With a point in every game this season, senior forward James Albers has totaled eight goals and 13 points. He’s helped East Grand Rapids get out to a perfect start through the month of November; the first 5-0-0 start for the program in at least 13 years. The No. 9-ranked team in my latest Top-25 rankings update, East has beaten previously ranked Riverview Gabriel Richard, current No. 16-ranked Salem and No. 14 Byron Center in that span. Albers got out of the gate fast with a six-point performance on opening night and has been red hot in big moments for the Pioneers ever since. His efforts earned him first star honors in the West Region, and is one of the many performances highlighted below from opening month of the season.

November’s three stars from around the state:

Metro East Region

Cash Soulliere, De La Salle

The first-year junior has five goals in his first three games of varsity hockey. Cash Soulliere scored a pair of goals in the Pilots’ opening-night 5-1 win over St. Clair Shores Unified. He followed up that performance with another two-goal game against No. 2 Orchard Lake St. Mary’s. Then, Soulliere scored the lone goal in De La Salle’s 2-1 loss to No. 13 Trenton.

Evan Sivi, Trenton

In four starts this season, Evan Sivi has allowed just seven goals against. All four games have been against Top-25 teams and all four games have gone to overtime — which is a wild stat in itself. He has a 1-1-2 record overall with a 1.57 goals-against average and .939 save percentage in the month of November.

Blake Tice and Steven Louiselle, Cranbrook

Through five games, the Cranes have allowed just five goals against. That’s the second lowest in the state on a per game basis. Junior Blake Tice has stopped 40 of 41 shots faced in two starts with a shutout. His counterpart in net, senior Steven Louiselle, has stopped 74 of 78 shots in three starts with a shutout.

Metro West Region

Owen Hall, Livonia Stevenson

The No. 4-ranked Spartans are out to a 3-1-1 start, and senior Owen Hall has been a big reason for that early success. He has three multi-point games already, with seven goals and 11 points. Five of those points have come against Top-25 teams, including a four-point performance against No. 16 Salem on Thanksgiving Eve. 

Vinnie Sabala, Hartland

The first-year junior played 172 minutes into his varsity career before allowing a goal against. Vinnie Sabala pitched three straight shutouts to open the season for Hartland; that included a 1-0 shutout of No. 13 Trenton and a 5-0 shutout of No. 12 Brighton. The Eagles have made tough games look easy early on, and Sabala has been a reason for that.

Logan Scheidt, Lakes Area

Off to a 5-0-0 start to the season, Lakes Area is undefeated in the month of November for the first time in program history. Newcomer Logan Scheidt has been a big reason for United’s newfound success. He’s got at least one point in every game, including a five-point performance in the team’s 5-2 win over White Lake Lakeland. 

West Region

James Albers, East Grand Rapids

Riding an eight-game point streak that dates all the way back to the Pioneers’ state quarterfinal game against Orchard Lake St. Mary’s last season. James Albers is playing like one of the best in the state, with 10 of his 13 points coming against top-25 teams. He’s factored in on nearly half of EGR’s team offense.

Tony Kauffman, Caledonia

Tony Kauffman has a point in each of the Fighting Scots’ six games to start the season. That gives him a point in 16 of his last 17 varsity games going back to January of his junior year. Caledonia topped OKC foe Rockford 4-3 in mid-November; a game in which Kauffman factored in on all four goals.

Tanner Guerra, Sparta

The Spartans are out to a 5-1-0 start in November for the second year in a row. Forward Tanner Guerra has been a big reason for their most recent run, putting up four consecutive multi-point games. One of those came in Sparta’s 3-0 win over No. 21 Sault Ste. Marie, where Guerra tallied a goal and an assist.

North Region

Jace DeForge, Houghton

Senior forward Jace DeForge has scored one-fourth of Houghton’s goals this season, with seven through the team’s first five games. His most recent performance included a hat trick against No. 8 Marquette, propelling the Gremlins to a 4-3 win. DeForge’s 12 points for the month puts him three ahead of last season’s pace, where he finished with 38 points as a junior.

Gavin Winterstein, Alpena

He’s scored three-or-more points in four of Alpena’s five games. That includes a three-assist night in a 4-2 win over Romeo and a four-point performance in a 4-2 win over Caledonia. Gavin Winterstein has 15 points through five games — seven more than last season’s pace — that puts him tied for fourth in the state in scoring. 

Graham Johnson, Escanaba

Graham Johnson leads his team in scoring, having factored in on 11 of Escanaba’s 20 goals this season; that includes six of the last eight goals for the Eskymos, including an overtime winner against Traverse City Central. They are 4-1-0 to start ‘24-25, which is the team’s best start in 10 years.