News and Notes 3/28/13: Bracket Challenge, NESCAC Pro Hockey update and new Trinity recruit

NCAA Hockey Tournament Bracket Challenge

As we did with the basketball tournament, we are doing a bracket challenge for the 2013 NCAA D-I  men's hockey tournament.  Sign up at the site below and join the group "NESCACHockey". The password: inthecac. Fill out our bracket and enjoy the tournament. The winner gets a shirt (pictured) and 'Cac bragging rights.


You can enter any time up until puck drop of the first game at 2 PM tomorrow. Unlike the basketball tournament there are only 16 teams, so picking teams isn't time consuming.




Bracket Challenge: Sign up/Login

NESCAC Pro-Hockey Update

Nick Craven (Photo courtesy of Just Sports Photography )

The Spring Break pro-hockey journeys of both Wesleyan's Nick Craven (F, Sr.) and Bowdoin's Al
Milley (D, Sr.) have both come to an end.

Craven signed an Amateur Tryout Contract (ATO) with the AHL's Binghamton Senators on March 6th and appeared in four games, registering no points and getting off four shots on goal. On Monday, March 25th Craven was released from his contract.

A week after Bowdoin was eliminted from the NCAA tournament in Utica, Milley signed a Standard Player Contract with the ECHL's Wheeling Nailers on Saturday, March 16th. Milley appeared in one game was released five days later on March 21st.


New Recruit for Trinity
In D-III hockey nothing is final until the "commit" makes it to campus and has his name listed on the roster in November. But generally you have a good idea before then who will or won't be on the team. Via the twitter feed of Westminster center Sean Orlando, he will be joining Matt Greason's Trinity squad next year.

Can't wait to spend four more years with @eholdaway83 Trinity College class of 2017 #Martlets #Bantams
— Sean Orlando (@shorelandobloom) March 27, 2013

The player referenced in the tweet refers to Orlando's Westy teammate Ethan Holdaway, who had already committed to Trinity. Orlando spent the past two years on Westminster after making the big jump to prep school from Tier II hockey with the Hatfield Ice Dogs in Pennsylvania. As a Senior in 2012-13, Orlando had 24 points (10-14-24) in 16 games for the New England Prep School runner-ups (Westy lost to Salisbury in the championship).

Orlando played on a 2011-12 Westminster team with  Evan Neugold of Middlebury, who had a successful 18 point (8-10-18) rookie campaign as a Panther. Orlando's current teammate, defender Xaviar Morion, has commited to Hamilton.