Established 1996
 
 


11/1/05 Updated

 

Two Joining Under-17s for European Trip

 

6’3” Noble & Greenough forward Jimmy Hayes and 6'4" Mahoning Valley (NAHL) defenseman Doug Leaverton will joining the U.S. Under-17 Team this weekend and traveling to Slovakia for the Four Nations Tournament.

 

Hayes, a sophomore from Dorchester, Mass. was asked to join the NTDP last spring, but chose to stay at Nobles. He played on the Under-17 Select Team that was chosen from the Select 16 Festival for the Switzerland trip in August. 

 

Leaverton, a native of Painesville, Ohio, has played 11 games this season with a 1-0-1 line and 11 pims. Last season, he played midgets for the Cleveland Barons organization. He was also an OHL third round draft pick (Guelph). 

 

Hayes takes the place of Justin Vaive, and Leaverton takes the place of David Kolomatis.

 


    
 


11/30/05

Two More From Notre Dame

Scott Vanderlinden and Wahsontio Stacey are the third and fourth college commitments from Notre Dame (SJHL) this year joining RW Blake Gallagher (Cornell) and RD Kris Fredheim (Colorado College) headed to the US college ranks.

Vanderlinden, a 6’1”, 205 lb. ‘86 defenseman will join the Brown Bears in the fall of 2006. In case you are wondering, his SAT score was 1390 – not too shabby. Vanderlinden currently has a 1-9-10 line in 28 games with the Hounds. Last year, as a rookie in 32 games, Vanderlinden posted a 0-7-7 line.

Stacey, a 5’9”, 170 lb. ‘88 forward from Kahnawake, Quebec has committed to play for Minnesota-Duluth in either 2006 or 2007. Last season, Stacey was the third-leading scorer in the Saskatchewan AAA Midget Hockey League with a 27-44-71 line in 43 games with the Hounds. He moved up to the Tier II team this season and has made a smooth transition with a 9-13-22 line in 26 games.

Notre Dame, officially known as Athol Murray College of Notre Dame, isn’t widely known in the U.S., at least outside of hockey circles. It was founded in 1920 as a residential elementary and high school for boys and girls in the small town of Wilcox, Saskatchewan, which is located 25 miles south of Regina – a pretty remote area. The hockey program has a storied history. Brad Richards, Vincent Lecavalier, Rod Brind' Amour, Curtis Joseph and Wendel Clark all attended Notre Dame. Lately, the Hounds under Director of Hockey Operations Bill Gibson and Tier II head coach Mike Vandenberghe, have been churning out NCAA prospects. Sasha Pokuluk (Cornell), Andrew Gordon (St Cloud), Rylan Kaip (North Dakota), Matt Werry (Holy Cross), Chris Hahn (Maine), Matt Angers-Goulet (RPI), Denis Chisholm (Northeastern), and Brennan Turner (Yale) all played for the Hounds. So did Ted Purcell of the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (USHL), a top Maine recruit for next year.

The Hounds, currently in first place in the Sask League’s Sherwood Division with a 20-5-2 record, have several other top prospects on their roster who will garner additional college interest. In addition, the girl’s program at Notre Dame has proven to be extremely successful. In 2005, they were recognized as the top female Midget squad in Western Canada. All nine graduating players received US or Canadian college offers.



11/30/05

Prep Season Opens for Real

In opening day action, powerhouse Salisbury squashed Hotchkiss, 7-1; Cushing trounced Bridgton, 8-2; and Nobles beat Pomfret, 4-1. Those are our top three preseason teams. We don’t really have a fourth – Taft, maybe? – but they didn’t play today. If you're looking for an upset, here's one: South Kent topped Avon in OT, 5-4. For box scores and reports, please check the Prep Page for frequent updates.



11/29/05

Game Changes

The St. Paul’s vs. Gov. Dummer game scheduled for tomorrow (Wed. 11/30) has, due to a forecast of warm southern winds and high humidity that could affect the ice, been moved north to St. Paul’s. Game time will be at 4:45 pm.

The second meeting of the season between those two teams has been flip-flopped. That game will be played at GDA at 5 pm on Feb. 1st.

-- Today, Belmont Hill will be hosting the Boston Jr. Bruins Empire Jr. B team at 5:00 pm. It’s a scrimmage, but they’ll be playing it as a real game -- three 18-minute periods with real officials, etc.

In addition, on Thursday (12/1), Belmont Hill will be hosting the Irish National Team at 5:00 pm. More on that later.


***

Schedules

Here are the Div. I schedules – 21 in all -- that have been posted by prep coaches:

Albany Academy, Avon Old Farms, BB&N, Berkshire, Bridgton, Choate, Cushing, Exeter, Governor Dummer, Holderness, Hotchkiss, Kent, Loomis-Chaffee, Millbrook, Noble & Greenough, Northfield-Mt. Hermon, Pomfret, St. Paul’s, Taft, Westminster, and Winchendon.

We’re still waiting for the following Div. I schools to post their schedule:

Andover, Belmont Hill, Canterbury, Deerfield, Gunnery, KUA, Lawrence Academy, Milton Academy, Salisbury, St. Sebastian’s, Trinity-Pawling, Tabor, Thayer, Tilton, and Williston.

Here are the Div. II schedules – 10 in all -- that have been posted by prep coaches:

Berwick, Harvey, Hebron, Kent’s Hill, Kingswood-Oxford, Middlesex, Proctor, South Kent, St. Mark’s, and Vermont Academy.

We’re still waiting for the following Div. II schools to post their schedule:

Brewster, Brooks, Brunswick, Groton, New Hampton, North Yarmouth Academy, Pingree, Rye Country Day, Rivers, Roxbury Latin, St. George’s, St. Thomas More, and Worcester Academy.

Of the national prep schools (non NEPSIHA) we have schedules from Nichols, Wyoming Seminary, and Shady Side Academy.

***

Rosters

Coaches from the following schools have posted their team’s roster:

In Div. I, Berkshire, Bridgton, Canterbury, Exeter, Holderness, Hotchkiss, Millbrook, Northfield-Mt. Hermon, Pomfret, St. Paul’s, South Kent, and Westminster. In Div. II, Berwick, Harvey, Hebron, Kent’s Hill, Kingswood-Oxford, Proctor, Rivers, St. Mark’s and Vermont Academy. Outside of New England, we have rosters from Nichols, Wyoming Seminary, Upper Canada College, Lake Forest Academy, and Shady Side Academy.

Coaches having technical difficulties uploading schedules or rosters should either write admin (at) ushr.com or call Noah Cutler at (413) 303-1215.


11/29/05

Oreskovich Leaves College for OHL, and Other News

After pulling talented Albany, NY native Matt Lashoff away from the USNTDP a few years back, this season Peter DeBoer has added two college sophomore forwards so far this season: Matt Auffrey formerly of the Wisconsin Badgers,  and, yesterday, forward Victor Oreskovich of Notre Dame. Oreskovich is an Oakville, Ontario native who played for the Milton Merchants, and then one year in the USHL with Green Bay before moving onto Notre Dame. As a freshman last season, Oreskovich, put up an unimpressive 1-2-3 line in 37 games. This season, playing mostly right wing on the Irish's second line, Oreskovich dressed in 9 of 12 games and had a 2-1-3 line. Things never panned out in college for the 6’3”, 215 lb. Oreskovich, a second-round pick of the Colorado Avalanche in the 2004 draft.

Auffrey, since leaving the Badgers in early October, has posted a very respectable 5-7-12 line in 15 games. Auffrey was also a 2004 draft, by Anaheim (6th round).

Lashoff, who can quarterback the power play and kill penalties, is back from an early-season injury and has a 1-12-13 line in 16 games.  However, his -7 (+/-) might be of some concern to the US National Team selection group, which will shortly be announcing a preliminary roster for the US team competing in the 2006 IIHF World Junior Championship, Dec 26-Jan 5 in Vancouver, BC.  

In the QMJHL, Keith Yandle (4th Round, Phoenix 2005), who opted for the Moncton Wildcats when he couldn’t qualify at Maine, is putting together a terrific first season in major junior and is making a strong bid to be on the blue line for the US team in Vancouver. Yandle leads all defenseman in scoring with an impressive 11-27-38 line in 28 games and leads the entire league with a staggering +30 (+/-). 

Peter Mueller, in his first season with the Everett Silvertips (WHL) continues to put up solid rookie numbers with a 11-16-27 scoring line in 27 games while enduring a recent six-game game scoreless streak.  The former Minnesota Badger recruit is expected to be a high first round draft pick in the 2006 NHL Draft. For now, though, Mueller, who is only an ‘88, needs to be a little more consistent, especially in his defensive responsibilities.  

Minnesota's Nate Hagemo is still sidelined indefinitely with a shoulder injury and, as of now, looks doubtful for the US National squad.

-- In college hockey this weekend the marquee matchup has Red Berenson bringing his #3 ranked Michigan (9-3-1) into Miami’s Goggin Ice Arena to battle the #8 Red Hawks (9-2-1) who lead the CCHA Conference.  Michigan is coming off losses to both Minnesota and Wisconsin in the College Hockey Showcase.  Miami is riding a three game win streak and has only lost once since their opening game against North Dakota.  The games scheduled for Friday and Saturday night feature several players vying for spots on the US National Junior team roster, including goaltenders Billy Sauer (6-2-1, 2.83 GAA, .899 save percentage) for the Wolverines, and Jeff Zatkoff (5-2, 1.58 GAA and .936 save percentage) for Miami.  Not a bad head-to-head matchup. Others competing for a spot behind Cory Schneider on the junior team include Ben Bishop (Maine), Jon Quick (UMass) and Jeff Frazee (Minn).  

Miami, by the way, has the most goals for -- and least goals against -- in the CCHA: 37 GF, 16 GA in ten games. Overall, in 12 games, the Red Hawks have allowed just 19 goals (1.58 per game). Impressive numbers, to be sure.


USHL Note:

Sioux City Musketeers GM/Coach Dave Siciliano, with his team still sitting in the basement of the USHL Western Division, continues to shake things up, adding goaltender Beau Erikson to the roster.  Erikson, a 6' 0”, 160 lb. ‘85 goalie from Merrill, Iowa had been playing this season for the North Iowa Outlaws (NAHL) where in 10 games he had 5-4 record with a 2.79 GAA and .912 Save Pct.  Now, only 20 games into the season, Erikson is the fifth goaltender to have appeared on the Musketeers roster. The Musketeers have already released ‘88 Philip Tetzlaff, now with Cleveland in the NAHL, and ‘87 Billy Blasé, now with Salmon Arm in the BCHL (6-1 record 2.32 GAA and .925 Save Pct). It's rare in the USHL for teams to carry three goaltenders and with Eddie Wheeler and newly arrived Jerry Kuhn still providing inconsistent results in net, another release is not unlikely


 


11/29/02

A Big, Smooth-Skating Blueliner for Crimson

6’2”, 187 lb. LD Ian Tallet of the Chicago Steel (USHL) has committed to Harvard for next fall.

Tallet, a 10/1/87 birthdate is in his first USHL season after playing for the St. Louis Blues Midget AAA squad in his native St. Louis.

Tallet has a lot of upside as he is an excellent skater, especially considering his size. He handles the puck well, and has good defensive awareness.

In 23 games so far this season, Tallet has a 0-1-1 line with a –11 and 29 pims for the last-place Steel.

Princeton, Dartmouth, Cornell, Colorado College, and Michigan State were other schools in the picture for Tallet.


 


11/26/05

Chicago Rules

The 2005-06 season is shaping up as a great one in the annals of Chicago midget hockey. Two weeks ago, we saw the Chicago Chill Midgets shred the competition at the Top Gun Blue Chip Tournament in Salem, NH, outscoring opponents by a hefty margin en route to the tournament championship. The Chill, now 29-3-1, skated hard, hit hard, played with focus, were well coached by Anders Sorensen, and were a joy to watch. They had little trouble with short-season New England midget teams and, while it’s not likely to happen anytime soon, it would be fun to watch them come east and play against some of the top New England prep programs.

Also very impressive were the Chicago Young Americans, who came east to last weekend’s Beantown Classic in New Hampshire, and knocked off Shattuck-St. Mary’s to take home the title. CYA plays a strong team game, and is more than the sum of its parts. They’re not going to blow any teams out of the building but, as they did in New Hampshire, they will win games by dint of their tenacity. The close, tight games, like a 3-2 win over Victory Honda, and a classic double-overtime shootout win over Shattuck-St. Mary’s went their way. They don’t beat themselves.


Note:

In addition to the Chill and CYA, we have also, earlier this fall, seen the Chicago Mission. They're another nice team though, like CYA, not quite in the Chill’s class.

The one Chicago midget team we have yet to see is Team Illinois, the #1-ranked midget team in the country. TI, which takes a 31-0 record into their annual Thanksgiving tournament, is coached by Jim Marchi and features the likes of Miami recruit Tommy Wingels. It could be a historic season for Team Illinois, which has won the midget nationals twice, in 1982 and 1997. This could be that kind of season -- and then some. We’ll have to wait to April to find out.

***

The biggest disappointment at the Beantown Classic was the play of the U.S. National Under-17 Team, 2-0 losers to the Boston Jr. Bruins on Saturday, and 3-1 losers to the New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs on Sunday.

If CYA is a team that is more than the sum of its parts, the Under-17 team, which could only muster one goal in two games, was definitely less than the sum of its parts. Most troubling was the cookie-cutter style of play. There was something eerily robotic about the Ron Rolston-coached team. They skated hard, hit hard, played at a nice tempo, but were not much fun to watch. Highly-skilled players like Ryan Hayes – to name just one -- seemed extremely stifled (or perhaps physically exhausted). Defensemen seemed unwilling to handle the puck, fearful of making a mistake. We miss the coaching style of a number of Rolston’s predecessors, men who took players’ strengths and played to them, allowing room for individual creativity within the framework of team play. The Under-17 Team could use some of that right now. These kids came to the program as top players, and will in all likelihood leave as top players. We're asking one question: are they leaving as significantly better players than they would have if they had chosen another path for their final two years of high school?



11/25/05

Friars Land Top Goalie for ‘07

Providence College has a commitment from 6’1”, 180 lb. New Hampshire Monarchs (EJHL) goaltender Ryan Simpson.

A 2/10/88 birthdate from Bow, NH, Simpson is currently a senior in high school. He’ll take one more year in juniors, most likely with the Monarchs, before joining the Friars in the fall of ’07.

Simpson, who recently missed two weeks with a concussion, returned to action last weekend. On Sunday, he kicked out 31 of 32 shots in a 3-1 Monarchs win over the US National Under-17 Team.

Statistically, Simpson, who is eligible for June’s NHL draft, is the top goalie in the EJHL with a 2.10 gaa and a .930 save percentage in 14 games played. He’s a mechanically solid, extremely athletic, competitive goaltender.

Simpson played for St. Paul’s School in 2003-04, then joined the Monarchs last season.

A number of schools were interested in Simpson, some for next fall and some for ‘07. In the end, Simpson made his choice from among Cornell, Clarkson, Dartmouth, and Providence.

When Simpson joins Providence as a freshman, Tyler Sims will be a senior and Steven Ritter will be a junior. 


 


11/24/05

Another Major Defensive Recruit for the Terriers

6’4”, 200 lb. RD Eric Gryba of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and the Green Bay Gamblers (USHL) has committed to Boston University, giving the Terriers yet another major recruit on defense. The Terriers already have commitments from Brian Strait (for ‘06), Kevin Shattenkirk (’07), and Colby Cohen (’07).

An April ’88 birthdate and a potential NHL first round draft choice, Gryba will arrive at Agganis Arena next season. A very good student, he made his final choice from between North Dakota, Michigan, and BU. Prior to narrowing his choices to those three, Gryba, who played midget hockey for the Saskatoon Contacts last season and was a bit of an unknown when the season began, was bowled over by college options. To give an example, 15 schools were lined up to talk to him at the season-opening Buc Bowl.

Gryba came to the USHL because of Hockey Canada’s rule that bars midget age players from one province moving to another to play junior hockey. When Hockey Canada blocked Gryba’s transfer from Saskatchewan to the BCHL, it forced him to look to the U.S. to play at a high level.

A big, strong, mobile defenseman, Gryba enjoys physical play but at the same time has excellent puck skills, poise, and vision. He makes a strong first pass out of the zone, and has offensive upside. He competes hard and is reported to be a character kid who is respected by his teammates. His biggest challenge right now is being 6’4” and 17 years old. In other words, he’s still growing into his body. The best is yet to come.    


 


11/23/05

Mea Culpa

Yesterday, we erroneously stated that two Tabor players, Keif Orsini and Nick Lampson, have been expelled from the Marion, Mass. boarding school. While this could turn out to be true, it is not true right now.

Right now, the school is in Thanksgiving break. The two players will be going through the school’s disciplinary process when school resumes, a procedure in which they will be granted due process.

Early this afternoon, Tabor head hockey coach Gerry Dineen said, “It was irresponsible of the U.S. Hockey Report to report this story before due process. The boys are in the process, and the school is still dealing with the issues. Until the issues are settled there isn’t an official decision.”


 


11/22/05

USHL Wrap Up: Ever Heard of Rich Drazin?

While scoring is down, there appears to be greater parity in the USHL this season, and, with that, closer contests. Of the 13 games on the schedule over the weekend, six were decided in shootouts, and one in overtime. Only one game was decided by more than two goals. In an interesting side note all the home teams (Chicago, Indiana and Omaha) lost on Tuesday night but came back to finish the weekend with two wins each.  Indiana and Chicago ended six and five-game skids, respectively. Cedar Rapids won all three of their games to move past Des Moines (1-2) into first place in the East.  West-leading Sioux Falls (1-0) was idle most of the week and squeaked out a 2-1 shoot out win over Sioux City.  Omaha (2-1) gained a couple of points on the Stampede but still trail by four points and have played two more games. One disturbing trend we have noticed this year is the release of several high school aged players.  We’ll have more on this subject at a later date, but for now let’s move onto the game highlights:

Cedar Rapids (3-0) opened the week with a 6-4 win at Indiana. The RoughRiders, after leading 3-0 and 5-1, almost blew it in the third period as Indiana took advantage of a misplayed center ice dump-in and then added two shorthanded goals to close the gap to 5-4.  An empty-netter by Maine recruit Ted Purcell sealed the win with 50 seconds to play.  Cedar Rapids’ top guns --  Michigan Tech recruit Phil Axtell (2G, 1A), Purcell (1G, 2A) and Chad Costello (1G, 1A) -- led the way, with defenseman Kevin Wehrs (Minnesota) picking up two assists and Ray Kaunisto (Northern Michigan) and Nik Sellers scoring the other goals.  Pat McGann picked up the win in net.  In a home-and-home battle with West-leading Des Moines, the RoughRiders put together two excellent games, a 3-2 home win in overtime and 4-3 shootout win on the road to sweep into first place. Friday night, in a see-saw battle, Dustin Cloutier, off a Kaunisto feed, beat Des Moines goalie Brian Foster (UNH) from the right wing circle with 30 seconds left in overtime for the win.  Ryan Gunderson (Minn St-Mankato), playing in his first game for Cedar Rapids after being acquired from the Tri-City Storm, scored in the first period for a 1-0 lead.  After Des Moines tied it up 1-1, Jacob Cepis (Bowling Green) put the RoughRiders back up 2-1 on a shorthanded breakaway goal.  Des Moines tied it midway through the second period and the score stayed 2-2 until Cloutier’s overtime heroics.  Alex Stalock (Minn Duluth) stopped 36 of 38 shots for the win.  On Saturday, Cedar Rapids jumped out to a 3-0 first period lead on power plays goals by David Strathman (Northeastern), Wehrs and Purcell.  The Bucs, who outshot the Riders 35-6 the rest of the way, chipped away at the lead and after two periods closed the gap to 3-2.  Des Moines got the equalizer with a minute and half remaining in regulation and dominated the OT but couldn’t solve Stalock in net.  Both Chad Costello and Gary Steffes (Miami), with the game winner, scored in the shootout. Stalock stood on his head and kicked out 48 of 51 shots for his second win in two nights. 

Chicago (2-1).  The struggling Steel, like Indiana, dropped their fifth straight on Tuesday at home in a tough 4-3 shootout loss to Des Moines.  Trailing 3-1 going into the third period, the Steel got goals from Western Michigan recruit Chris Clackson and Randy Guzior to send the game into OT.  Shaun Williams, who just committed to Union, turned away 29 of 32 shots in the game, but gave up three goals in the shootout for the hard luck loss. Mike Embach also scored for Chicago. On the weekend, Chicago went on the road and came away with two wins at Lincoln, 3-2 Friday night and a 5-4 shoot out win on Saturday.  In the 3-2 win, Clackson, Brandon Coccimiglio and Guzior scored for the Steel.  Williams made 31 saves on 33 shots for the win. On Saturday, the Steel blew a 4-2 third period lead but pulled it out in the shootout for the sweep over the Stars.  Rich Drazin, making his first start and second appearance for the Steel, turned in an impressive 45 save performance and stopped four of five shootout attempts for his first USHL victory.  Scoring for Chicago were Dan Kissel, Coccimiglio and Guzior (twice).  Clackson and Guzior (game winner) scored in the shootout.   The Steel have been struggling to score goals of late and received a huge lift from Guzior, a 6’2” 190 86 forward from Lemont, Il in his first year in the USHL.  Guzior who was named the USHL Offensive Player of the Week, scored four goals in three games, including two clutch third period game-tying goals, plus the shootout winner Saturday night.  Guzior has an 8-7-15 line in 19 games. (Chicago’s Sami Liimatainen received a match penalty after kicking Lincoln’s Ben Grotting in a second period fight on Saturday. Liimatainen faces a league suspension.)  

Indiana (2-1).  On Tuesday, Cedar Rapids rode into Indy and scored three goals on their first eight shots to take a 3-0 lead and chase Ice starting goaltender Jay Clark after one period. The RoughRiders increased their lead to 5-1 before the Ice, riding a five-game skid made it a game with three third-period goals.  Michigan recruit Tristin Llewellyn made it 5-2, scoring his first goal of the year on a dump-in from center ice which was misplayed by Cedar Rapids goaltender Pat McGann. Sloppy play by the RoughRiders then led to two shorthanded goals by Ice forwards Lukas Klimek (Neb.-Omaha) and Mike Hull to cut the lead to 5-4 with two minutes remaining.  However, with 34 seconds left, an empty netter by Ted Purcell “iced” the game. Brian Gifford (Denver) scored Indiana’s first goal on the power play.  On the weekend, Indiana rebounded with two home wins over the Storm.  On Friday, Indiana pulled out a 5-4 OT shootout thriller with Klimek and Eddie Del Grosso (Neb.- Omaha) scoring in the shoot-out and goaltender Cody Reichard making 34 saves and then turning away all four Tri-City shoot-out attempts.  Indiana got goals from Justin Milo (Cornell), Gifford, and Hull. The equalizer, with six minutes remaining, came off the stick of Del Grosso, his eighth goal of the season (and his seventh on the powerplay).  John Kemp, another Nebraska-Omaha recruit, had three assists in the win.  On Saturday, Indiana made it two in a row with a convincing 4-0 shutout of the Storm. Reichard earned his first career shutout with a 28 save performance. Klimek, Kemp and highly-regarded Sean Dolan, recently named to the US Viking Cup team, scored for the Ice.  Llewellyn added a late empty net goal to close out the 4-0 win.  Llewellyn will also be joining Dolan on the US team for the Viking Cup.

Omaha (2-1) opened the week with a hard-fought 2-1 loss at home to Lincoln.  Ryan Turek (Michigan State) scored the Lancers lone goal off an assist from BC recruit Nick Petrecki.  Both players were also recently named to the US Viking Cup team.  Eddie Neville stopped 27 of 29 shots in the loss.  The Lancers, however, rebounded with two impressive 5-3 road wins at Waterloo and Sioux City.  On Friday night, despite being outshot 41-26, the Lancers came away with a big win as Neville made 38 saves in net.  Robbie Dee (Maine), Travis Kauffeldt, and defenseman Nick Schaus (Mass-Lowell) staked the Lancers to a 3-1 lead.  Matt Schepke, a 5’9”, 196 lb. ‘85 forward from Warren, Michigan, scored his team-leading 14th goal of the season at the 48 second mark of the third period to extend the lead back to 4-2.  It was Schepke’s third shorthanded goal of the season. Rookie Matt Olver, a 5’11’, 185 lb. ‘88 forward committed to Northern Michigan, closed out the scoring with his first USHL goal.  On Saturday, despite being out shot again, 41-24, the Lancers came away with another road win.  Scoring for Omaha were Chris Meyers, Chris Moran (Niagara), Ryan Raven, Matt Thurber and Tony Lucia (Minnesota). Lucia’s goal was an empty-netter with 20 seconds left. Neville kicked out 38 of 41 shots for the win. Neville could have (should have?) won USHL Defensive Player of the Week honors, having led the Lancers to two road wins, stopping 103 of 111 shots for a .928 save percentage. Instead, the award went to goaltender John Murray , who kicked out 27 of 28 in Sioux Falls’ only game of the weekend.      

East Division-leading Des Moines (1-2) went into Chicago Tuesday night and crept out with a 4-3 shoot out win despite being outshot 43-33 and blowing a 3-1 third period lead.  Notre Dame recruit Ben Ryan figured in all of the Bucs scoring with two goals and an assist.  Shane Sims, a 6’1”, 190 lb. ‘88 defenseman from the Buffalo, NY area, added a goal and assist. Troy Davenport picked up the win, making 40 saves and stopping all three shots in the shootout.  On Friday night, despite out shooting the host RoughRiders 40-26, the Bucs came up short in a 3-2 overtime loss.  Kyle Okposo (Minnesota) and Ken Rowe (Army) scored for the Bucs. Saturday night at home, the Bucs again fell to Cedar Rapids, this time in a 4-3 shootout which dropped Regg Simon’s squad out of first place. After staking the RoughRiders to a 3-0 lead, goals by Trevor Lewis and Alex Laseen closed the gap to 3-2.  Late in the third period, Ben Van Lare got the equalizer, with Okposo picking up his second assist of the game. It was Van Lare’s first USHL goal. Davenport made 20 saves in the losing effort.   

On Friday night, Western Division leading Sioux Falls (1-0) pulled out a 2-1 shootout victory at home over Sioux City.  Leading scorer Andreas Nodl notched his 12th goal of the season on the power play off a Nate Prosser assist and also added the shootout winner.  John Murray made 27 saves and stopped all five shots in the shootout. As mentioned, Murray was named USHL Defensive Player of the Week.  Murray leads the league with a 1.86 GAA and is third in save percentage (.929).  His teammate, Alex Kangas, leads the league with .936 save percentage and is second to Murray with 1.98 GAA. It’s not for nothing that the Stampede is in first place.  

Lincoln (1-2) on Tuesday went into Omaha and came out with an impressive 2-1 road win as Michigan recruit Steve Jakiel stopped 33 of 34 shots.  Eli Vlaisavljevich (Michigan Tech) and Josh Brodeen scored for the Stars, and Mike Davies picked up two helpers in the win.  The Stars, however, disappointed the home crowd over the weekend, dropping both games to the Steel, who had been winless in their previous five games.  In Friday night’s 3-2 loss, Chad Langlais (on the power play) and Danny Baco (shorthanded and unassisted) each scored goals. Jakiel made 17 saves in the losing effort.  Saturday night, despite out shooting the Steel 49-26, the Stars dropped a 5-4 SOL in spite of a four-goal third period to tie up the game.  Bryan Hogan took the loss for the Lincoln, kicking out 22 of 26 shots.  James Perkin, Kyle Hardwick, Jared Brown and Davies scored for the Stars.      

Waterloo (1-1).  On Friday night the Black Hawks dropped a 5-3 decision at home to Omaha.  Isak Tranvik, Joe Sova and Mike Testwuide scored for Waterloo. Ken Wochele (9 saves on 12 shots) and Joe Grossman (12 saves on 14 shots) split time in net, with Grossman taking the loss. Saturday night, in a game between two teams that have little offensive firepower, the Black Hawks rebounded to pull out a 2-1 shootout win over Green Bay.  Testwuide, a 6’3”, 210 lb. ‘87 power forward from Vail, Colorado who leads the team in scoring with an 8-2-10 line in 11 games, scored on the power play off a Pasko Skarica helper. Mike Arhontas was the lone scorer in the shootout.  Grossman made 30 saves and stopped all five shots in the shootout for his fourth win of the season. 

Green Bay (0-1) dropped their lone game of the week at Waterloo in a 2-1 shootout.  Kevin Deeth (Notre Dame) scored the lone goal for the Gamblers and Brown recruit Dan Rosen stopped 33 of 34 shots in the loss.

Tri City (0-2) rolled into Indiana to face an Ice team winless in their previous six games --  and came away with only one point. On Friday, the Storm dropped their third consecutive shootout in a 5-4 loss to the Ice.  Jaroslav Markovic, Matt Ambroz, Zach Cohen and Alex Hudson scored for the Storm.  Derek Brennan, a 6’3”, 190 lb. ‘88 goalie from Grand Island, NY took the loss for Tri-City, stopping 22 of 26 shots.  On Saturday, the Storm were defeated 4-0 by the Ice. Aaron Rock took the loss, stopping 20 of 23 shots. 

Sioux City (0-2) remained in the Western Division basement, dropping a tough 2-1 shoot out loss on the road in Sioux Falls and following that up with a 5-3 home loss to Omaha.  In Friday’s loss, Notre Dame recruit Chris Minella netted the lone Musketeer goal and newly acquired Jerry Kuhn, a Michigan native brought in from the Wasila Spirit (NAHL),  stopped 26 of 27 shots.  On Saturday, in spite of outshooting the Lancers 41-25 the Musketeers came up a little short. Minella, Sam Gagner and Ryan Hohl (shorthanded) each scored in the losing cause. Eddie Wheeler made 20 saves.  


BCHL Update:

Since we last reported on the BCHL, the top two US scorers continue to put up impressive numbers. Vernon Vipers defenseman Erik Felde, who recently signed his official letter of intent to Alaska-Anchorage for next season, has netted four goals and chipped in eight assists in eight games since moving over from Chilliwack. Felde, eighth in the league in scoring, continues to lead all defenseman with an impressive 12-25-37 line in 28 games.  

Penticton forward Evan Trupp has been on fire (4G, 6A), leading the Vees to four wins in their last five games. For the season, Trupp, who is 11th in the league in scoring has a 10-25-35 line in 26 games.

Salmon Arm goalie Billy Blasé, after dropping his first decision, has won four in a row.  In five games, since arriving from Sioux City (USHL), Blasé has a 2.40 GAA and .926 save percentage for the first place Silverbacks in the Interior Division.  

 


11/22/05  For update, please see above article

Tabor Hockey Hit by Expulsions

Tabor senior RW Keif Orsini, the team’s top returning scorer, and forward Nick Lampson, a talented new player from the New Jersey Rockets Jr. B (AJHL), have both been expelled from Tabor Academy, reportedly for stealing.

Orsini, a Montreal native, had committed to play at Union College next year. Today, Union head coach Nate Leaman pulled the plug on that, withdrawing the school’s offer.

Orsini, a 5’11”, 165 lb. ’87 birthdate, had a 12-11-23 line last year, making him the team’s fourth-leading scorer, trailing only Matt Cook, Chris Potts, and Steve Silva, all of whom have moved on – Cook and Potts to college, Silva to the USHL.

Orsini’s QMJHL rights are owned by the Halifax Mooseheads. Originally, he was drafted in June 2003 by Rouyn-Noranda (Round 3, #38 overall). But this past Aug. 22, his rights were traded to Halifax. Not coincidentally, that date was one day after the conclusion of the Beantown Classic in Walpole, Mass. The tournament was scouted by Halifax, and Orsini played very well. He played on the team that won the title, and he was named first team all-tournament.

Lampson, a 5’9”, 170 lb. forward from Basking Ridge, NJ, formerly played at Seton Hall Prep. Last year, he played Jr. B with the Rockets, where he was the team’s leading scorer (24-18-42 in 36 games) and was named to the league all-star team.



11/21/05

The Wildcats’ Recruiting Coup

The University of New Hampshire came out on top of a major recruiting battle, landing one of the country’s most-coveted ‘89s in 6’3”, 187 lb. U.S. Under-17 Team forward James Van Riemsdyk.

Van Riemsdyk, a 5/4/89 birthdate from Middletown, NJ, is among the elite ’89 college-eligible forwards, along with Jimmy Hayes (Nobles), Sam Gagner (Sioux City – USHL) and Mike Hoeffel (Hill-Murray HS). In addition to size, Van Riemsdyk has vision, and patience with the puck. He’s a big man with finesse, and has the potential to be a first-round NHL draft pick in 2007.

In 2004-05, Van Riemsdyk led Christian Brothers Academy to the NJ State High School Championship, scoring the winning goal in overtime to beat Delbarton in the title game.

The battle for Van Riemsdyk came down to two schools: Michigan, which he visited last week, and UNH. Other schools Van Riemsdyk visited included BU, BC, and Notre Dame. In addition, Van Riemsdyk, a top student, early in the process considered the Ivy route. Brown was the main contender there, but Dartmouth and Yale were also in the picture.

Van Riemsdyk, a left wing, and his Under-17 teammates were at UNH over the weekend, playing in the Beantown in New Hampshire tournament. Van Riemsdyk’s U.S. Under-17 Team teammate, defenseman David Kolomatis, committed to the Wildcats on Saturday, so the weekend turned out to be a major recruiting coup for the Wildcats. Kolomatis, like Van Riemsdyk, is a New Jersey native. The two players are friends, they knew each other before going out to the National Program, and they also share the same family adviser. While the two cannot be considered a ‘package deal’ their friendship undoubtedly helped in the decision-making process. 


 


11/21/05

Harbor Wolves Fire Coach

The Boston Harbor Wolves (EJHL) have fired head coach Steve Hoar and replaced him with Bob Greenberg.

Greenberg will hold the title of interim head coach/assistant general manager.

The Harbor Wolves, at 3-12-1-1, have the worst record in the EJHL. The biggest problem is lack of goal scorers. The Harbor Wolves average roughly two goals a game, and the team’s leading scorer has but five goals on the season.

Noble & Greenough senior wing Ryan Maguire played for the Harbor Wolves this fall and had a 3-9-12 line in 13 games. Maguire, who last winter had committed to Brown for hockey, has committed to play baseball at Div. I Marist College, the MAAC’s traditional baseball power. Maguire, from Arlington, Mass., is a shortstop.  


 


11/21/05

USHL's Youngest Player Picks His College

Indiana Ice RD Nick Bailen has committed to Bowling Green for the 2008 season.

Bailen, a 12/12/89 birthdate, is from Fredonia, NY, where he played for St. Francis HS last season. He’s 5’10”, 170 lbs. and growing. In 12 games he has a 0-4-4 line with a +3 and 8 pims.

A good skater who is strong on his skates, Bailen has offensive upside – and nearly three years to refine his skills before he arrives at BGSU.


Other Commitments:

-- Chicago Steel (USHL) goaltender Shaun Williams has committed to Union College, where he just finished up his visit today.

Williams will enter Union next fall.

Williams, who is a little unorthodox, but gets in front of the puck, is a 5’11”, 185 lb. ’86 birthdate from Erie, Pennsylvania. He’s played 17 of the Steel’s 19 games and has a 3.50 gaa (15th in league) and a .899 save percentage (10th in league). He sees, on average, over 30 shots a game.

Last season, Williams played for the Springfield (MO) Spirit of the NAHL where he finished with a 2.83 gaa and a .910 save percentage in 31 games played.

-- The current regime at Merrimack College has its third recruit in 6’0”, 185 lb. RD Brandon Sadlowski of the Fort McMurray Oil Barons (AJHL). Sadlowski, a 9/11/86 birthdate from St. Paul, Alberta, has played 28 games for the first-place Oil Barons and has a 4-11-15 line with 65 pims. Sadlowski, who played on Alberta’s Under-17 Team in the 2003 Canada Games, has offensive skill and projects as a player who’ll contribute on the power play.



11/20/05

Hoosac Gets Two Years Probation

As expected, the NESCAC ADs followed the recommendations of the NEPSIHA coaches and put the Hoosac School on two years probation.

The term of the probation includes the upcoming season as well as 2006-07.

This punishment comes on top of Hoosac's previous punishment banning them from the Div. II playoffs this season. Both punishments are due to Hoosac's illegal game Nov. 5 against the Northwood B team. 

Barring further infractions, Hoosac will be eligible for the playoffs in 2006-07. 

The Hoosac School, which is in Hoosick, NY, northeast of Albany, has already suspended head coach Gary Rabinowitz. His return is dependent on the school, and has nothing to do with NEPSAC, which is directing their punishments toward the program. Rabinowitz could be taken back by Hoosac this season – or never. Time will tell.


 


11/20/05

Changes at Canterbury

Peter LaVigne, who has coached Canterbury School for the last eight years, will be stepping down from the head position, but will continue with the program as an assistant coach.

LaVigne has taken on additional administrative duties at the school, and will also shortly be expecting his fifth child.

Assistant coach Paddy McCarthy, a Canterbury and St. Anselm’s alum who’s been at the New Milford, Conn. prep school as a coach and history teacher for the last five years, will be taking over the head position.

LaVigne, who coached Fairfield University before coming to Canterbury, stabilized the school’s hockey program back in the wake of the Joe King era, and this past season returned them to the prep playoffs.


 


11/20/05

Kolomatis Picks Wildcats

U.S. Under-17 Team defenseman David Kolomatis has committed to the University of New Hampshire for the fall of '07.

Kolomatis, a 5’11”, 171 lb. native of Basking Ridge, NJ, played last season for the NJ Jr. Rockets Jr. B team. An ’89, he’s still a little raw, but he skates the puck well and moves it efficiently. He’s strong and balanced on his skates.

He’s coming off an shoulder injury – he has stretched ligaments which will need to be operated on after season – and didn’t go on the recent European trip or play in this weekend’s games at the Beantown Classic in New Hampshire.


 


11/20/05

CYA Takes Beantown in New Hampshire

The Chicago Young Americans and Shattuck finished regulation tied 2-2, played two exciting overtimes, and a shootout round before CYA emerged as the winner in a sudden death shootout.

With the win, which featured great up-and-down hockey and excellent goaltending, CYA, not the most skilled team here, but definitely one of the most tenacious, took the tournament’s championship.

In the third-place game, the Pittsburgh Hornets topped the Portland Junior Pirates, 7-2.

In exhibition games, the NH Junior Monarchs (EJHL) topped the U.S. Under-17 Team, 3-1, to send Ron Rolston’s Under-17 team back to Ann Arbor winless on the weekend. Ryan Simpson, who missed two weeks recuperating from a concussion, picked up the win for the Monarchs, making 31 saves in the process.

The Boston Jr. Bruins (EJHL) edged the Northwood School, 1-0.

Up the road in Biddeford, Maine, the US Under-18 Team topped the AJHL Selects, 7-2. 


 


11/19/05

Saturday at Beantown in NH

The matchups for Sunday are set and can be found below.

Here are today's results:


Shattuck-St. Mary’s 6, Dallas Stars 1

Shattuck: Eli Zuck (1g,2a), Ben Youds (2a), Brian Volpei (g), Tyler Ruesegger (g), Ben Umhoefer (g), Alex Stuart (g), Masa Takahashi (g), Zach Harrison (a), Jeff Smith (a), Daniel Wood (a).

Dallas: Chris Waterstradt (g), Justin Giles (a).


Portland Jr. Pirates 2, Victory Honda 0

Portland: Andrew Letellier (2g), Nick Payson (2a), P.O. Michaud (a).

Victory Honda: No scoring.


Chicago Young Americans 6, Dartmouth Subways 0

CYA: Brian Pickett (1g,1a), Richey Allen (1g,1a), Sean Phelan (1g,1a), George Isham (2a), Ralph Massuci (g), Sean-Michael Tisdall (g), Billy Allen (g), Jared Rickord (a), Sean Curran (a), Corey Evans (a), Kurt Akers (a), Michael Fransen (a), Kyle Greco (a).

Dartmouth: No Scoring


Pittsburgh Hornets 4, Dallas Stars 3

Pittsburgh: Mark Polidor (2a), Furman South (g), Patrick Gaul (g), Andrew Blazek (g), Chris Cerutti (g), Dan Sidle (a), Jake Della Vale (a), Dave Spadacen (a), Matt Celin (a).

Dallas: Jarrod Yost (2g), Justin Giles (g), Nate Daugherty (a), Kevin Bodker (a), Keir Ross (a), Andrew Hamburg (a).


Boston Junior Bruins (EJHL) 2, U.S. National Under-17 Team 0

Junior Bruins: Chris Donovan (g), Nick DeCroo (g), Bobby Butler (a), Justin Pallos (a).

U.S.: No Scoring

Goaltenders: Chris Rossi (Jr. Bruins) and Brad Phillips (US).


Shattuck-St. Mary’s 5, Junior Bruins 4

Shattuck: Ben Umhoefer (1g,1a), Masa Takahashi (1g,1a), Tyler Ruegsegger (1g,1a), Justin Brossman (1g,1a), Alex Stuart (g), Jeff Smith (a), Brian Volpei (a), Zach Harrison (a).

Junior Bruins: Joey Caveney (3a), Cody Warila (2g) Alan Dionne (g), Mike Cichy (g), Jon Wolter (a), Joey Dillon (a).

Goaltenders: Kevin Murdock (Shattuck) ox (Jr. Bruins)


Cushing 2, Northwood 1

Cushing: Ryan Flanigan (g), Alex Curran (g), Aaron Blades (a), Dave Warsofsky (a), Broc Little (a).

Northwood: Nick Sheehan (g), Kyle Haas (a), Steve Mallaro (a).

Goaltenders: Richard Bachman (Cushing) and Alex Petizian (Northwood).


Note: Both Jr. Bruins vs. U.S. Under-17 and Cushing vs. Northwood are exhibition games and have no bearing on Sunday’s playoffs.

Sunday’s Playoff Matchups: All games at the Rinks at Exeter:

8:00 am – 7th Place Game -- Dallas vs. Dartmouth
9:00 am – 5th Place Game -- Victory Honda vs. Junior Bruins
10:00 am – 3rd Place Game -- Portland vs. Pittsburgh
11:00 am – 1st Place Game -- CYA vs. Shattuck



11/18/05

Meyers Earns a Home

6’3” Green Mountain Glades goaltender Dan Meyers has committed to UMass-Amherst for 2006.

Meyers, an 8/30/85 birthdate from Voorhees, NJ, has been impressive this season, posting a league-leading .939 save percentage. His gaa of 2.15 is second in the league.

Last season, in 30 games with the Glades, Meyers posted a 3.21 gaa and a .913 save percentage.



11/18/05

NHL Central Scouting Releases Preliminary Ranking

The National Hockey League Central Scouting Service has released its preliminary ranking of NCAA, major junior, and European players.

Click to the page below, and then click on "Preliminary Ranking" in the left-hand column.

NHL Central Scouting Preliminary Ranking -- Nov. 2005



11/18/05

Vadnais to Bemidji State

Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL) RD John Vadnais has committed to Bemidji State for next season.

Vadnais, a 6’0”, 205 lb. ’86 born RD from Stillwater, Minn., is in his third year in the USHL and his second in Des Moines).

Prior to coming to the USHL Vadnais played for the NTDP’s Under-17 Team.

This season, in12 games, Vadnais has a 5-7-12 line with 12 pims and a +7. 


 


11/18/05

Four More Suspended at Maine

University of Maine hockey players Travis Wright, Brent Shepheard, Bret Tyler, and Rob Bellamy have all been suspended for one game, albeit a meaningless one.

All four will be on the sidelines when the U.S. Under-18 Team plays an exhibition game at Maine Saturday night.

In addition, all four have been ordered to appear in court next month to answer to summons charging them with criminal trespass, a misdemeanor charge.

Police said the four were among the group that accompanied Mike Hamilton and Wes Clark when, on Sunday night, they went to the off-campus apartment of University of Maine baseball player Will Carroll, who had been involved with Hamilton’s ex-girlfriend.

Carroll was beaten by the two players.

Hamilton and Clark have been charged with assault and aggravated criminal mischief, and have both been suspended indefinitely from the team.



11/18/05

Friday at Beantown in New Hampshire

Here are the scores after the first day of action:

Victory Honda 3, Dartmouth Subways 1

Game sheet missing in action. Victory Honda goalie was Dayn Belfour.


Chicago Young Americans 5, Portland Jr. Pirates 1

CYA: Sean Phelan (2g), Ryan arlock (2a), Kyle Greco (2a), George Isham (g), Billy Allen (g), Brian Pickett (g). Portland: Cameron Robichaud (g).

Pittsburgh Hornets 7, Junior Bruins 3

Pittsburgh: Mark Polidor (2g,2a); Furman South (4a), Patrick Gaul (2g,1a), Ron Cramer (1g,1a), Matt Celin (2a), Chris Cerutti (g), Jeff Hannan (g), Andrew Blazek (a), Jake Machal (a).
Junior Bruins: Jordan Messier (g), Edwin Shea (g), Steve Moses (g), David Boehm (a), Justin Alonzo (a), Cody Warila (a).


Portland Jr. Pirates 4, Dartmouth Subways 2

Portland: Mike Carpenter (2g), Cameron Robichaud (g), Kelen Corkum (g), Mark Anthoine (a), Nick Payson (a), John Retelle (a), Dan Smith (a).
Dartmouth: Ryan Hayes (g), Jeff Marchand (g), Taylor MacGillivary (a), Alex Beaton (a), Christian Morin (a). 
The Portland goaltender was Nick Broadwater.

Chicago Young Americans 3, Victory Honda 2

CYA: Sean Curran (1g,1a), Brian Pickett (g), Billy Allen (g), Gabe Heller (a), Kyle Greco (a), George Isham (a). Victory Honda: Brad Reck (g), Mark Silverman (g), Matt Wooster (a), Jeff Ceccaci (a), Bill Stemzynski (a), Kevin LaPointe (a).
Goalies: Scott Pederson (CYA), and Andrew Duff (CYA).

Junior Bruins 1, Dallas 0

Junior Bruins: Josh Burrows (g), Justin Alonzo (a).

Shattuck-St. Mary’s 6, Pittsburgh Hornets 4

Shattuck: Zach Harrison (1g,1a), Joe Brock (1g,1a), Masa Takahashi (g), David Adams (g), Justin Brossman (g), Tyler Ruegsegger (g), Peter Lompado (a), Daniel Wood (a), Jeff Smith (a), Stepan Novotny (a), Brian Volpei (a).
Pittsburgh: Brian McGinty (1g,1a), Jake Machel (1g,1a), Ron Cramer (g), Chris Morford (g), Gerry Raymond (a), Robby Madore (a), Eric Windmueller (a), Jeff Hannan (a).
Goaltenders were Jake Anderson (Shattuck) and Robby Madore (Pittsburgh).

Goalie Stats for above games unavailable.

Standings:
Division A: 1. CYA (2-0-0) 2. Shattuck (1-0-0). 3. Portland (1-1-0) 4. Darmouth (0-2-0). 
Division B: 1. Jr. Bruins, Pittsburgh, and Victory Honda are all 1-1-0. Dallas is 0-1-0. 
 


11/17/05

A New Warrior

6’1”, 200 lb. New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs (EJHL) defenseman Pat Bowen has committed to Merrimack College for next season.

Bowen, who graduated from the Pomfret School in ’04, played with the Chicago Steel (USHL) last season.

This season, in 18 games for the Monarchs, Bowen has a 3-12-15 line with 36 pims. An 8/7/85 birthdate from Marshfield, Mass., Bowen handles the puck well, and has a powerful shot.

He’s the second player the Warriors have committed to since Mark Dennehy took over the program, the first being big Sioux City RW Matt Jones.


USHL Notes:

Indiana Ice (USHL) owner Paul Skjodt has fired assistant coach Fred Knipscheer.

Replacing Knipscheer will be Charlie Skjodt, the owner’s older brother. Most recently Charlie Skjodt has been coach of Cathedral-Chatard HS, the top high school team in Indiana. The elder Skjodt, who is 49, played for the Indy Checkers (IHL) in the mid-80s and was an assistant coach for one year.

The Ice have lost six games in a row.

***

Kevin Bodker, a promising ’90 defenseman out of St. Louis, has left the Sioux City Musketeers. Bodker, who has been with the club all season, has only played in four games. He’s practicing now with the St. Louis Midget AAA squad, but they’re full up, so he’s playing weekends with the Dallas Stars midget. The Stars will be playing in the Beantown Classic this weekend.  

***

Ben Rosen, another promising young defenseman who had been seeing limited playing time – just two games – with the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers, was on his way back east to join the Boston Junior Bruins (EJHL) when the Omaha Lancers picked up his rights. Rosen, an ’89 from Long Island, will now be skating with the Lancers.


 


11/16/05

Viking Cup Team Named

USA Hockey has announced the roster for the 2006 U.S. Junior Select 18 & Under Team that will represent the U.S. at the Viking Cup in Camrose, Alberta Dec. 26-Jan. 2.

Goaltenders (2): Brian Foster (Des Moines); Alex Stalock (Cedar Rapids).

Defensemen (6): Jeremy Dehner (Green Bay); Drew Dobson (Waterloo); Steven Kampfer (Sioux City); Tristin Llewellyn (Indiana); Chad Morin (Sioux City); Nick Petrecki (Omaha).

Forwards (14): Matt Arhontas (Waterloo); Zach Bearson (Waterloo); Sean Dolan (Indiana); Kai Kantola (Fargo-Moorhead – NAHL); Mario Lamoureux (Tri-City); Trevor Lewis (Des Moines); Tony Lucia (Omaha); James Marcou (Waterloo); Justin Milo (Indiana); Kyle Okposo (Des Moines); Tony Romano (NY Bobcats – AJHL); Gary Steffes (Cedar Rapids); Ryan Turek (Omaha); Chris Vande Velde (Lincoln).

Alternates (3): Goaltenders Bryce Christianson (Fairbanks – NAHL) and Ryan Simpson (NH Jr. Monarchs – EJHL); and defenseman Brian Schack (Southern Minnesota – NAHL).

Head Coach: P.K. O’Handley
Assistant Coaches: Al Bloomer and Bob Crawford



11/16/05

Beantown Classic in NH – Updated Schedule

There have been some changes made to this coming weekend’s Beantown Classic in New Hampshire schedule, the revised version of which follows.

Games are scheduled for Friday (@ the Rinks at Exeter), Saturday (@ UNH), and Sunday (@ the Rinks at Exeter). One game will be at the Governor Dummer school.

If you’re from out of town, we should tell you that the Rinks at Exeter are not to be confused with Phillips Exeter Academy. Same town, but different place. Go to http://www.therinksatexeter.com/

There are eight teams in the midget division, all of whom are eligible for Sunday’s playoffs. They are: the Junior Bruins (Empire League), Pittsburgh Hornets, Victory Honda, Dartmouth Subways, Portland Jr. Pirates, Chicago Young Americans, Dallas Stars, and Shattuck-St. Mary’s.

Also taking part in the tournament, but not eligible for the playoffs are: the Junior Bruins (EJHL), NH Jr. Monarchs (EJHL), U.S. Under-17 Team, Northwood School, Governor Dummer Academy, and Cushing Academy.

Here is the complete and up-to-date schedule.

Friday 11/18/05 @ Exeter Rinks
8:00 am – Victory Honda vs. Dartmouth Subways (Rink 1)
9:00 am – Portland Jr. Pirates vs. CYA (Rink 2)
10:00 am – Junior Bruins vs. Pittsburgh Hornets (Rink 1)
1:30 pm – Portland Jr. Pirates vs. Dartmouth Subways (Rink 2)
3:30 pm – Junior Bruins vs. Dallas Stars (Rink 2)
4:00 pm – Northwood vs. Gov. Dummer (@ GDA)

Saturday 11/19/05 @UNH Whittemore Center
8:00 am – Dallas Stars vs. Shattuck-St. Mary’s
9:50 am – Victory Honda vs. Portland Jr. Pirates
11:40 am – CYA vs. Dartmouth Subways
1:30 pm – Dallas Stars vs. Pittsburgh Hornets
3:20 pm – USA Under-17 vs. Junior Bruins (EJHL)
6:10 pm – Jr. Bruins vs. Shattuck-St. Mary’s
8:00 pm – Northwood vs. Cushing Academy

Sunday 11/20/05 @ Exeter Rinks
8:00 am – 7th Place Game (Rink 2)
9:00 am – 5th Place Game (Rink 1)
10:00 am – 3rd Place Game (Rink 2)
11:00 am – 1st Place Game (Rink 1)
12:00 pm – Northwood vs. Junior Bruins (EJHL) (Rink 2)
1:00 pm – USA Under-17 vs. NH Jr. Monarchs (EJHL) (Rink 1)


11/15/05

USHL Weekend: Roloff and Jakiel Come up Big

DES MOINES: On Friday night, the East-leading Buccaneers’ six-game winning streak ended in a hard-fought 3-2 loss at Lincoln. However, back home on Saturday before a sellout crowd of 3,526, the Bucs hammered Omaha, 7-3. In a balanced, dominating attack, 13 players figured in the scoring with seven different players lighting the lamp for Des Moines. UNH recruit Brian Foster stopped 18 of 21 shots in picking up his second win in two starts since returning from a preseason injury.    

CEDAR RAPIDS: The RoughRiders split their weekend games at home, beating Sioux City 4-1 Friday night and then dropping a disappointing 4-0 game to Sioux Falls on Saturday.  On Friday, Chad Costello notched his seventh of the season and is second behind Ted Purcell (Maine) in team scoring with an impressive 7-12-19 +8 line in 13 games.  Also scoring for the Rough Riders were Jacob Cepis (Bowling Green), Gary Steffes (Miami) and Nik Sellers. In net, Alex Stalock (Minn- Duluth) kicked out 31 of 32 shots for the win.

GREEN BAY: The Gamblers followed up an emotional, come-from-behind 4-3 shootout win over Tri-City on Thursday with two more weekend wins to move into third place in the East Division with a 7-10 record.  In a rematch of Thursday’s game, Green Bay pulled out another 4-3 shootout win at home over the Storm. Green Bay then traveled down to Indy where they thumped the Ice, 6-2.  Leading the Gamblers’ charge in the three wins was Vermont recruit Brian Roloff who tallied three goals, three assists and the shoot-out winner Friday night.  Roloff, a 5’11’ 175 winger from the Buffalo, NY area was named the USHL Offensive Player of the Week and is the current scoring leader for Gamblers with a 9-6-15 +7 line. The Gamblers, under Mark Mazzoleni, last won three in a row back in February of last season.  Despite the three wins, the Gamblers need to look for some additional punch up front, something they sorely lacked last season as well. Those kinds of players, though, are hard to find this time of year, and they’re not exactly lining up to go to the Gamblers. 

INDIANA: On Saturday night, Indiana, now winless in their last five games, dropped a 6-2 decision at home to Green Bay in front of a crowd of 4,919 and one rather large wookie named Chewbacca as Peter Mayhew was on hand to promote the DVD release of Star Wars -- seriously.  Maybe Coach Dean Grillo should have had “Chewie” strap on some skates to help out on the backline as the Ice dropped to fourth place in the East with 5-5-3 record.   Eddie Del Grosso (Neb- Omaha) did notch his league leading sixth power play goal of the season and leads USHL defensemen in scoring with a 7-7-14 line in 13 games.  Nathan Lawrence scored the other goal for the Ice.  Lawrence, since being picked up off waivers from Waterloo, has played in all 13 games for the Ice and posted up a solid 5-3-8 +2 line. 

CHICAGO: The Chicago Steel dropped both games over the weekend, 4-2 Friday night in Omaha, and 7-4 in Sioux City on Saturday.  On Friday, leading scorers Dan Kissel and Chris Clackson (Western Michigan) each notched a goal and on Saturday, Lake Superior State recruit Nathan Perkovich picked up a hat trick in the loss. Newly signed Rich Drazin, Chicago’s fourth goalie of the season, kicked out eight of nine shots in the final 17 minutes after relieving Shaun Williams (23 saves on 29 shots). The Steel’s losing streak now stands at four. They have been outscored 25-13 in those games.  

WATERLOO: The Black Hawks split two games at home to remain in last place in the East Division at 5-7.  Friday, the Black Hawks pulled out an impressive 3-1 win over Sioux Falls to snap the Stampede’s nine-game winning streak.  Andy Bombach, Mike Testwuide and UMass recruit James Marcou (empty netter) scored for Waterloo as their stifling defense limited the Stampede to just 12 shots.  Kenneth Wochele earned the victory in net.  On Saturday, the Hawks fell to Lincoln 3-1 with Marcou scoring his second goal in two nights and newcomer Garrett Suter (Wisconsin) picking up an assist.  The Black Hawks acquired Suter from Salmon Arm of the BCHL. The addition of Suter will strengthen an already very solid backline for coach P. K. O’Hanley.  To make room for Suter, the Black Hawks traded Kurt Davis to Green Bay for future considerations.  Davis had one assist in 5 games.

***

SIOUX FALLS: The Stampede, which remains atop the Western Division with a 12-3 record, saw its nine-game winning streak stopped Friday night in a 3-1 loss at Waterloo.  However, the Herd rebounded Saturday night and shut out Cedar Rapids, 4-0, on the road behind a 29-save effort from Alex Kangas.  It was Kangas’ first shutout of the season to go along with his league leading 1.98 GA average and .936 save percentage.  Drew Akens scored two goals and  Jake Bauer and Andreas Nodl (St Cloud) each scored one apiece. Casey Parenteau picked up two assists in the win.  Parenteau a 5’11”, 180 lb. ‘86 forward from White Bear Lake, Minn., leads the league with 16 assists and has an overall line of 2-16-18 +10 in 15 games this season. 

OMAHA: At home on Friday, Omaha knocked off Chicago 4-2 and then, as mentioned above, the Lancers went into Des Moines and got blown out, 7-3.  In Friday night’s win, Matt Schepke scored twice to boost his league-leading total to 13; Maine recruit Robbie Dee, back from an injury, scored his first of the season; and Ryan Raven picked up the other goal.  Eddie Neville stopped 24 of 26 shots for the win. On Saturday night, the Lancers gave up seven even-strength goals in the loss to Des Moines. Brett Bruneteau, Tony Lucia (Minn.), and Ryan Turek (Mich St) scored while Michael Spillane (Vermont) made 30 saves in net and took the loss.  

TRI-CITY: Tri-City, playing Thursday and Friday nights on the road, dropped consecutive 4-3 overtime shootout loses at Green Bay.  Aaron Rock was the hard-luck loser in both games, saving 31 of 34 and 28 of 31 in the two losses.  Six different players scored for the Storm. 

SIOUX CITY: The Musketeers split a pair over the weekend, with a 4-1 loss on the road Friday night at Cedar Rapids, and a 7-4 win at home over Chicago.  On Friday, goaltender Eddie Wheeler was pulled at the 4:30 mark of the second period after making only eight saves on 12 shots. Phil Tetzlaff, an ‘88 from Westlake, Ohio, came in and stopped all 18 shots in relief.  Saturday night, Blake Martin (3G, 2A), Phil DeSimone (1G, 2A), Sam Gagner (1G, 2A), Dustin Gazely (3A), and Anthony Maiani (1G, 1A) led the way for the Musketeers.  Wheeler got the win but struggled again in goal, giving up four goals on 18 shots. 

LINCOLN: The Lincoln Stars, behind excellent defense and the goaltending of Michigan recruit Steve Jakiel, won both weekend games, 3-2 over Des Moines in a Friday home game, and then 3-1 at Waterloo on Saturday. In Friday’s game, Chris Vande Velde (North Dakota) picked up the game winner with 3:30 remaining.  Jared Brown and James Perkin (Bowling Green) also scored for the Stars. Eli Vlaisavljevich (Michigan Tech) and J.J. Koehler chipped in two assists each. Jakiel stopped 24 of 26 shots for the win.  On Saturday, Mike Davies figured in all the scoring with a goal and two assists. Jared Brown added a goal and an assist, and James Perkin scored the other goal for the Stars. Jakiel kicked out 28 of 29 shots for his second win of the weekend.  

  


11/15/05   Updated 11/16/05

Two Maine Players Charged in Beating

Maine junior forward Mike Hamilton and sophomore forward Wesley Clark have been charged with assault and aggravated criminal mischief after allegedly beating a fellow student at a local apartment complex on Sunday night.

Hamilton, who is from Victoria, BC, and Clark, who is from Oakville, Ont., are free on $5,000 bail. They are scheduled to appear Dec. 23 in Bangor District Court.

Others may be charged in connection with the fight, possibly quite a few, as 12-15 people, including other members of the hockey team, went along with Hamilton to confront a resident of the housing complex.

Hamilton’s ex-girlfriend was at the complex, presumably with the man that Hamilton challenged to a fight upon arrival. After an exchange of words, Hamilton allegedly attacked the man in the apartment doorway.

When the fight spilled into the apartment, Clark and four others got involved. Clark allegedly punched and kicked the man, who has not yet been identified but is reported to be a member of the Black Bears baseball team.

The victim, after being stitched up, went to the police, who shortly afterward arrested both Hamilton and Clark.

University of Maine interim AD Blake James said that both players will be punished in accordance with the university’s Student-Athlete Code of Conduct, with decisions expected within a few days.

Head coach Tim Whitehead will be involved in the process, said James, but it will be the AD who will be handing down the punishment.

Hamilton, who had been playing on a line with center Michel Leveille and RW Greg Moore, has been out of action since injuring his knee in the Black Bears recent loss to BU.

Clark, who broke his leg in the off-season, has yet to see game action, though he has recently started skating again.   

Maine, with a 9-3-0 record, is currently ranked #4 in the USCHO Div. I poll.


Updated 11/16/05:

Hamilton and Clark have both been suspended indefinitely. Also, the victim has been named. He's Will Carroll, a 6'1", 200 lb. Black Bears sophomore pitcher from Boothbay, Maine. 



11/15/05

AJHL Select Team Roster

On Sunday, November 20th the Atlantic Junior Hockey League Select Team will face off against the U.S. National Under-18 Team at the Biddeford Arena in Biddeford, Maine. Game time is 1:30 pm.

The game will cap off the league’s showcase, which will feature regular league games starting Friday morning and continuing into Saturday evening. All games will be in Biddeford, at the Portland Jr. Pirates home rink,

For a schedule click here.

For the All-Star game, six players were chosen from the first place New York Bobcats; five were chosen from the second place Northern Mass Cyclones; and four were chosen from the third place Boston Bulldogs. Of the remaining six players, four came from the host Portland Jr. Pirates; two came from the Hartford Jr. Wolf Pack; and one came from the New Jersey Rockets.

No players came from the Hudson Valley Eagles, Laconia Leafs, Philadelphia Little Flyers, Washington Jr. Nationals, and Walpole Express.

AJHL Select Team

#

PLAYER

POS

CITY

ST

TEAM

DOB

2

Brett Carriere

D

Ottawa

ON

Cyclones

Jul-85

3

Ryan Criscuolo

D

Trumbull

CT

Wolf Pack

Nov-88

4

Michael Demayo

D

Seaford

NY

Bobcats

Jun-87

5

Nicholas Davis

D

Moon TWS

PA

Cyclones

Jul-85

6

Justin Propora

D

Hauppague

NY

Bobcats

Jun-87

7

Jeremy Van Buskirk

D

Glendale

AZ

Cyclones

Mar-86

8

Sean Wilson

D

Willoughby

OH

Pirates

Aug-85

9

Jay Anctil

F

Wolfeboro

NH

Bulldogs

Aug-85

10

Michael Coppola

F

Old Brookville

NY

Bobcats

Feb-85

11

Greg Costa

F

Crownsville

MD

Bulldogs

Jun-85

12

Jarrett Gold

F

E. Setauket

NY

Bobcats

Jul-86

14

Mark Hanscom

F

Charlestown

MA

Cyclones

Oct-86

15

Igor Karlov

F

Huntington Valley

PA

Bulldogs

Sep-85

16

Andrew Letellier

F

Saco

ME

Pirates

May-88

17

P.O. Michaud

F

Mont - Jolie

QC

Pirates

Jun-88

18

Jack Nolin

F

Somersworth

NH

Bulldogs

Feb-86

19

Tony Resendes

F

Wilmington

MA

Cyclones

Dec-87

20

Frank Rizzo

F

St. James

NY

Bobcats

Aug-85

21

Anthony Romano

F

Smithtown

NY

Bobcats

Jan-88

22

Rem Vanderbeek

F

Warren

NJ

Rockets

Dec-87

GOALIES

#

PLAYER

POS

CITY

ST

TEAM

DOB

1

Casey Tuttle

G

Chelsea

ME

Pirates

Aug-86

30

Ryan Donovan

G

Rexford

NY

Wolf Pack

Feb-85

ALTERNATE FORWARDS & DEFENSE

#

PLAYER

POS

CITY

ST

TEAM

DOB

 

Giancarlo Capodanno

F

Mountainside

NJ

Rockets

Jun-87

 

Bill Day

D

Vienna

VA

Nationals

Oct-88

 

Nick Payson

F

Veazie

ME

Pirates

Jan-88

 

Eric Tufman

F

Abington

PA

Little Flyers

Aug-86

ALTERNATE GOALIE

#

PLAYER

POS

CITY

ST

TEAM

DOB

 

Matt Tendler

G

Warminster

PA

Little Flyers

Feb-87

Head Coach: Aleksey Nikiforov (Bobcats)
Assistant Coach: Bill Flanagan (Cyclones)
Assistant Coach: Mike Addesa (Bulldogs)
G.M.: Jay Pecora (Pirates)

Note:

The Boston Bulldogs and head coach Mike Addesa will once again be hosting the Northeast Hockey Showcase Tournament during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

The games this year will take place at the Iorio Arena in Walpole, Mass. and will begin on Friday the 25th and conclude with playoffs on Sunday the 27th.

For the full schedule, click here.


11/14/05

A Defenseman for the Engineers

5’11”, 185 lb. Noble & Greenough senior defenseman Chris Huxley has committed to RPI for next season.

Huxley, an ’87 birthdate from Weymouth, Mass., is a solid two-way defenseman who posted a 9-18-27 scoring line as he helped lead Nobles to the prep semis in Salem, NH this past March.

 


11/14/05

Hoosac Coach Suspended

The Hoosac School has indefinitely suspended head hockey coach Gary Rabinowitz for violating NEPSAC rules by playing a game in advance of the conference’s allowed starting date.

In addition, it’s almost certain that, when the NEPSAC athletic directors hold their annual meeting on Thursday, they will vote to ban Hoosac from postseason play this season.

Also, following a vote by NEPSIHA coaches, the organization recommended that, in accordance with the NEPSAC Code of Conduct, the conference’s athletic directors place the school on probation for two years.

Hoosac, a small school of 120 students in Hoosick, NY, northeast of Albany, surprised observers this past March by reaching the Div. II playoffs, beating Vermont Academy in the quarters and St. Mark’s in the semis before bowing to St. George’s, 6-0, in the title game.

The current trouble stems from a game Hoosac played on Sat. Nov. 5th against  Northwood’s B team.

Hoosac headmaster Richard Lomuscio and assistant headmaster Dean Foster immediately suspended Rabinowitz after learning of the infraction. 

The permissible starting date for all NEPSAC schools is the second Saturday in November. There is an exception for preps in District I (Maine schools such as Bridgton, Hebron, Kents Hill, North Yarmouth Academy). They are allowed to start on the first Saturday of the month.


 


11/13/05

U-18s Shut Out Switzerland; U-17s Tie Them

The U.S. Under-18 Team defeated Switzerland, 6-0, to finish in second place at the Under-18 Four Nations tournament in Kuortane, Finland yesterday.

Six different players scored for Team USA while Joe Palmer (12 saves) earned the shutout. All six USA goals were scored at even-strength.

Team USA outshot the Swiss 22-1 in the first period, but Switzerland goaltender Lukas Flueler stopped all 22 shots, keeping the game scoreless through one period.

James O’Brien, Tony Mosey, and Billy Sweatt scored second period goalsfor Team USA.

In the third, Switzerland changed goaltenders, and the U.S. scored three more times, with Mike Ratchuk, Patrick Kane, and Mike Carman lighting the lamp.

In addition to their goals, Kane and O’Brien picked up assists. Defenseman Brian Strait had two assists for the U.S.

The U.S. outshot Switzerland, 42-12.


SCORING SUMMARY
USA                0  3  3 -  6
Switzerland     0  0  0 -  0

FIRST PERIOD
Scoring - No Scoring. Penalties - SWI, Welti (holding the stick), 1:35; USA, Squires (roughing), 8:27; SWI, Margitola (interference), 10:19.; USA, Atkinson (hooking), 13:09;

SECOND PERIOD:
Scoring - 1, USA, O’Brien (Squires) 8:27 ; 2, USA, Mosey (Sperry), 15:19; 3, USA, Sweatt (O’Brien, Strait), 17: 16. Penalties - USA, Carman (interference), 4:05; USA, Popko (holding the stick), 8:52; USA, Johnson (tripping), 11:17; SWI, Schommer (slashing), 17:53.

THIRD PERIOD:
Scoring - 4, USA, Ratchuck (Rahkshani, Atkinson), 1: 36; 5, USA, Kane (McBain), 15:57; 6, USA, Carman (Kane, Strait), 19:30. Penalties - USA, Carman (interfernce), 6:55; USA, Sperry (hooking), 8: 17; USA, Squires (high stick), 10:48; USA, Atkinson (hooking), 17:11.

Shots Per Period      1      2       3   Total
USA                         22     11    9     42
SWI                           1      8      3     12

Goaltending (SH-SV)        1          2             3              Total
USA, Palmer                   1-1        8-8         3-3            17-15
SWI, Flueler                   22-22     11-8                         33-30
SWI, Terrazzano                                         9-6              9-6

Power Play
USA 0-4
SWI 0-9

Penalties
USA 9-18
SWI 4-8

FOUR NATIONS - U.S. NATIONAL UNDER-18 TEAM  RESULTS

DATE          OPPONENT                                           SITE
Nov. 10        SWE 5, USA 1                                       Kurikka
Nov. 11        USA 4, FIN 3 (SO)                                 Vaasa
Nov. 12        USA 6, SWI 0                                        Kuortane


***

The U.S. Under-17 Team tied Switzerland, 2-2, yesterday in Piestany, Slovakia to finish the 2005 Under-17 Four Nations Tournament with a 2-0-1 record.

Ryan Hayes,  who led the tournament with four goals in three games, and Colin Wilson scored the U.S. goals. Brad Phillips kicked out 15 shots.

The U.S. outshot Switzerland, 25-17.


SCORING SUMMARY
USA                1  1  0 -  2
Switzerland     0  2  0 -  2

FIRST PERIOD:
Scoring - 1, USA, R. Hayes (Rust, vanRiemsdyk), 1: 03. Penalties - USA, Cole (interference), 3:23; USA, Manley (holding), 6:58; USA, Schnell (cross checking), 17:19.; SWI, Hasani (high sticking), 17:51; SWI, Schlagenhauf (goaltender interference), 18:54

SECOND PERIOD:
Scoring - 2, SWI, Sciaroni (Hezel, Wieser) 2:59 (pp); 3, SWI, Hasani (Hezel), 7:11; 4, USA, Wilson (Severyn, Vargas), 11:22. Penalties - USA, R. Hayes (hooking), 0:15; USA, Severyn (hooking), 1:14; USA, Albert (hooking), 2:01; USA, Shattenkirk (cross scheking), 3:46; SWI, Laspina (slashing), 15:08

THIRD PERIOD:
Scoring - No Scoring. Penalties - SWI, Wieser (tripping), 4:43; SWI, Suri (hooking), 16:04.

Shots Per Period        1     2    3   Total
USA                         10     6    9     25
SWI                           7     8    2     17

Goaltending (SH-SV)        1          2          3        Total
USA, Phillips                  7-7       8-7        9-9      17-15
SWI, Ridderwall             10-9     6-5        2-2       25-23

Power Play
USA 0-5
SWI 1-7

Penalties
USA 7-14
SWI 5-10

FOUR NATIONS - U17 TEAM RESULTS

DATE           OPPONENT (times local and EST)       SITE
Nov. 10        USA 5, RUS 2                                       Piestany
Nov. 11        USA 4, SVK 1                                       Piestany
Nov. 12        USA 2, SWI 2                                        Piestany


 


11/11/05

Under-17s and Under-18s Both Win

The U.S. Under-17 Team topped Four Nations Tournament host Slovakia, 4-1, Friday in Piestany, Slovakia. Noble & Greenough forward Jimmy Hayes scored two. Ryan Hayes (no relation) and Colin Wilson also scored for the Under-17s.

Josh Unice stopped 26 of 27 shots to earn the victory for Team USA.

Team USA (2-0-0) will face Switzerland (1-1-0) today at 8:00 a.m. EST. With a win over Switzerland, Team USA will clinch the 2005 Four Nations Tournament.


SCORING SUMMARY
USA 1 1 2 - 4
Slovakia 0 0 1 - 1

First Period - Scoring: 1, USA, R. Hayes (Rust), 11:23. Penalties: USA, Rust (charging), 2:48.

Second Period - Scoring: 2, USA, J. Hayes (vanRiemsdyk), 6:48 (pp); Penalties: USA, Leaverton (kneeing), 22:47; SVK, Rusnák (holding), 24:57; SVK, Haršáni (tripping), 9:02; SVK, Grman (interference), 16:19; SVK, Valábek (Goaltender Interference), 17:55.

Third Period - Scoring: 3, USA, J. Hayes (Ruth), 7:10; 4, USA, Wilson (Vargas), 9:12; 5, SVK, Horváth (Daloga, Mišura), 17:35 (pp). Penalties: USA, Severyn (holding), 2:38; USA, Ruth (head butting), 10:51; USA, Ruth (game misconduct), 10:51; USA, Rust (roughing), 16:27; USA, Wilson (charging), 17:02.

Shots On Goal 1 2 3 Total
USA 6 12 13 31
SVK 13 3 11 27

Goaltending (SH-SV) 1 2 3 Total
USA, Unice 13-13 3-3 11-10 27-26
SVK, Janus 6-5 12-11 13-11 31-27

Power Play
USA 1-5
SVK 1-7

Penalties
USA 7-35
SVK 5-10

***

Friday night in Vaasa, Finland, the U.S. Under-18 Team defeated host Finland, 4-3, an overtime shootout win.

Team USA defenseman Erik Johnson scored on his shootout attempt and USA goaltender Joe Palmer stopped the Finnish shooter to earn the victory for Team USA.

The Under-18s got regulation goals from Kevin Montgomery, Mike Carman, and Billy Sweatt.

Palmer stoppped 35 of 38 Finland shots in goal for Team USA to earn his first victory of the tournament.

Team USA will play its final game of the tournament Saturday at 9:30 a.m. EST, vs. Switzerland.


SCORING SUMMARY

USA 2 0 1 1 - 4
Finland 2 0 1 0 - 3

First Period - Scoring: 1, FIN, Aaltonen, 0:18; 2, USA, Montgomery (Flynn, Carman), 9:37; 3, FIN, Antonen (Veistola, Jasu), 17:08; 4, USA, Carman (Kane), 17:31. Penalties: FIN, Aaltonen (tripping), 3:49; USA, Kane (slashing), 14:17; USA, Montgomery (tripping), 18:12.

Second Period - Scoring: No Scoring Penalties: USA, Palm (interference), 5:18; USA, Flynn (interference), 11:34; FIN, Lehtivuori (interference), 12:39; USA, Flynn (holding), 16:15.

Third Period - Scoring: 5, FIN, Malkamaki, 9:15; 6, USA, Sweatt (Kane), 14:59. Penalties: USA, Rakhshani (hooking), 55:23; USA, Carman (hooking), 55:36.

Overtime - Scoring: No Scoring Penalties: No Penalties

Shootout - USA: Johnson. FIN: None

Shots Per Period 1 2 3 OT Total
USA 21 8 13 2 44
FIN 13 6 16 3 38

Goaltending (SH-SV) 1 2 3 OT Total
USA, Palmer 13-11 6-6 16-15 3-3 38-35
FIN, Hovinen 21-19 8-8 13-12 2-2 44-41

Power Play
USA 0-2
FIN 0-7

Penalties
USA 7-14
FIN 2-4


11/11/05

Suomen Jaakiekkoliitto

For those following the Four Nations Under-18 Tournament, currently entering day two in Kuortane, Finland, here’s an excellent link. 

Under-18 Four Nations Tournament

 


11/11/05

Prep Pages Up and Running

We have the new, improved ’05-06 prep pages up and running. Coaches are adding schedules, probably even as you read this, so please check it out.

Schedules posted so far include: Albany Academy, Avon Old Farms, Berkshire, Holderness, Hotchkiss, Loomis-Chaffee, St. Paul’s, Harvey, Hebron, Kingswood-Oxford, Proctor, South Kent, St. Mark’s, Westminster, Wyoming Seminary, and Shady Side Academy.



11/10/05

Baker to Tech

5’7”, 170 lb. LC  Jordan Baker of the Olds Grizzlys (AJHL) has committed to Michigan Tech for the fall of ’07.

Baker, an ’88 from Chestemere, Alberta, played on the 2004 Pacific Under-17 Team. This is his second year with Olds. Prior to that he played midgets for the Notre Dame Hounds.


 


11/10/05

USHL Notes: Stampede Reborn

The Sioux Falls Stampede set a franchise record Wednesday night for the most consecutive victories with their ninth straight win at home, edging the Chicago Steel, 4-3. Andreas Nodl got the game winner at 14:18 of the second period off helpers from Nate Prosser and Mark Magnowski.  It was Nodl's ninth goal of the season as he made a couple of nifty moves past the defenseman and beat Steel goalie Shaun Williams in the upper left-hand corner to give the Herd the 4-3 lead.

Alex Kangas faced only 22 shots, saving 19 in picking up his fifth win of the season. Defenseman Zach Redmond and Jake Bauer each scored their second goals of the season and forward Patrick Tiesling scored his first USHL goal for Sioux Falls.  

Scoring for Chicago was Mike GuzzoMike Janda and Dan Kissel. The latter, a  5'9", 158 lb. ’87 forward from Crestwood, Ill. is in his second season with Chicago and leads the Steel in scoring thus far with a 7-9-16 line in 14 games. Williams kicked out 22 of 26 shots in the loss.


Notes:

The Stampede sit atop first place in the West Division with a league-leading 11-2 record under new GM/Head Coach Kevin Hartzell, who replaced Mark Kaufman after last season's squad failed to reach the playoffs. Sioux Falls last dropped a game on Oct 7 at Lincoln, a 5-2 loss. Since that time, the Stampede, behind a very sound defensive group and the solid goaltending tandem of Kangas and John Murray have won five one-goal games including two overtime shootouts while not surrendering more than three goals in any game.

Chicago, under new GM/Head Coach Chris Imes, formerly an assistant with the Stampede, fell to 5-8-1 in the East Division. Meanwhile, Imes may be sending out a nationwide call for goalie auditions to backup starter Shaun Williams. Wyatt Russell, the son of Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn, has been released after playing two games and posting a 7.32 gaa and a .797 save percentage. Taking his spot is Rich Drazin, a 6'1", 195 lb. ‘86 from Wilmette, Ill.  Drazin, before arriving in Chicago, played very sparingly this season for the Cincinnati Junior Cyclones of the Central States Hockey League. Bobby Jarosz, who lost the starting position in the preseason to Williams, did not appear in a regular game for the Steel and was waived on Oct 21 in order for him to return to his previous team, the Cleveland Barons in the NAHL.  Look for Imes to continue his search for an experienced goaltender. Adding some more punch up front is also a priority for the Steel.  While scoring overall in the league is down, Chicago is tied with Mark Mazzoleni’s Green Bay Gamblers for second to last in goals scored per game with a paltry 2.7 average. Waterloo has a league low of 2.5 goals per game.  


 


11/10/05

Hayes’ Two Goals Lift Under-17s over Russia

Earlier today, Ryan Hayes of Syracuse, NY scored two goals to lead the US Under-17 team to a 5-2 win over Russia in their opening game of the Four Nations Cup in Piestany, Slovakia.

Russia opened the scoring with an even strength goal at 7:53 of the first period and went into the first intermission with a 1-0 lead. Both teams had 13 shots on goal in the period.

In the second period, after killing off a penalty to Matt Rust for hooking, the US went on the power play and – just seven seconds into it -- got the equalizer at the 6:27 mark, with Ryan Hayes scoring off assists from Kevin Shattenkirk and John Albert. Two minutes and twenty seconds later, Ian Cole put the Under-17s ahead for good with an even strength goal off an assist from Teddy Ruth. With about three and half minutes left in the second period, James van Riemsdyk made it 3-1 off a helper from Cade Fairchild. The US team outshot Russia 14-9 in the period. 

In the third period, Russia closed the gap to 3-2 on an even strength goal at the 23 second mark. However, 30 seconds later, Hayes scored his second of the game on a penalty shot after Russian LD Maksim Goncharov was whistled for throwing his stick. Up 4-2 at the 12:47 mark, the US closed out the scoring with even strength goal by Colin Wilson assisted by Brennan Vargas.  In a defensively-played third period, the US again outshot the Russians, this time by a  7-5 margin.

For the game, the U.S. outshot Russia, 34 to 27.  Both teams showed discipline for their first international game, as the US team was whistled for seven minors and the Russian team for nine minors. The US scored the only power play goal of the game.  Up next for the US team is host Slovakia on Friday at 11:30 am EST.  The US close out the tournament against Switzerland at 8:00 am EST Saturday.  There is no medal round for this tournament.  

Game Sheet Link:

USA Under-17 vs. Russia Game Sheet



Notes:

On Tuesday, the Under-18 team opened their first international play of the season with 4-1 exhibition win over host Finland. James O’Brien, Blake Geoffrion, Greg Squires, and Rhett Rakhshani scored for the U.S.

The US Under-18 team is in Finland taking on Sweden today at 11:30 AM EST. Tomorrow, they will face off against host Finland at 11:30 AM. On Saturday, they close out their tournament with a game versus Switzerland at 9:30 am EST. Like the Under-17 tournament, there is no medal round for the Under-18s. 

 


11/10/05

Atkinson Leaves Vermont

University of Vermont freshman forward Mike Atkinson has withdrawn from the school.

Atkinson, who excelled at the Salisbury School, where last year he was the team’s second-leading scorer, just eight points behind Jerry Pollastrone, never played a game for the Catamounts.

In the early morning hours of October 2, five days before the team’s opener, Atkinson was arrested and charged with a DUI and careless and negligent driving when he reportedly crashed into the school’s Science Center. Police reported Atkinson’s blood alcohol level at 0.212 percent, which is more than twice the legal level of drunkenness. Atkinson was treated at the hospital for minor injuries, and subsequently suspended indefinitely for violating the school’s student-athlete code of conduct.

Atkinson is scheduled to be arraigned this week.

Atkinson, a 8/13/85 birthdate originally from New Jersey, has a year of junior eligibility remaining. The Omaha Lancers (USHL) added him to their protected list, though it seems more likely he’ll stay east and play in the EJHL. 


  


11/10/05

Tough Start for the Under-18s

In Kuortane, Finland today, the U.S. National Under-18 Team dropped its opening game of the 2005 Four Nations Tournament to Sweden, 5-1.

Sweden held a 2-0 lead after the game’s first two periods. Team USA cut the deficit to one goal at 2:53 of the third as Chris Atkinson scored on the power play with an assist from Erik Johnson.

Sweden scored three times in the last seven minutes of the game, including an empty-net tally with seven seconds remaining.

Joe Palmer stopped 31 of 35 Sweden shots in goal for Team USA. Sweden's goalie, Stefan Ridderwall turned aside 30 of 31 U.S. shots in the win.  

Sweden outshot the US squad in the first period, 11-6, and in the second period, 14-9. The U.S. held a 16-11 shot advantage in the third period.

The U.S. squad will have to quickly regroup after this disappointing opening game defeat as the they play host Finland at 11:30 am on Friday and then close out the tournament with a game versus Switzerland on Saturday at 9:30 am.  In earlier action, Switzerland knocked off Finland, 3-2 in OT.  Like the Under-17 tournament, there is no medal round for the Under-18s.


SCORING SUMMARY

USA        0  0  1  -  1
Sweden   1  1  3  -  5

FIRST PERIOD
Scoring - 1, SWE, Backlund, 16:13. Penalties - SWE, Danielsson (match), 5:56; SWE, Danielsson (slashing), 8:11; USA, Carman (interference), 18:02.

SECOND PERIOD:
Scoring - 2, SWE, Nilsson-Roos (Johanssen, Svanberg) 6:53. Penalties - USA, Johnson (holding), 7:49; SWE, Backlund (boarding), 10:46; USA, Johnson (hooking), 19:07.
  
THIRD PERIOD:
Scoring - 3, USA, Atkinson (Johnson), 2:53 (pp); 4, SWE, Ahlen, 13:24; 5,SWE, Lagerstrom (Larsson), 16:00 (pp); 6, SWE, Ahlen (Lagerstrom), 19:45 (sh, en). Penalties - SWE, Ahlen (elbowing), 0:59; USA, Williams (tripping), 16:24; USA, Montgomery (tripping), 15: 02; SWE, Danielsson (roughing), 18:45.

Shots Per Period        1     2    3   Total
USA                           6     9    16     31
SWE                          11   14   11     36

Goaltending (SH-SV)       1          2       3        Total
USA, Palmer               11-10    14-13   10-8       35-31
SWE, Ridderwall          6-6          9-9   16-15      31-30

Power Play
USA 1-5
SWE 1-5

Penalties
USA 5-10
SWE 5-10


  


11/9/05

BCHL Notes

Wisconsin recruit Garrett Suter, a 6'0", 185 right shot defenseman from Madison, has left the Salmon Arm Silverbacks (BCHL) to go back home for personal reasons.  It is undetermined where Suter will finish the season. Suter who played last year in the USHL for Green Bay had 1-1-2 line with 31penalty minutes in ten games with the Silverbacks. He’s expected to join the Badgers next fall. Suter's father Bob, who runs an ice facility in Madison, is a former Badger himself and gold medal winner with the 1980 U.S. Olympic team. Garrett's brother, Ryan, now with the Nashville Predators, turned pro after one year at Wisconsin and two stellar years under Eaves at the National Program. Look for Garrett to re-surface in the USHL somewhere soon.

New Salmon Arm goalie Billy Blasé (formerly with the USNTDP and most recently Sioux City) was in net Sunday and kicked out 32 of 36 shots in a 4-1 loss to Penticton.  Evan Trupp, Blasé's former Pacific Select 16 and 17 teammate, had two goals and an assist to pace Penticton in the win. Trupp a 5'9", 150 lb. ‘87 LW from Anchorage, Alaska, is in his first year in the BCHL and has a 6-19-25 line in 21 games. Trupp, who also has international experience playing for the summer US Select U17 team in 2003 and U18 team in 2004, should start to garner interest from Division I schools. 

Alaska-Anchorage recruit Erik Felde, a 5'10", 185 lb. ‘87 LD from Anchorage, is leading the BCHL in scoring among defenseman with a 9-18-27 line in 22 games.Felde, an offensive-minded defenseman who was recently traded from Chilliwack to the Vernon Vipers, played defense for the USNTDP Under-17 team two years ago. Last year, Felde played forward for the USHL Clark Cup Champion Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, putting up a 16-15-31 line with a +16 in 60 games.    

 


11/9/05

#2 Goalie for U.S. Junior Team: Pick One 

In the race for the backup spot behind BC’s Cory Schneider (2.65/.913 in six games), here is how the goalies stacked up last weekend:


Helping Their Case:

Ben Bishop, Maine: Beat Merrimack 3-1 Friday night. Bishop stopped 17 of 18 shots. Maine Captain Greg Moore had this to say about Bishop's performance, "Bishop really won us the game tonight. He was unbelievable. He's really come up big at times when we need him."

Jon Quick, UMass: Lost 4-2 to Providence Friday night. Quick stopped 49 of 53 shots in the loss.

Billy Sauer, Michigan: Beat Notre Dame 4-2 Saturday night. Stopped 27 of 29 shots in the win.

Jeff Zatkoff, Miami: Beat Ohio State 4-1 Saturday night.  Stopped 27 of 28 shots for the win.


Hurting Their Case:

Jeff Frazee, Minnesota: Was pulled in a loss to Minnesota-Duluth at the 8:45 mark in the second period after giving up three goals on 16 shots. 

Jeremy Duchesne, Halifax (QMJHL): In 8-0 loss to Cape Breton on Nov. 2, Duchesne stopped just 30 of 38 shots. Rebounded with a good effort on Nov 4 in a 6-5 OT shootout win, stopping 47 of 52 shots in and then 3 of 4 in the shootout. 


Probably Knocked Themselves Out of the Picture:

Ian Keserich, Ohio State. Did not play. Last played Oct. 28 in relief of Dave Caruso, seeing 24 minutes of action and stopping six of eight shots in a 5-1 loss. The next night, Oct. 29, Keserich lost to Western Michigan, 5-4, stopping just 15 of 20 shots. Stats: 2 gp with a 5.06 GAA and a .750 save percentage. 


Junior Team Note:

Defenseman Michael Sauer of Sartell, Minn. and the Portland Winter Hawks (WHL) has been out with a shoulder injury since mid-October and has not returned. Although officially listed as day-to-day throughout the current injury, the extent of the problem is as unclear as is his return date.



11/9/05

Wong on the Way

Quinnipiac, hot as a pistol after sweeping up Harvard and Dartmouth in their first-ever weekend of ECAC play, will be getting more offensive punch next year with the arrival of BCHL leading scorer Brandon Wong, who committed to the Bobcats yesterday.

Wong, a 5’10”, 175 lb. LC from Victoria, BC and the Merritt Centennials, has a 23-20-43 line in 22 games, which puts him nine points ahead of the league’s second-leading scorer.

For Wong, who played last season with the Powell River Paper Kings, it’s his third year in the league. He’s very skilled, a playmaker who can also finish.

Wong took official visits to Quinnipiac, Mankato State, and St. Cloud State.

Minnesota-Duluth and Maine also showed interest, but went other routes. 

 


11/9/05

Gophers Underaged Drinking Major News in Minneapolis

The Gophers underaged drinking story is getting quite a ton of play in Minnesota. It’s truly a story with legs, mainly because it's been aired as a three-part special report. Frankly, we’re amazed a KMSP-TV (Fox) crew would, employing hidden cameras, keep revisiting a local bar over a two-month period in a sting-like effort to incriminate Gopher players. But it’s Minnesota and it’s hockey players, so perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised.

Today, Gophers head coach Don Lucia made a statement. "I am disappointed and concerned with the choices that some of our student-athletes made in connection with recent reports of underage drinking,” he said. “This is an issue we take seriously and one that we will deal with internally, just as we would with any other situation that arises within our program.”

Lucia went on to say more, but it looks like the whole punishment issue is on hold. Suspensions from the team are almost certain to result. Lucia and AD Joel Maturi really don’t have much choice. They’re kind of boxed in.

This, by the way, is not the first drinking incident of the season. Brown University had to suspend several players from the season’s opening weekend for drinking. And, as far as we know, the incident, while quite public, didn’t even merit a line in the Providence papers. Clearly, college hockey players in the Twin Cities don’t merit the kind of anonymity found in Providence.

Anyway, here’s a transcript of the Fox 9 news story that rocked Gopherland. We don’t want to sound flippant about underage drinking, but really, this reads a little like a Saturday Night Live parody of a news report.  

 

Gopher Underage Drinking

The Fox 9 Investigators uncover underage drinking by at least five players on the Golden Gopher men's hockey team. It takes place at Blarney Pub and Grill, in the heart of Dinkytown near the U of M campus.

Starting Thursday night, Dinkytown becomes party town, and the alcohol flows 'til last call at 2:00 a.m. Monday morning. Blarney Pub and Grill is a popular hot spot, where a lot of booze is poured, and among the many students drinking it are members of the University of Minnesota men's hockey team. A team ranked number one at the start of the season, predicted by some to win the 2006 national title.

But there's a problem: over the course of two months, the Fox 9 Investigators videotaped eight underage hockey players inside Blarney Pub and Grill.

Of those eight, five of them are drinking alcohol.

That means they're breaking laws, and violating the NCAA's policy on alcohol, which says underage drinking by student athletes is unacceptable.

The Fox 9 Investigators spent six weekends undercover inside and outside of Blarney Pub and Grill, shooting 50-hours of surveillance tape with our hidden cameras.

The video we shot of the underage drinkers is now being investigated by the University of Minnesota.


September 3rd, after 10:30.

We spot 19-year old Kris Chucko drinking alcohol. A talented and physical player, he's already been drafted by the NHL's Calgary Flames.

We watch him buy, then drink a beer.

Also inside the bar is freshman defenseman R. J. Anderson.

It's unclear what he's drinking. But according to Blarney's policy no one under the age of 21 is allowed in the bar after 9 p.m.

The Fox 9 Investigators interviewed a man who says underage drinking has been going on at Blarney’s for as long as he has been going there.

He’s one of four sources we talked to.


Saturday night, September 24th.

We're back at the bar, and so are the players, including the nation’s top high school recruit, freshman Phil Kessel.

In the video we shot, we don't know what he's drinking

Kessel signed with the Gophers, and is already one of the team’s top scorers.

Over at the beer tub in Blarney's, we see 18-year old Jeff Frazee.

Frazee is one reason the Gophers are expected to be dominating the next few years. Before signing with the U of M, the freshman goaltender helped his U.S. Under 18-team win a world championship.

Using our undercover camera, we videotape Frazee buying a beer, and we see sophomore forward Evan Kaufmann also drinking a beer, one month before his 21st birthday.

Other members of the team in the bar include 20-year old sophomore Alex Goligoski with a beer in his hand. Gologoski was named the Gopher's rookie of the year last season.

And 19-year-old Kris Chucko is there, too.

On this night we didn't see him drinking.

The behavior of the athletes violates the university's code of conduct, which says the use of alcohol by student-athletes under the legal age to consume is strictly prohibited. Penalties could include suspension, loss of eligibility and getting kicked off the team.


Thursday, October 6.

The Gophers have just won their first game of the season.

It's time for the team to celebrate at Blarney Pub and Grill.

Outside the bar we see, once again, 18-year old freshman Jeff Frazee.

He quickly moves up the line, and even shakes hands with a bouncer, without I.D.

Inside the bar, a Fox 9 producer asks Frazee about the drink in his hand.

He replies, a Long Island. As in Long Island Iced Tea, an alcoholic drink that's specially priced Thursday nights.

We tried asking Frazee about drinking at Blarney Pub and Grill.

He had no response.

Outside the bar 20-year old defenseman Derek Peltier shows up.

He shakes hands with the bouncer, never showing his I.D.

Inside the bar, we see him drinking a beer.

Then we spot Frazee again, walking up to the bar.

The bartender points to him, and Frazee orders another Long Island Iced Tea.

We also see Frazee's 19-year old teammate, Justin Bostrom, sitting at a table with drinks -- including an empty beer.

We have no proof he drank that beer.


October 15th.

Jeff Frazee stops a lot of pucks to help Minnesota forge a tie with Alaska Fairbanks.

But that night at Blarney's, we see him again drinking a beer.

In the bar he identifies himself as an athlete to one of our producers.

Also in the bar is hockey player Derek Peltier, who's underage, and some of his teammates who are of legal drinking age like Ryan Potulny, Danny Irmen, and captain Gino Guyer.


October 29th.

Halloween weekend.

The Gophers have just beaten St. Cloud State.

By 12:30 a.m. many of the players are back at Blarney Pub and Grill, most of them in costume, drinking.

Included in the group are 20-year old Evan Kaufmann, a day shy of his 21st birthday, according to the Gophers’ media guide.

When asked and shown the photos, Kaufman insisted he was 21.

The bar is so popular for the players that pictures of them there are posted on the Internet.

One picture places Kaufmann in Blarney's in the spring of 2005 celebrating after he scored the winning goal in the team's playoff victory over Maine.

Also at Blarney’s Halloween weekend, each enjoying a beer, are 19-year old Kris Chucko, and 20-year old Derek Peltier, who also denies going to the bar.

But it's not just our cameras showing Peltier.

We found his picture (of Peltier) on the Internet in bowler and bow tie, partying last weekend along with several other players both of age and not of age.                 

Also on our undercover video Halloween weekend, we spot 18-year old Jeff Frazee, but it's the only time when we've seen him in the bar that we didn't see him with a drink.

The owner of Blarney Pub and Grill, Mike Mulrooney, denies knowledge of the underage players being in his bar.

He says “neither I nor any of my staff has knowingly served alcohol to an underage patron of my establishment."


***

We told you this story has legs, right? Well, here is an update from the Fox 9 Web Site:

U of M Responds to Underage Drinking:

We shot undercover video of five underage Gophers hockey players drinking at a popular Dinkytown establishment. Sources tell us Blarney Pub and Grill is a popular hangout for the hockey team, and that in the year since the bar has opened, underage players have repeatedly been served alcohol.  We had hoped to interview someone from the University of Minnesota on camera about our investigation.  Instead, this evening we got a written statement saying that the U of M takes the issue of student athlete conduct very seriously... that the athletics department works hard to make students aware of the dangers of underage and excessive drinking... that the coaching staff regularly discusses the issue with athletes... and that the university plans outreach to send a loud and clear message to local bar and restaurant owners that facilitating underage drinking will not be tolerated. The University has a copy of the tape and is investigating.

More React To Gopher Hockey Underage Drinking:

For many viewers, our investigation was a buzz kill and many admit it's because it focused on underage Gopher hockey players.


"The damage is done."
Deb Schulties was so upset with the story she stopped by the station. Her nephew is R.J. Anderson, and she knows Justin Bostrom, two underage hockey players who were in Blarney's, although it's not know whether they were drinking alcohol. "They're just solid kids, they're kids that you would want your kids to hang with."

"Parents need to use this event."
Dr. Michael Resnick, a U of M pediatrician, says it's not about good kids, or bad. It's about the numbers: 1,700 student deaths a year from alcohol. 500,000 injuries. 600,000 assaults. And a litany of other troubles. “Parents,” he says, “wake up. It's a great opportunity to have a conversation. All you have to do is sit down, take the time, and have the talk."

It's also about accountability. Nancy Johnson of Minnesotans for Safe Driving says the "U" needs to show that athletes don't get a free pass. "If they believe it's wrong for their athletes to be drinking underage, they better do something about it." Case in point: Minnesota hockey standout A.J. Thelen was kicked off the Michigan State hockey team this year (sic) for underage drinking the night before a game. And when Gopher football players were accused of taking recruits to strip clubs, athletic director Joel Maturi said he was more concerned about underage drinking, saying, "it's a more serious violation."


Note:

Gopher players are not permitted to talk to the media this week.


 


11/9/05

Notre Dame Gets Their Goalie of the Future

U.S. Under-17 team goaltender Brad Phillips has committed to Notre Dame for the fall of ’07.

Phillips, a 6’1”, 150 lb. native of Farmington Hills, Michigan and a 4/22/89 birthdate, is currently in the 11th grade. In eight NAHL games, the former Honeybaked standout has a 3.09 gaa and a .891 save percentage. This past summer at the Select 16 Festival, he was the top goalie statistically as well as in our ranking, finishing the week with a 1.67 gaa and a .933 save percentage.

Phillips, who committed just before leaving for Europe with the Under-17 Team, made his final choice from between Boston College and Notre Dame.


 


11/9/05

All in the Family

6’0”, 175 lb. Omaha Lancers (USHL) LW Tony Lucia has committed to the University of Minnesota, where he will play for his father, Gophers head coach Don Lucia.

Lucia, an 8/23/87 birthdate from Plymouth, Minn., played for Wayzata HS last season, where he was a teammate of defenseman Kevin Wehrs, a fellow Gopher recruit. In 24 games for Wayzata, Lucia put up a 27-36-64 line. For this season, his senior year, he opted for the Lancers, with whom he played the final 11 games last season. 

In 13 USHL games this season, Lucia has a 4-7-11 line with a +3.

A smart player with good all around skills, Lucia was a sixth round draft choice (#193 overall) of the San Jose Sharks in July’s NHL draft.

Lucia made his final choice from between UNH and the Gophers. He had also at one point considered Colorado College and Notre Dame (his father’s alma mater).


 


11/6/05

USHL Saturday: Foster Returns in Style

Cedar Rapids, which dropped two at home last weekend, rebounded with two road wins, 4-2 at Omaha Friday night, and 5-2 at Lincoln on Saturday. In the 5-2 win, the Roughriders top guns delivered, with Maine recruit Ted Purcell picking up a goal and two assists, huge 6'6", 250 lb. Michigan Tech recruit Phil Axtell adding a goal and assist, and Chad Costello scoring twice. Nick Grasso, an ’88 UMass recruit playing his third game for Cedar Rapids, also picked up a goal and assist in the game. Alex Stalock (Minn-Duluth) turned aside 33 saves for the win. Costello a 5'9", 170 lb. ‘86 USHL rookie from Johnston, Iowa is quietly putting up some very good numbers with a 5-10-15 +7 line in 11 games. His solid play after a good Buc Bowl performance may start to generate interest from some Division I schools.

Sioux City, on the road in Chicago, blew out the Steel, 10-4. After the Steel had closed the gap to 5-3 at 7:17 of the third period on Chris Clackson's second of the game, Sioux City broke it open with five goals in a six-minute span to chase Steel goaltender Wyatt Russell, who making his second start of the season. Dustin Gazely a 5'8", 143 lb. ‘88 rookie from Novi, Michigan, had a trick for the Musketeers. In addition, both Sam Gagner (2g,1a) an ‘89 rookie from Oakville, Ontario, and ‘86 LW Ryan Hohl (2g,1a) had three-point nights for Sioux City. Eddie Wheeler, an ‘86 from Farmington, Michigan who until a few weeks ago was enrolled at Salem State College, turned aside 33 shots for the win. Wheeler, a backup goalie to Ben Bishop on last season's NAHL Champion Texas Tornado, now has three wins in four games since taking over the goaltending chores for Sioux City. Billy Blasé, sent packing to make room for Wheeler, joined Salmon Arm (BCHL) just before the weekend.

Sioux Falls took care of Indiana at home with a 5-1 win, sealing it with an empty-netter and then another late goal in the last 50 seconds of play. Five different players scored for the Stampede in the win. St. Cloud State recruit Andreas Nodl had two assists and is off to nice start this season. Nodl, a 6'1", 180 lb. ‘87 forward from Vienna, Austria, is in his second season with the Stampede and is fifth in league scoring with an 8-8-16 +5 line in 12 games. The two teams took a page from the Friday NCAA college games as 97 penalty minutes were called along with three game ejections.

Des Moines, playing at home, held off Tri City 3-2, as UNH recruit Brian Foster, back from his injury and playing his first USHL regular-season game, kicked out 37 of 39 to lead the Buccaneers to victory. Rich Purslow, Andrew Olson, and Aaron Palushaj picked up goals for Des Moines, who won despite being outshot by a 39-25 margin.

Omaha shutout Green Bay 3-0 behind a 24-save performance from Eddie Neville and goals from Patrick Schafer, Nick Fanto, and Ryan Raven. It was Neville's second shutout of the season, as both he and UVM recruit Michael Spillane have put up good numbers between the pipes for the Lancers, who, since dropping a pair to Tri-City, have won four out of five. Omaha, averaging under three goals a game, will get some help up front soon, as both Robby Dee, who was injured in the Buc Bowl, and Travis Kauffeldt, who has played only four games, are expected back in the next week or two.

USHL Sunday:

In a rare Sunday afternoon game, Tri-City, despite managing only 15 shots on net, pulled off a 2-0 shutout at Waterloo, with USHL leading scorer Jaroslav Markovic picking up his tenth goal of the season, and BU recruit Zach Cohen picking up his fifth. Cohen, a 6'3", 190 lb. power forward from Shaumburg, Ill. who was recently rated as an "A Player" to Watch by NHL Central Scouting, has been inconsistent at times, and the Storm need more production from him this year. Alex Hudson also chipped in two assists for the Storm, and Aaron Rock kicked out 29 shots for the win. It was Rock's league-leading third shutout of the season. Rock, an ‘87 from Wheatland, Ill., has been solid in goal for the Storm, putting up a 2.14 GGA and .914 save percentage in nine games. Last season, Rock played 12 games in the OHL for the Saginaw Spirit. It will be interesting to see if any Division 1 schools take a chance on Rock with his limited NCAA eligibility. As for Waterloo, they dropped their third in a row and continue to struggle offensively (a league-low 25 goals). With the departure of their top three scorers from last year, Garrett Regan (Notre Dame), David Meckler (Yale) and Sean Muncy (Brown), Waterloo head coach P.K. O Handley is looking to guys like returning power forward Zach Bearson, a Wisconsin recruit and seventh round Florida Panthers pick, to supply some offensive punch, but thus far Bearson has a 3-2-5 line with a -1 line in 10 games. O’ Handley also brought in two top-rated smallish ‘88 newcomers in UNH recruit Michael Borisenok and UMass-Amherest recruit James Marcou. Each has just one goal this season and has struggled offensively. Don’t be surprised to see the Black Hawks make some moves before Christmas if the team’s offensive production does not improve.



11/7/05

Offense in Huskies Future

St. Cloud State has been hanging in games with defense. They’ve had to, because they’ve been averaging less than two goals a game. Not surprisingly, they’ve been looking for scoring, and have just received commitments from a couple of small, skilled players with strong offensive skills, Ryan Lasch and Garrett Roe.

Lasch, a 5’9”, 165 lb. RW with the Pembroke Lumber Kings is the leading scorer in the Central Ontario Junior Hockey League with a 25-28-53 line in 18 games. A native of Lake Forest, California, a bit south of Anaheim, Lasch is a 1/22/87 birthdate in his third year with Pembroke. He’s a tenacious, dynamic, quick player who can take a pounding in traffic and still make a play. Last night, he had seven points (1g,6a) in Pembroke’s 10-3 win over the Cornwall Colts.

Roe, who’s 5’8”, 160 lbs., can play center or the wing, and, in 11 games with the Indiana Ice (USHL), has a 4-6-10 line with a +6 and 33 pims in 11 games. Like Lasch, he’s a small, tenacious guy. After playing two years at Shattuck, he moved on to the USHL last season, and played in the league as an ’88. It’s yet to be determined whether he will join St. Cloud State next year or in ’07, though it’s most likely the latter. Roe, from Vienna, Virginia, is a 2/22/88 birthdate.   

Last month, St. Cloud received a commitment for next year from Sioux Falls Stampede forward Andreas Nodl, the fourth-leading scorer in the USHL.


 


11/7/05

A ’90 D-man for the Badgers

Hill-Murray HS 9th grade LD Nick Pryor has verbally committed to the University of Wisconsin.

Pryor, a 5’10”, 160 lb. ’90 birthdate from Woodbury, Minn., only turned 15 two months ago, on September 6. Pryor was our #2-ranked defenseman at August’s Select 15 Festival at St. Cloud, Minn. (behind only 6’5”, 174 lb. Tyler Myers). However, in terms of pure skill, we would have had Pryor at #1.

Our notes on Pryor from the festival read, in part, “Excellent skater. Highly mobile on every point of the compass. Really good with the puck in small areas -- doesn’t get boxed in and always comes out with it. Can lead the rush, but isn’t necessarily looking to do so.”

Pryor is the son of former UNH and NHL (Minnesota North Stars, NY Islanders)  defenseman Chris Pryor, now a Philadelphia Flyers scout.

The younger Pryor took his unofficial visit to Wisconsin on the weekend of Oct. 28-29 , when the Badgers were playing Alaska-Anchorage. Pryor also considered UNH, Minnesota, and Minnesota-Duluth.

 


11/7/05

Two Goalies

6’2” Nanaimo Clippers (BCHL) goaltender Marc Cheverie has committed to Denver, and will join the Pioneers in the fall of '07.

Cheverie, who is leading all BCHL goalies with a 9-1-0 record and a 1.80 gaa and .932 save percentage, is a Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia native who last year was the MVP of the Saskatchewan Midget AAA League last season while playing for the Notre Dame Hounds (2.25 gaa, .935 save %).

Cheverie, a 2/2/87 birthdate, had, as of early October, narrowed his college choices to Cornell, North Dakota, Denver, and Michigan State -- with a lot of others trying to get into the picture as well.

One of Cheverie’s teammates at Nanaimo, which is 18-3-0 and in first place in their division, is center Kyle Ostrow, who committed to Denver over the summer.

Cheverie is the younger brother of Evan Cheverie, a forward at Miami-Ohio from 1998-2002 and now with the Long Beach Ice Dogs (ECHL).

-- U.S. Under-17 goaltender Josh Unice has committed to Bowling Green for either ‘07 or ’08.

Unice, who is 6’0”, 177 lbs., played for Victory Honda and Compuware before being invited to the NTDP after the Select 16 Festival this past summer.

A native of Toledo, Ohio, just up the road from Bowling Green, Unice is a 6/24/89 birthdate.

In 10 NAHL games he has a 2.87 gaa and a .915 save percentage.



11/05/05

USHL Notes – Friday Night

East Division-leading Des Moines blew out Waterloo, 6-2, outshooting them 40-28. Forward Trevor Lewis, a 6’1”, 185 lb. 1/87 birthdate from Utah had a career-best five point night with a goal and four assists. Lewis, in ten games, has a 11-7-18 line with a +11.  Kyle Okoposo is showing himself to be the real deal with some great rookie numbers: 6-8-14 and whopping +14 line.  Former NTDP defenseman John Vadnais, an ’86, has a 5-7 12 line with a +8. That’s in ten games, too.

Indiana visited West Division leader Sioux Falls, and gave them a game, eventually dropping a 2-1 overtime shoot-out loss. It was Indy's second consecutive OT SOL. Indiana's Sean Dolan, an  ‘88 forward from Chesterfield, MO got the equalizer midway through the third period.  Dolan was slow out of the box this season, but has started to come on and has a 3-2-5 line with a +3 in 11 games. Dolan, uncommitted for college, was recently ranked as a B player to watch by NHL CSS for the ‘06 NHL Draft. Sioux Falls first year goalie Alex Kangas, an ‘87 from Rochester, Minn., turned away 34 of 35 shots and all but one shooter in the shootout for his fourth win in five games. Kangas also has a 2.16 GAA and .934 save percentage thus far this season while splitting time with returning goalie John Murray. Kangas ranks third in the league in GAA and second in save percentage while Murray is second in GAA and 5th overall in save percentage. Both goalies are currently uncommitted for college.   

Sioux City's defensive woes continued in a 5-4 OT SOL at Chicago.  The Steel haven’t scored much this season but came back from a 3-1disadvantage and scored three consecutive goals to take the lead. Midway through the third period, Sioux City tied it up on ‘86 Merrimack recruit Matt Jones' second of the night -- and fourth this season. Chris Clackson, a Western Michigan recruit, scored the only goal in the shootout, giving Chicago the win.

Cedar Rapids went into Omaha and beat the Lancers 4-2 with an empty-net goal by Evan Stephens to seal it.  Aaron Bendickson, a smallish ‘86 forward from Thief River Falls, Minnesota, scored twice, including the game winner. Bendickson has put up some nice numbers early for the Rough Riders: a 6-1-7 line with a +5 in ten games. Uncommitted ‘87 forward Tony Lucia, a sixth round San Jose Sharks draft choice, had a goal and an assist in the losing effort.  Lucia is off to solid start this season, with a 4-7-11 line and a +3 in 12 games.  6'2", 205 lb. highly-coveted ‘89 defenseman Nick Petrecki, a recent BC recruit for 07, is off to solid but unspectacular start as he slowly makes the transition to the USHL from the EJHL where he played for the CD Selects last season. Thus far, Petrecki has no points and is a -2 in 12 games. Overall, Omaha, while in second place in the west at 7-5, has, for a team with ten returning players and a lot of talent, underachieved. '87 forward Robby Dee, a Maine recruit and a third round Edmonton Oilers draft pick who was injured in the preseason Buc Bowl, is still on the shelf. 


 


11/05/05

A Bad Mood

A number of colleges were in bad moods last night, but perhaps none more than Western Michigan, who went down at home, 10-0, to Lake Superior State. Western took 52 minutes in penalties including two checking from behinds and game DQ’s.

But Western’s 52 minutes was nothing.

-- Ohio State went into Miami’s building and came out on the short end, 3-1. 178 minutes of penalties were called in the game.

In the scoreless first period, 16 minors were called.

One Ohio State and one Miami player was given a major for hitting from behind.

At the final buzzer six ten-minute misconducts – three per team – were whistled.

Cornell’s 4-2 win at Yale was a very good game, and probably Yale’s best in quite some time, but, with 46 seconds left, a brawl broke out, with Cornell’s Sasha Pokulok and Yale’s Brennan Turner getting fighting majors and game DQs. In addition, eight other minors were called at the time, mostly for roughing. Also, 80 minutes worth of misconducts were called.

-- Not everybody was in a bad mood, though, not by a long shot. Quinnipiac, in their very first ECAC game, knocked off Harvard, 5-2, before 5,049 at the Hartford Civic Center despite being outshot 37-23. Freshman goalie Bud Fisher, who played for Lindsay (OPJHL) last season, came up big for the Bobcats; as did freshman forward David Marshall, who had a pair of goals. Marshall, who’s from Buffalo, Minn., played for the Chicago Steel last winter.



11/4/05

Fast Forward for UNH

6’0”, 190 lb. RW Danny Rossman of the Valley Jr. Warriors (EJHL) has committed to the University of New Hampshire.

Rossman had previously committed to Northeastern last winter, while the program was under Bruce Crowder. Consequently, new head coach Greg Cronin didn’t have a strong commitment to the Boxford, Mass. native.

Andy Heinze, the Valley Warriors GM/head coach, said Rossman’s decision “was by mutual agreement” between the player and Northeastern.

Rossman, who has a 3-8-11 line in 13 games this season, returned from the Viking Cup tryout in Minnesota on Wednesday, and took an official visit to UNH yesterday.

Currently a senior in high school, Rossman will, barring injuries or players leaving, enter UNH in the fall of ’07. He’s a 4/28/87 birthdate.

Rossman played for the Pingree School and then Cushing for one year (’03-04) before joining the Valley Warriors last season.

An excellent skater well-suited to the big sheet, Rossman can score -- in 54 games last season, he posted a 25-34-59 line. This season, he’s been working to establish himself more as a two-way player.

Going into this weekend’s action, the Warriors, at 11-1-1, have the second-best record in the EJHL, trailing only the undefeated New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs (12-0-1).

-- Bridgewater Bandits (EJHL) goaltender Tom O’Brien has committed to Notre Dame for next season. O’Brien, an excellent student admitted on his own, projects to be the #2-3 guy in the Fighting Irish net.

A 4/28/87 birthdate from Mokena, Ill., O’Brien played for the Youngstown Phantoms (NAHL) last season. He’s 6’0” and 187 lbs. In seven games with the Bandits, he has a 3.08 GAA and a .917 save percentage.


11/03/05

NHL Central Scouting Players to Watch

The NHL Central Scouting Service released its Players to Watch list today. Included are U.S. high school and junior players, Canadian Tier II and the NTDP.

Following the link below will take you to it.

In addition, look for the Preliminary Rankings to be released in a couple of weeks. That list, unlike this one, will include college and major junior players.

You will need Adobe Acrobat and Excel in order to read the files. 

NHL Central Scouting Players to Watch List -- 11/3/05

Note: Click on "Players to Watch" in left-hand column of Central Scouting's page.
 



10/31/05

 

Pomfret Post-Turkey Fest

On Sat. Nov. 26, the Pomfret School will host a six-team tournament at the school’s Connecticut campus.

In addition to Pomfret, the participants are: Bridgton, Governor Dummer, the Gunnery, Lawrence Academy, and South Kent.

Games will consist of two 25-minute halves.

Here’s the slate:

8:00 am – South Kent vs. Pomfret

9:45 am – GDA vs. Lawrence Academy

11:30 am – Gunnery vs. Bridgton

1:15 pm – GDA vs. South Kent

3:00 pm – Bridgton vs. Pomfret

4:45 pm – Gunnery vs. Lawrence Academy

 


10/31/05

 

Good News/Bad News for Pioneers

Not only did Denver lose to the University of North Dakota in Friday’s rematch of last April’s NCAA championship game, but they also lost star freshman left wing Brock Trotter for the entire season.

In the first period, Trotter’s Achilles tendon was cut straight through by the skate blade of North Dakota defenseman Matt Smaby.

Trotter, who had five points in four games, may be able to receive a medical redshirt for this season, will not be able to skate again until next summer.

The good news for Denver? 6’0”, 170 lb. LC Jesse Martin of the Spruce Grove Saints (AJHL) has committed to the Pioneers for ’07-08.

Martin, the leading scorer in the AJHL when he went down with a concussion on October 1st, will be back in the lineup for Thursday’s game at Camrose.

In addition to Denver, Martin made official visits to both Boston University and Dartmouth.A lot of other schools tried to get into the picture. After one September game, the ’88, who played midgets in Alberta last season, had 11 schools talking to him.

Martin’s team his currently the #1 ranked team in the Canadian Jr. A rankings, sporting an 18-1-0 record.

Notes:

 

-- 6’4”, 195 lb. Green Bay Gamblers (USHL) defenseman Eric Gryba, an ’88 from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, has narrowed his college choices to North Dakota, Michigan, and Boston University. Gryba, in 11 games has an 0-3-3 line and a +1 for the Gamblers, currently in last place in the East Division with a 3-8-0 record. The Gamblers have traded 6’5” Wisconsin recruit John Mitchell --a native of the Badger state – to Indiana. Mitchell only had one assist for the Gamblers. In return, Green Bay gets forward Chris Nugent.

-- 6’1”, 200 lb. Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL) forward Trevor Lewis, an ’87 from Murray, Utah, will be picking one of the following: Boston College, Maine, Michigan, Ohio State, and Bowling Green. Lewis, with a 10-3-13 line and a +8 is the leading scorer for Des Moines, currently holding down first place in the East Division with a 6-2-1 record.

-- The Sioux City Musketeers (USHL) have waived former Taft and NTDP goaltender Billy Blasé. In seven games, Blasé had a 5.34 GAA and an .846 save percentage.

-- The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, who waived UMass recruit Nick Grasso, an ’88 from Long Island, before the start of the season, have now added him back to the lineup. Grasso made his first appearance of the season in Saturday’s 4-3 loss to Des Moines.

 


10/31/05

 

Who Is Jocelyn Guimond, Anyway?

Rochester Institute of Technology sophomore goaltender Jocelyn Guimond may have been an unknown in college hockey circles last week, but no more.

On Friday, RIT hosted St. Lawrence and, despite being outshot 68-15, skated off with a 3-2 win.

Guimond, in kicking out 66 saves, was vaulted into the NCAA record book, tying the record for number of saves by a winning goaltender. Two others have pulled off the feat before him. On Feb. 26, 1955 Ed Hornstein of Providence College kicked out 66 in a 4-3 win over Clarkson. And on Dec. 29, 1973 Don Cutts of RPI stopped 66 shots in an 8-2 win (defense!) over Boston University.

As for RIT itself, it’s not a record. That belongs to Marty Reasoner, who made 75 saves in a mid-‘70s game. Reasoner is the father of both the Edmonton Oiler forward of the same name, and Boston College backup goaltender Adam Reasoner.

Anyway, back to Guimond, who put an exclamation point on RIT’s first month as a Division I hockey school with a performance his coach, Wayne Wilson, described as “outstanding.”

“The sheer volume of shots was impressive,” Wilson said. “Usually, a goalie might face two or three Grade A attempts in a game. Jocelyn had at least five really key saves. Maybe even eight. It was hard to tell because he just made it look so simple. He gave everyone on the bench a real comfort level. It was one of those nights where the puck must have looked like a beachball to him.”

The following night, RIT came back to earth with a 6-3 loss to the Saints. Guimond was in net again, and stopped 37 of 43. “A solid performance,” said Wilson, “but he was a little fatigued.”

Guimond, a 23-year-old sophomore, sat out his freshman year – and the first game of this season -- because, as a 17-year-old, he had played five minutes of one game for Sherbrooke of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

Eventually, the native of St. Edouard de Lotbiniere, Quebec, made his way to the BCHL, where he played for the Powell River Paper Kings and the Williams Lake Timberwolves. A number of teams – Maine and CC, to name two – were interested, but were scared off by the fact that he had played major junior and would have to sit a year.

RIT, which only offers financial aid, had no such concerns, so Guimond, who was thinking of going to the University of Guelph to study criminal justice, wound up at RIT, where he studies the same thing.

He’s doing well in the classroom, too, pulling down a 3.92 GPA.