Jacob Sibell nabs third Goalie of the Month honors

Apr 6, 2021

For the third time this season, Aberdeen Wings goalie Jake Sibell, 21, has been named the NAHL’s Goalie of the Month as he continued his march towards a record-breaking season.

The 6’2″, 206 lb. native of Isanti, MN, posted a perfect 7-0 record in seven starts during the month. Sibell faced a total of 185 shots in 421 minutes of action and made 175 saves, which was good for a .943 save percentage.

So far during the 2020-21 season, the Niagara University recruit is currently the top goalie in the NAHL with a 1.09 goals against average and a .957 save percentage to go along with a perfect 33-0-1 record for the first place Wings. His ten shutouts this season are one shutout away from matching the NAHL single-season record.

During the 2016-17 season, he played in the NAPHL for the Omaha AAA 16U team.

“What’s great about Jake is he doesn’t rest on his laurels. He focuses on continuing to get better every day,” Wings head coach Scott Langer said.  “Jake is a total professional in his approach to the game and his daily habits. His mental toughness makes him an everyday leader in our dressing room, as well as resilient while he embraces adversity. The Wings have a very good goalie coach in Josh Aycock, who has helped Jake with his long-term passions and goals. This has been another huge piece of our continued goaltending success.”

“I think we’re continuing to get better every day in practice and in games and you can tell that we’re clicking much better than we were even a month ago,” Sibell said. “Guys seem to always know where each other are on the ice and what plays we need to make. I think just being together for so long is really helping us become a better team and as we go down the stretch, we want to be playing our best hockey come playoff time.

“I try not to think about the numbers and stats too much,” he continued. “I think if you think about it, then you’re almost jinxing yourself and you can’t really think about doing your job, which right now is just to help my team win games. I have been trying to take it game by game and just making the next save. Everything else will keep taking care of itself if I continue to do that.”

Manty receives Forward of the Month runner-up honors

Thomas Manty had a banner month for the Wings, posting eight goals and four assists, which included a hat trick back on March 5 against Austin. He also finished the month +5 and moved his way up the league top points list, currently sitting in fifth place overall with 24 goals and 20 assists. His 24 goals also put him at the top of the goals leaderboard.

deVita receives Defenseman of the Month honorable mention

Nico deVita had one goal and added eight assists in March, posting points in six of the eight games played in March. He finished the month +5, which only added to his league-leading plus/minus total of +44. Overall, deVita has six goals and 27 assists on the season and is ranked 7th overall for points on Wings roster.