LocalSportsJournal.com

The United States Hockey League announced Monday that Anthony Del Gaizo of the Muskegon Lumberjacks has been named the 2018 USHL Player of the Year as determined by a vote of League general managers.

Anthony Del Gaizo

Del Gaizo, a native of Basking Ridge, NJ, led the USHL in scoring this season with 72 points (40G, 32A) and played in all 60 of Muskegon’s regular season games. He led the USHL in goals (40) and tallied at least one point in 46 of the 60 games he played.

Additionally, Del Gaizo recorded multiple points 21 times this season, including a span from Jan. 5 to Jan. 15 where he had multi-point efforts in five straight contests.

Meanwhile, Lumberjacks forward Matek Pekar was named the 2018 USHL Rookie of the Year.

Pekar played in 56 games with Muskegon this season, putting up an impressive 54 points (14G, 40A) in those contests. He tied for the rookie scoring lead with those 54 points, led all rookies in assists (40) and finished 10th among rookies with his 14 goals. In total,

Pekar recorded 10 multi-point games and had point streaks of seven games, six games and four games. The Turnov, Czech Republic native finished second on the Lumberjacks in scoring, behind only USHL scoring leader and Player of the Year Anthony Del Gaizo.