HUNTERSVILLE, NC (January 28, 2020) – The Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) today announced that goaltender Austin Lotz of the Birmingham Bulls was named the Warrior Hockey/SPHL Player of the Week for January 20-26.
Lotz went 3-0-0, stopping 106 of 111 shots faced (0.955 save%) with a 1.62 goals against average as the Bulls extended their winning streak to a season-high four games.
Lotz got the week started last Monday as he made 36 saves, including 15 in the third period, as Birmingham defeated Knoxville 4-1 in a Martin Luther King Jr. Day matinee contest. On Friday, the Winnipeg, MB native stopped 34 of 36 shots as the Bulls rallied from a 2-0 second period deficit to defeat Pensacola 3-2 in a shootout. Lotz continued his strong play between the pipes on Saturday, making 36 saves in a 6-2 win over the Huntsville Havoc.
Signed by Birmingham on January 11 after beginning the season with the ECHL’s Idaho Steelheads, Lotz has been solid in net for the Bulls, posting a 5-0-1 record, a 1.47 goals against average and a 0.961 save percentage. Before turning pro in 2016, Lotz played five seasons in the Western Hockey League with Everett and Medicine Hat. In 2017-18, Lotz went 19-19-2 with two shutouts for the ECHL’s Jacksonville Icemen.
Runners-up: Alec Marsh, Fayetteville (3 gp, 3g, 3a), Stephen Gaul, Quad City (3 gp, 4g, 1a, gwg)
Also nominated: Austin Plevy, Evansville (3 gp, 1g, 4a, shg), Sy Nutkevitch, Huntsville (2 gp, 3g, 1a, shg), Stefan Brucato, Knoxville (3 gp, 2g, 3a, gwg), Garrett Milan, Pensacola (2 gp, 2g, shg), Nick Neville, Peoria (2 gp, 1g, 2a, +4) and Henry Dill, Roanoke (1-1-0, 3.33 gaa, 0.933 save%)
