California, Arizona, Utah stars collect monthly USPHL honors

The USPHL has announced that a quartet of California natives have garnered monthly honors for February.

Ogden Mustangs forward Jake Meure (Fremont) is the Mountain Division Premier Forward of the Month, Vernal Oilers netminder Antonio Tarantino (Fremont) is the Northwest Division Premier Goaltender of the Month, Palm Beach Typhoon forward Brayden Curry (Torrance) is the Florida Division Elite Forward of the Month, and Northern Cyclones forward Nick Stevens (San Clemente) is the North Division Elite Forward of the Month.

Meure finished the regular season with a flourish and became the first 100-point scorer in Mountain Division history while setting the all-time league scoring mark in his secondto-last game. Meure had at least one point in all but one of his 10 February games, finishing the month with 19 points (7-12-19). Meure saved his best for last; the third-year ‘Stang notched a scorching 11 points (5-611) in his final three games, bringing him up to 30 multi-point games on the season.

During his youth hockey days, Meure skated for the San Jose Jr. Sharks.

Tarantino was a busy man yet again in February, posting 199 saves on 215 shots over 304 minutes in net in February. He came out of the month with a 3-1-1-0 season and a .926 save percentage. Tarantino stopped all 25 saves he faced from Rogue Valley on Feb. 18 for his second shutout of the season, and he earned a shutout against Rogue Valley again in the playoffs.

Back home, Tarantino played for the Golden State Elite Eagles and Jr. Sharks.

Curry more than doubled his points from his 2021-22 rookie season. He put up a 16-37-53 line after posting 26 points last season, the inaugural year for the Typhoon. He pulled off the double by picking up two goals and 17 assists for 19 points in eight February games. His 17 assists were a league-high for the month.

The Cyclones are already headed to the USPHL Nationals thanks to a 2-0 playoff sweep of the Springfield Pics. Towards the end of the regular season, Stevens was absolutely on fire as he posted 11 goals and helped out on four others for a 15-point total in 10 February games. With that outburst, he brought his points per game to an even 1.00 to close the campaign with 43 points in 43 games.

In California, Stevens skated for JSerra Catholic High School and the Anaheim Jr. Ducks.

In addition, Vernal Oilers blueliner Cole Bisson is the Northwest Division Defenseman of the Month and Springfield Pics goaltender Chase Ebeyer is the Elite North Division Goaltender of the Month.

Bisson found his true groove in Vernal, and that continued with a 4-10-14 line in 11 contests in February. The Vermont native was plus-15 (best among Northwest defensemen) over the course of the month and the Oilers also made good on their top seed by advancing to the championship series this coming weekend against the Seattle Totems.

During his youth hockey days, Bisson played for the Utah Outliers, West Coast Renegades, and Skyline High School.

Ebeyer and the Pics took 10 points in their final month, and the goaltender finished up with a 2-2-0-0 record and a .926 save percentage in playing 284 minutes.

The Scottsdale native gave up 15 shots out of the 204 he faced, including a 26-of-27 performance against the Boston Jr. Bruins and 29 of 31 against the New York Aviators, both wins.

Even in losses, he was strong –witness him stopping 41 of 44 in a relief spot against the Islanders Hockey Club, and 47 of 50 against the Cyclones on Feb. 11.

Back home, Ebeyer played for the DYHA Jr. Sun Devils and Pinnacle High School.

-- Joshua Boyd & Brendan Price/ USPHL.com