Rangers Kolb, Hafner Honored by NAHL

Marquette – The North American Hockey league has honored a pair of Marquette Rangers for their play this past weekend as the team captured their first ever NAHL North Division title.

Rangers forward Andrew Kolb and goaltender Lukas Hafner, both natives of Toledo, Ohio, were recognized for their contributions as the Rangers beat Traverse City last Thursday before sweeping Janesville Friday and Saturday.

Kolb was honored as the Sherwood North Division Player of The Week, while Hafner has been named the Sherbrook NAHL Goalie of The Week.
After being held scoreless on Thursday – a 2-1 victory over the Kolb came through with a goal and two assists, including one on Brent Bain’s game-winner, in a 3-0 win over Janesville. The next night, the 20-year-old picked up another assist as the Rangers blanked the Jets again, 3-0. He was also a plus-4 on the weekend.

\”Andrew played solid all three nights,” said Rangers head coach Kenny Miller. “He was a force in both the offensive and defensive zones.”
On the year, Kolb leads the team in scoring with 65 points on 24 goals complimented by 41 assists.
Hafner backstopped the Rangers to a pair of shutout wins in his two starts against Janesville, turning aside all 59 shots he faced. On Friday, Hafner made 25 saves in a 3-0 victory. The next night, the 18-year-old stopped 34 shots as the Rangers blanked the Jets again, 3-0.
Combine those numbers with the seven plus minutes on Thursday when Hafner came in to the game in the third period for the injured Kevin Kissaw against Traverse City; Hafner played over 127 minutes in three games without surrendering a goal.

“Lukas was stellar all weekend long,” Miller added about his goaltender. “He made big save after big save, and was truly the difference in winning.”
The Rangers play Motor City this weekend in the opening round of the NAHL North Division playoffs.