AUDL Honor Roll: Week 5

May 6, 2019
By Evan Lepler

Throughout the 2019 season, the AUDL’s weekly honor roll will be revealed each Monday, honoring seven players whose individual exploits merit recognition. The players are listed alphabetically by last name.

  1.  Quentin Bonnaud, Montreal Royal - Quentin Bonnaud found the end zone eight times on Saturday against Toronto, individually accounting for exactly half of Montreal’s goals against the Rush on Saturday. Though the Royal could not register the road win, it was a good sign that Bonnaud delivered a gigantic game against Toronto, considering he had only averaged 2.6 goals per game against the Rush in five career games before this past weekend.  
  2. Jay Boychuk, Seattle Cascades - With six goals, two assists, and zero turnovers, Jay Boychuk was solid from start to finish in Seattle’s surprise win over San Diego. The transplant from Toronto has been a tremendous addition for the Cascades, thrust into more responsibility than he ever had with the Rush, a development that has him leading the entire league with 24 goals through five weeks.
  3. Rick Gross, Indianapolis AlleyCats - Rick Gross did a little bit of everything in helping the AlleyCats to one of the most impressive wins of the weekend, a 19-16 road triumph over Pittsburgh. Gross consistently impacted the action, collective four goals, three assists, and two blocks as Indy improved to 3-1 on the year.
  4. Nathan Hirst, Toronto Rush - Nathan Hirst simply looked magnificent throughout the Rush’s 21-16 victory over the Royal. With four goals, four assists, and no turnovers, Hirst’s +8 was twice the number accumulated by any of his teammates, and it was the best performance from a plus/minus perspective since the 2016 season, when he went +8 and +9 in consecutive weeks against the Outlaws as a 21-year-old.
  5. Pawel Janas, Chicago Wildfire - He’s had games with more eye-popping numbers, but Pawel Janas quarterbacking the Wildfire to a comfortable six-goal win over the Wind Chill earns him a spot among this week’s sensational seven. Statistically, he led Chicago with five assists and 47 completions, with just one turnover, a solid all-around effort in an important statement win. At 2-0 with both wins over Minnesota, the Wildfire have guaranteed themselves the head-to-head tiebreaker against the Wind Chill, a fact that could definitely come into play a couple months down the road.
  6. Rowan McDonnell, DC Breeze - After leading his team in goals and assists against Ottawa, with only one turnover in 35 touches, Rowan McDonnell was the easiest choice for the Week 5 honor roll. He finished with four goals, six assists, one block, and one throwaway, a dynamic +10 display that helped the Breeze roll past the Outlaws 24-15.
  7. Jonathan Nethercutt, Raleigh Flyers - In his 2019 debut, Jon Nethercutt played mostly on the D-line and made an immediate impact. On the Flyers first three defensive points, Nethercutt recorded two assists and one block, contributing to three early breaks that helped Raleigh set the tone in a wire-to-wire 23-18 victory over Austin. He finished with a team-high five assists and only one throwaway in 34 attempts, a splendid return to the field for the league’s 2017 MVP.