Monthly – Weekly Honors Piling Up For Brahmas

By Kirk Estes
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Updated: January 5, 2021

All photos courtesy of Candice Bryan: The Brahmas' Mitchell Digby was named NAHL Defenseman of the Month for December while Andrew DeCarlo was Forward of the Month Runner Up, Graham Burke was Goalie of the Month Honorable Mention and Blake Benson was NAHL South Division Second Star of the Week.

Accolades continue to roll in for the Brahmas this season with three players recognized in the Stars of the Month posting and two in the Stars of the Week. Members of the Brahmas have now been recognized a total of 26 times this season, nine times in the monthly honors and 17 in the weekly honors.

Mitchell Digby

The veteran defenseman Digby was named the NAHL Defenseman of the Month for December. The 5’ 10” – 185 pound native of Ottawa Lake, MI has played in 17 of the Brahmas 21 games this season putting up 11 points on 4G-7A. Digby is currently tied for third in the league in defenseman scoring.

During the month of December, the Air Force commit and Alternate Captain registered 1G-5A and was a +2 in eight games played. This is Digby’s second time being honored as he was previously recognized in the NAHL South Star of the Week honors as well.

Digby is not just a threat on the offensive end of the ice he is also heavily relied upon as one of the leaders of the second ranked defense in the league allowing just 2.33 goals per game and 27.29 shots on goal per game. He also sees substantial playing time on special teams with three of his four goals this season coming on the power play.

In 53 NAHL games played during his career, Digby has recorded 33 points on 10G-23A and is s +18 with five power play tallies.

Andrew DeCarlo

DeCarlo is playing in this third season as a member of the Brahmas forward corps. The Huntington Beach, CA native has exploded offensively this season to rank as the NAHL’s second leading scorer. In 21 games played the 6’ 1” – 190 pound forward has accounted for 8G-18A and is a +10.

In Lone Star’s eight games played in December DeCarlo had 4G-7A including a shorthanded goal against New Mexico and was a +9. As a result, he was named Forward of the Month – Runner Up for December. This marks the second time he was recognized in the Forward of the Month honors and three times in the South Division Star of the Week honors.

DeCarlo has proven to be one of the best in the South Division if not the league in the faceoff circle. He is often sent over the boards to take the draw on critical faceoffs.

In his three seasons with Lone Star DeCarlo has played 117 games recording 25G-43A with five game winners 85 penalty minutes and a +24.

Graham Burke

Burke has been a busy man this season minding the net in 16 of the 21 games the Brahmas have played tied for the league lead. He is third in minutes played and second in wins. The 6’ 0” – 165 pound rookie netminder from Wilmington, DE has put up a 2.21 Goals Against Average and a 0.921 Save Percentage on the season ranking seventh and eighth respectively.

Due to an early injury to goalie partner Rico DiMatteo, Burke shouldered the burden of playing minute of the Brahmas first 12 games played. Despite the heavy load Burke backstopped the Brahmas to a 9-3-0-0 record to open the season including a road win in Amarillo where he stopped all five Bull’s shooters in the shootout.

Burke received Honorable Mention recognition as December Goalie of the Month. He compiled a 2-0-0-0 record with a 2.36 Goals Against Average and a 0.917 Save Percentage during month. This was the third straight month that Burke received monthly Honorable Mention recognition to go along with four times being named in the NAHL South Star of the Week honors.

Blake Benson

Benson was named NAHL South Second Star of the Week for the week of December 21 after scoring goals in back-to-back contests against Wichita Falls. The goals were the 5’ 11” – 180 pound forward from Centennial, CO’s first goals of the season.

In 15 games played during his rookie season Benson has registered 2G-2A with one game winner and a +4 rating.

Brahmas’ fans have watched Benson progressing each time he has taken the ice and it was obvious that he would eventually break through to put the puck in the net. Now that the seal is broken the Brahmas can look for Benson to settle in and continue to provide offense as the season progresses.

The Brahmas who currently set atop the NAHL South Division standings will be on the road this coming weekend to face the fourth place Amarillo Bulls at the Amarillo Civic Center. Puck drop both nights is 7:05pm and the action can be live streamed on HockeyTV.com.