Jersey Hitmen Nick Modica and Devon Palmieri Earn POTW Awards
Wayne, NJ - After being named Goalie of the Week for the Elite Division, Nick Modica made 30 saves for his 2nd consecutive shutout. The Hitmen trounced the Portland Pirates 7-0 in the revenge game after losing 4-3 in a hard fought battle the night before. Modica and Captain Devon Palmieri lead the team in their bounce-back win.
Palmieri was named Forward of the Week after 2 goals and 3 helpers for a 5-point might, bringing his season total to 19 points. Modica improves his record to 9-4 and is 2nd in the league in goals against average and save percentage with a 1.62 GAA and a .952 SV% and among the league leaders in minutes played.
Head Coach Dan Henningson on his players' performances, "Both Palmieri and Modica are our leaders on and off the ice. It’s nice to see their hard work paying off. Palms has been snake bitten all year so his outburst was long overdue! Obviously Modica is having an outstanding year and continues to be our most valuable player thus far."
The Hitmen outshot the Pirates 36-31 in a 4-3 loss in Game 1. Devon Palmieri (6), Brendan Pepe and Robert Jaworski scored for the Hitmen, but it was Portland’s late 3rd period power play goal that sealed the win for the Pirates. Starting goalie Josh Welte made 27 saves in the loss.
After a tough loss, the Hitmen came out of the gates flying. Spencer Marchand (2) scored on the power play to give the Hitmen an early 1-0 lead and what turned out to be the game winning goal. The Hitmen had 6 different goal scorers in a balanced attack with Robert Jawroski (6), Devon Palmieri (7,8), Ian Bernes (10), Ryley Flynn (6) and Mark Tomaschek (3) all chipping in tallies for the 7-0 victory.
Coach Henningson on the weekend, “Portland is a great team and a team we are trying to catch in the standings. It’s disappointing because we played well but couldn’t gain any ground on them. That said, I am pleased with our overall effort. Our specialty teams were the difference in both the loss and win and that’s something we have to understand in order to move up in the standings.”
UP NEXT
The Hitmen travel to Marlboro, MA to face the Jr. Bruins in a two-game weekend series before the Christmas break. The Hitmen are 1-1 against the Bruins in regulation play.