Orlando's Melnichuk named Warrior Hockey/ECHL Goaltender of the Week

Alexei Melnichuk of the Orlando Solar Bears is the Warrior Hockey ECHL Goaltender of the Week for March 21-27. Melnichuk went 2-0-0 with a 1.95 goals-against average and a save percentage of .930 in three appearances last week. The 23-year-old stopped 23 shots in his ECHL debut in a 4-3 overtime win against Florida on Thursday and made 30 saves in a 4-1 victory over Greenville on Saturday. He played 39 seconds in Sunday’s shootout loss to the Swamp Rabbits. Under contract to Tampa Bay of the National Hockey League after being acquired in a trade with San Jose last week, Melnichuk has seen action in 31 American Hockey League games with San Jose this season where he was 10-14-2 with a 3.92 goals-against average and a save percentage of .867. Last season, he appeared in 17 AHL games for the Barracuda while also seeing action in three NHL games for the Sharks. A native of St. Petersburg, Russia, Melnichuk has also appeared in 32 career KHL games with St. Petersburg SKA and Nizhny Novgorod Torpedo. Runners-Up: Chris Nell, Atlanta (2-0-0, 2.37 GAA, .933 save pct.) and Jake Kupsky, Idaho (3-0-0, 2.25 GAA, 915 save pct.). Also Nominated: Samuel Harvey (Fort Wayne), Dylan Wells (Norfolk), Brad Arvanitis (Rapid City), Hunter Shepard (South Carolina), Billy Christopoulos (Toledo), Arturs Silovs (Trois-Rivières) and Trent Miner (Utah).