showing at Top Prospects. Hopefully after that, it will end up with an NCAA Division 1 commitment,” said Morgan. “I had a great experience playing in the NAPHL and it really helped me develop and prepare to play in the NAHL. We had some special teams down in Tampa with a great coach in Vinny Prospal, so it was special to be a part of that group that played in the NAPHL.”
