Bauer Hockey NAHL Forward of the Month: Matt Wiesner, Northeast Generals
It was an incredible start to the 2017-18 season for the Northeast Generals and forward Matt Wieser. The 20-year-old forward from Newport Beach, California, helped the Generals to a 7-1 record in the month of September. For Wieser (5’7/166) it was sweet revenge after being on a team a year ago that won just four games. Wiesner led all NAHL players in scoring with 11 points (4 goals, 7 assists) in the month to go along with a +8 rating. That included three game-winning goals during the month and registering at least a point in seven of the eight games. “Matt is a great leader and player. It is great to see the hard work that he put in this off-season pay off. We couldn’t be happier for Matt and look forward to him having continued success,” said Generals head coach Joe Lovell. Northeast General Manager Bryan Erikson stated, “Matt embodies what we are trying to create here, which is an atmosphere of hard work and dedication. His leadership combined with his work ethic and skill has been a big reason for our hot start.”
Wiesner said that last year’s experience with the Generals is constant motivation for his continued improvement and success this season. “I think that the major changes from last year to this year began in the off-season. The team you see this year was built with a defense first mentality. We have defensemen that can move the puck and two really good goalies to back us all up. That has enabled us to translate that into offense. We want to be a fast team that plays with a lot of pace and I think we were able to do that in September. Personally, I want to prove people wrong. I think any of us who spent time with the team last year understand that we are here to show everyone that we can play hockey and are here to develop and get better. I was pushed around a lot last year, so in the off-season, I put on 15-20 pounds of muscle and that has helped with my speed and stamina. I did all the little things I needed to do to gain some confidence. I think having the experience of playing in the league last year was invaluable coming back this season. We still have 50+ games to keep proving ourselves,” said Wiesner.