Knights make splash in USHL Draft
The Northstar Knights saw 4 current and 2 alumni selected in the USHL draft.
Cody Croal Commits to University of North Dakota
Alexandria, MN (Apr. 28, 2022)
For more information, contact: Johnny Van Atta, Director of Hockey Operations (615) 830-1113, [email protected]
Northstar Knights 18U forward, Cody Croal, has announced his commitment to the University of North Dakota. The North Branch, MN native lit up the stat books this season. In 55 games played, he has produced 42 goals and 59 assists for 101 points. His 1.84 points per game led the Knights this season and also ranked #6 overall in 18U AAA hockey of players who played in at least 20 games. In his 2 seasons of 18U AAA hockey Croal has scored 164 points in 97 games which ranked him #4 all-time and ahead of NHL stars, Phil Kessel and Ryan Kesler.
“We’re very proud of this commitment that acknowledges Cody’s development as a hockey player during his time at Northstar”, Head Coach, Rylan Galiardi said. “Cody has grown from an offensively talented player to a full 200-foot warrior that is strong in all areas of the ice. However, we’re most proud of Cody’s maturity into a Godly young man. He returned to Northstar this year with a goal of growing academically, athletically, and spiritually and we believe Cody is ready to leave here and be a great leader.”
Croal will follow Knights Alumni, Ben Strinden (North Dakota) and Jacob Napier (Western Michigan), to the Muskegon Lumberjacks in the USHL next season. He has already notched 6 games under his belt where he has scored 2 goals - both of which came in a game against the Youngstown Phantoms on April 1st.
“I am excited and honored to continue my education and hockey career at the University of North Dakota,” Croal said of his commitment. “Thank you to my family, friends, coaches, teammates, and most importantly God for supporting me!”
The Knights look forward to watching Croal play in the next step in his hockey career and growing his spirituality in a new environment!
FCA Hockey App Launching May 4th
FCA Hockey is excited to announce the development of the “FCA Hockey App” which will be released globally on May 4th! All the details of the App as well as the cool features will be shared in the coming weeks… so stay tuned!
Knights Historic 2021-22 Season Comes to a Close
Alexandria, MN (Mar 26, 2022)
For more information, contact: Johnny Van Atta, Director of Hockey Operations (615) 830-1113, [email protected]
The Northstar Knights 2021-22 game season has officially come to a close. Looking back on the past 6 months, the Knights have seen tremendous growth in all the players which has led to many team accomplishments.
The 16U Knights capped off their 2nd season in existence and built off of their success from last year. The Knights finished with a record of 43-8-6 and finished ranked #42 in the country - 4 spots higher than where they finished last season. Their penalty kill was dominant this season as they only gave up 9 goals while playing a man down. Brayden Berg finished as the Knight’s top scorer with 53 points (30-23-53), followed by Lincoln Hjelm with 51 (17-34-51) and Tanner Hunt with 46 (14-32-46). Sam Kartch (23-21-44) and Gavin Hruza (21-18-39) rounded out the Knights players who hit the 20-goal plateau. As a whole, the Knights scored 200 goals while only giving up 90, thanks to a strong trio of goaltenders in Merik Grinaker, Max Weilandt, and Beck Lidén. Grinaker finished the year with a 7-0 record to go along with a 0.75 GAA and a .941 SV% and will return back with the 16U Knights next season. Lidén went 19-4-4 with a 1.57 GAA and .929 SV% and Weilandt finished 19-3-2 with a 1.48 GAA & .935 SV%. Weilandt’s SV% and GAA both rank 2nd in 16U AAA hockey this season for goalies who have played more than 10 games. Lidén is not far off coming in at #7 in SV% and #4 in GAA. “Our goaltending was excellent all year, we have three very good goalies”, coach Tim Jackman said. The 16U Knights will see 14 players move onto the 18U Prep team next season but will look to build around returners Grinaker, Lincoln Hjelm, Alex Klimek, and Andrew Leung. Head Coach, Tim Jackman, has seen a lot of growth in his team over the season. “I am extremely thankful to say that I got to coach this group of young men alongside coach Mark Abalan this season”, said Jackman. “We’ve seen tremendous growth and development in this team as hockey players and men, from the start in September until the final weekend against Culver Academy Waterloo, IA in early March. The drive and competitive spirit continued to increase as the season went along. The positional play, and cooperation as a team improved, along with fundamental habits that they will carry with them the rest of their hockey playing days. The players moving up to the U18 will be ready and the players returning to U16 are going to be great leaders. The season was a journey of ups and downs, and there were extremely meaningful times of growth in perseverance and maturity. This group all season, win or lose, was faithful to the call at Northstar.”
The 18U Knights had a season for the record books. To start, the Knights took home the Dixon Cup after winning the NAPHL playoffs. They also finished with a record of 51-5-3 and are the only 18U AAA team with 50+ wins this season. On their path to success, the Knights relied on their lethal special teams as they converted on 30% of their power play opportunities and killed off 90% of their penalty kills. As a whole, the Knights scored 311 goals and only allowed 111, which averages out to 5.27 goals per game and 1.88 goals against per game. The Knights were led by record-setting seasons by forwards Reese Laubach and Cody Croal. Laubach finished this season with 102 points (51-51-102) and Croal finished with 101 points (42-59-101). It also ranks them 2nd and 3rd, respectively, in total points in all of 18U AAA hockey this season. For the All-time 18U AAA record book for points, Laubach is tied for 4th and Croal is ranked 5th. Not far behind them was Dylan Cook, who finished the season with 94 points (35-59-94). The trio of forwards accounted for 36% of the total points of the Knights players this season and were an integral part of the Knights returning core from last season. “It’s both obvious and impressive the impact Reese, Cody and Dylan have had on the ice in their two seasons as Knights”, Head Coach, Rylan Galiardi said. “However, it is their legacy as Northstar Knight Warriors that will stand; Competitive, Disciplined, and Honorable young men. Their own individual spiritual growth, along with the eternal impact they are making with their families, friends, and community brings us great joy.” Forwards Caleb Elfering (22-40-62) and Ashton Christman (22-28-50) also chipped in with 22 goals apiece this season as the Knights finished with 5 players with 20+ goals. On the Blueline, Brian Morse finished the season with 74 points (13-61-74) and his 61 assists ranked first on the Knights. His 74 points ranked him first in 18U AAA this season among all defensemen. In net, the Knights were led by Logan Verpoort and C.J Kier. Verpoort finished with a record of 22-2-0 and Kier finished 27-2-1. Kier also concluded his season with a GAA of 1.16 and SV% of .941, both of which ranked first in 18U AAA hockey this season. As the season progressed, the Knights saw 11 players sign tenders with NAHL teams. That list includes Carter Olson (Minot Minotauros), Dylan Cook (Austin Bruins), Cody Croal (Austin Bruins), Ashton Christman (Kenai River Brown Bears), Jaxon Grosdidier (Aberdeen Wings), Adler Johnston (Austin Bruins), Tyler Johnson (Lone Star Brahmas), Nathan Mulder (Lone Star Brahmas), Brian Morse (Anchorage Wolverines), Mitch Simmons (Bismarck Bobcats) and C.J Kier (Bismarck Bobcats). As the Knights season comes to a close, the team will see 17 players depart and will look to Caleb Elfering, Cooper Fredericks, Kaleb Pitman, Nathan Huntington, Dawson McCann, Nate Farrell, Luke Russell, and Brady Jones to guide the 18U Knights next season. “We are so very thankful for the opportunity to spend every day growing and learning with such an outstanding group of young Godly Men”, said Galiardi. “These seniors have been such a fun group to be around and have set a standard of excellence in our three pillars. They have set the bar high for not only next year's group, but for all future Knights to both uphold and maintain.”
Although the Knight's game season has finished up, the Knights still have plenty to look forward to as the 16U Knights will participate in TeenPact and the 18U Knights will travel to Iberia, MO for a mission trip through Convoy of Hope. The Knights would like to sincerely thank everyone who has supported this season!
18U Knights Defend Title as Dixon Cup Champions, 16U Knights Fall Short in Semifinal Shootout
Troy, MI (Feb 22, 2022)
For more information, contact: Johnny Van Atta, Director of Hockey Operations (615) 830-1113, [email protected]
The Northstar Knights traveled to Detroit, Michigan for the much anticipated NAPHL playoffs. The 18U Knights came into the weekend with strong intentions to bring back the Dixon Cup trophy after they were crowned the NAPHL Champions in 2021. This year, they took on #75 Carshield, #129 Arizona Bobcats, and #15 Maine Nordiques in the 3-game pool play and went 2-0-1 en route to finishing top in their division. In the Quarterfinals, the Knights took down #56 Tri-State Spartans by a score of 5-1 and then defeated Maine Nordiques again 3-1 in the Semi-Finals. Heading into the finals, the Knights knew they were headed into a battle with #62 Biggby Coffee who boasted a much-improved lineup since the Knights last played them in January at the Indianapolis NAPHL showcase. Although the Knights held the advantage in the shot column, Biggby jumped out to an early lead when forward Max Martin scored on the power play. A goal by defenseman Brian Morse would even things up with 13:39 left in the 3rd period. With a little less than 90 seconds to go in regulation, the Knights would break the deadlock when Morse corralled the puck at the blue line and fired a shot through traffic that deflected off of forward Dylan Cook. The Knights would hold on to win 2-1 to reclaim the title as the NAPHL Champions. “We actually were shorthanded late, but we drew a penalty to even it out,” Galiardi said. “We got a great one-timer again by Brian Morse that went off of one of our guys in front (Cook). We’re proud of the players and thankful for the program. There's an army of people that are here for our guys and are here to support our players. Local billets, players, families, teachers, founders, people that are financially supporting what we're doing, a lot of people out there doing a lot of small and big things for us.” With a roster of 25 players this season, the Knight’s depth has been a huge factor in their success. “We've got more depth than any team probably in the country,” Galiardi said. “Nobody can put out four forward lines like we can and not have much of a drop-off. Ultimately, we have a really strong, deep team. We may not jump out right away, but eventually, we will chip away, and usually what happens is teams usually can’t hold us off for much longer.”
The 16U Knights came into Detroit with a 10-1-1 record since the new year and posted an astonishing 7 shutouts in those games thanks to a strong D-Core and goaltending from Beck Lidén, Max Weilandt, and Merik Grinaker. Our goalies are the backbone of our team and allow our guys to play with a ton of confidence”, Associate Head Coach, Mark Abalan said. “This trio has done it all year through a tremendous work ethic and competitive attitude which they display every day.” The Knights started out pool play by defeating #410 Madison Capitols 8-0, where they outshot their opponent 56-3. The Knights then took on #208 Tri-State Spartans Saturday morning and won 4-1 thanks to goals from Sam Kartch, Alex Klimek, Bauer Berry, and Tanner Hunt. The tournament then took an interesting twist Saturday night when forward Lincoln Helm received a vicious knee-on-knee hit in the game vs #93 Philadelphia Little Flyers that would, unfortunately, end Hjelm’s tournament. The Knights would go on to defeat the flyers 4-1 with goals from Bauer Berry, Ryan Murphy, Colten Sell, and Tanner Hunt. The Knights completed pool play 3-0 and would face #41 Carshield in the quarterfinals. Carshield had been a familiar foe to the Knights during the season as the Knights owned a 2-2-1 record and 4 out of the 5 games had been decided by 1 goal. After going down 3-1 early in the 2nd period the Knights had their work cut out for them. In a span of fewer than 3 minutes, the Knights would storm back with 3 goals with goals from Gavin Hruza, Colten Sell, and Bronson Hunt. Led by stellar play in net by Max Weilandt, the Knights would hang on in the 3rd period to seal a 4-3 win. “This was the team we knew we would have to beat at some point in the tournament.” Abalan said, “They were one of the toughest opponents we faced all year. Because of the events from the previous game vs. the Flyers, our line-up was missing some key guys but as we’ve said all year, the strength of our team is the team and the guys really did an amazing job of digging deep and accomplishing a signature win in a huge game.” The win over Carshield earned the Knights a birth in the Semifinals against #52 Esmark Stars. The Knights and Stars held each other scoreless through 2 periods due to strong play from goaltenders Beck Lidén and Iannico Amaranto. The Stars would manage to sneak a goal past Lidén with 5 minutes to go in the game, however, Bronson Hunt would rescue the Knights with a goal with 30 seconds remaining. The Knights would heavily control possession through a 5-minute 4-4 overtime and then again in a 5 minutes 3-3 overtime but could not manage to get a goal. Due to time restrictions, the game needed to go into a shootout that went 7 rounds deep before a goal was scored by Stars forward Nathan Burlando. The Knights were unfortunately not able to answer back and the Stars went on to win the game 2-1 and were eventually crowned the Champions of the 16U division. “It was a great weekend by our guys and we just came up a little short.” Abalan said, “I’m disappointed for them because they played their hearts out. I’m so proud of all of them and told them after the game ‘ sometimes in sports, we just come up a little short but that doesn't diminish the growth of this group and all that we have accomplished together’”.
After getting a weekend to rest last week, the Knights will travel to Sioux Falls to take on the Power on Friday, March 4, and Saturday, March 5.