JANUARY PLAYER-OF-THE-MONTH
The OJHL announced today that Stouffville Spirit forward Matthew Neal (photo credit - Craig Campbell/HHOF) has been named the Player-of-the-Month after dominating the month of January with 36 points in only 11 games played.
Neal’s remarkable run would see the Spirit’s alternate captain record points in all 11 games throughout January, including three-or-more points in eight of the 11 contests. His totals of 11 goals and 25 assists for a points-per-game average of 3.27 would also include a pair of five point games and a six point game during a 9-3 victory over Collingwood on January 14. The offensive outburst helped lead the Spirit to a 10-0-1 record throughout the month, solidifying their playoff hold, as well as third place in the North Division, while also receiving an Honourable Mention in the CJHL’s Weekly Top 20 Rankings for the week of January 24-30.
“It is a great honour to be named Player-of-the-Month as there are many good players in our league and to be recognized is a great personal accomplishment” stated Neal. He would continue by praising his teammates for much of the success, “I attribute much of my success to my line mates, Christian Finch and Tyler von Engelbrechten. They give me great options to both sides of the ice and have created a lot of space for me. Our entire team is playing well right now which creates a lot of opportunities for me.”
Spirit head coach Craig Donovan also explained his star forward’s contribution to the club’s success this season, “Matt is a highly skilled player who is demanding of himself and his teammates. He is a strong and fast skater, excellent puck handler and passer and he has a quick and very accurate shot. He plays in all situations for us and has been a key contributor to our team’s success this season. He came into the league with the goal of obtaining an NCAA scholarship and has put in the time and effort in preparing himself, both on-ice and off-ice to achieve that goal. After receiving offers from many schools, he has decided to attend RPI in the ECAC next season on a full 4 year scholarship.”
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Matt Neal was born on November 22, 1991 in Barrie, Ontario and following his minor hockey career would join the Stouffville Spirit as a 16-year old rookie in 2008-09. One of only two players on the club to play in all 50 regular season games that year, the first-year forward would finish fourth in scoring, recording a respectable 31 points in 50 games, as well as finishing second on the club with 15 goals.
Entering his second season in Stouffville, Neal was counted on to be one of the club’s leaders and he would not disappoint, leading the Spirit in all major statistical categories, including goals (21), assists (26), points (47), power play goals (7) and game-winning goals (4). Neal’s play helped lead the Spirit to a 27 point improvement in the standings and a fourth place finish in the East Division standings.
Now a seasoned veteran, Neal was named one of the Spirit’s alternate captains for the 2010-11 season and once again has more than lived up to expectations. He currently sits tied for third in league scoring with 95 points and with two games remaining has a shot at hitting the magical 100 point plateau. The offensively gifted forward, with totals that include 38 goals (5th best), 57 assists (5th best) and 25 power play assists (2nd best), is also a leader on the Spirit penalty kill, recording two shorthanded markers, and contributes in all three zones. Neal’s awe-inspiring totals also include both a 14-game point streak and 15-game point streak, and thus far this season he has been held pointless on only five occasions.
Earlier in the season, and after much debate over the numerous offers received from top NCAA Division I schools, Neal chose to accept a full four-year athletic scholarship to attend and play for the ECAC’s Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) Engineers in Troy, New York, beginning with the 2011-12 season.
Also in consideration for January Player-of-the-Month award were forward Phil Brewer of the Burlington Cougars and goaltender Jimmy Sarjeant of the Newmarket Hurricanes.
