Posted: May 10, 2012
Former Idaho Jr Steelhead Nathan Stanley Named Worcester State Male Freshman Of The Year
By Dick Dorfman, Idaho Junior Steelheads
May 9, 2012
Worcester, MA --- Nathan Stanley, a hockey player from Meridian, Idaho, has been named the Male Freshman Athlete of the Year at Worcester State University in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Worcester State is an NCAA Division III college. The Lancers compete in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) against seven other schools, six in ice hockey.
The son of Darren and Kellie Stanley, "Nate" scored 7 goals and 11 assists in 23 games for the Lancers, finishing second to senior John Cahalane, who led the team with 20 points on 7 goals and 13 assists and played in all of the team's 27 games.
According to the WSU Sports Information Director, Stanley's 11 assists were the second -highest among MASCAC freshman, and his 18 points third-most.
In his first 12 games, Stanley had one goal and three assists, but in the last 11 games, he piled on six goals and eight assists.
Stanley's contribution to the offense helped the Lancers to the playoffs and their first post-season win in 35 years, a 4-1 victory over Fitchburg State on February 25.
The Sports Information Director also noted that Stanley was the eighth hockey player to receive the Male Freshman Athlete of the Year Award in the 21 years it has been given.
Stanley grew up playing hockey in the Boise Youth Amateur Hockey Association, went away to the California Wave, the Dallas Penguins and Alliance programs, and the Grand Forks Border Bruins, then came home to play two years at the Junior A level with the Idaho Junior Steelheads in the Western States Hockey League.
With the Junior Steelheads, Stanley led the team in scoring in 2009-2010 with 65 points (31 goals, 34 assists) in 51 games. The Junior Steelheads made it into the division playoffs in their first year of existence.
Stanley was chosen for the WSHL "Best of the Rest" All-Star Team which competed as an adjunct to the National Tournament in Marlboro, MA after the season.
Worcester is located just 18 miles west of Marlboro.
Because of the respect he had earned from coaches and teammates, Stanley was named Team Captain of the Junior Steelheads for the 2010-2011 season.
He led the Junior Steelheads to the WSHL League Championship and third-place national finish, garnering 37 goals and 42 assists for 79 points in 51 games. His production was best in the Western Division and second in the league.
The 21-year-old Stanley was joined by Junior Steelheads teammate and co-captain Stephen Rock (Tulsa, OK) in accepting the invitation to attend and play hockey at Worcester State in 2011-2012.
Tyson Cox, a Boise resident and Junior Steelheads team captain in their inaugural 2009-2010 season, was already at Worcester State, playing in 25 games in his freshman season of 2010-2011.
In all, the Lancers had 16 former WSHL players on their roster this last season, and more graduates of the Junior A league have committed to enroll for 2012-2013.
One former WSHL alum, Cody Osburn (Fair Oaks, CA), played not only as a hockey defenseman for the Lancers (24 games, 6 assists), but also as a baseball pitcher and outfielder.
Osburn was recently named to the All-MASCAC Baseball First Team, one of only two freshmen to earn those honors..
Osburn played in the WSHL for the Fresno Monsters.