Powassan Voodoos goaltender Nate McDonald and forward Andy Baker received accolades this month as McDonald was named the NOJHL Gongshow Gear goaltender of the month for December while Baker, a Battalion prospect, was named the Gongshow Gear rookie of the month for December.
This marks a hat trick of sorts for McDonald as he earns NOJHL goaltender of the month laurels for a third time already this season.
In five starts last month, McDonald won all of them helping Powassan extend their current winning streak to 23 in succession.
Along with his 5-0 record, the 17-year-old native of nearby North Bay, Ont., was named as one of four goaltenders, who will compete in the upcoming Canadian Junior Hockey League Prospects Game, Jan. 25 in Cornwall, Ont.
So far in 2016-17 McDonald leads the NOJHL in both goals-against average and save percentage at 2.02 and .928 respectively.
His 19 wins ties the Voodoos netminder for the most in the league as do his three shutouts to date.
The recent success of the Petes prospect is garnering him a lot of attention from NCAA Division I programs as he hopes to follow the same path Colton Point has taken.
Point, much like McDonald, was a late round OHL pick but this season Point is in his freshman campaign at Colgate.
Baker cooking
Another key factor to the success of league-leading and No. 2 CJHL-ranked Powassan has been the play of first-year forward Andy Baker.
The 17-year-old from Port Carling, Ont., scored in each of the six games he played in December, registering eight in total while adding an assist to aid in the Voodoos continuation of their impressive 23-game winning streak.
Three of his tallies last month were game-winners, which raised his league-best total to 10 in that category.
Baker also tops all NOJHL rookies in scoring with 49 points with his 33 goals leading all players in the league.
His efforts have him tied for fourth overall in NOJHL offensive numbers and he was also named to the Team East roster for the CJHL Prospects Game in Cornwall later this month.
That game will be broadcast locally live on CogecoTV Cable 12/700 on January 25th at 7:30 p.m.
