Recuitment Update: 5/3/13

Future Trinity teammates Ryan Doppelheuer (white) and Ethan Holdaway (black)

Four more names added to the NESCAC recruiting class of 2013. Trinity grabs two prep school forwards in Hotchkiss' Ryan Doppelheuer and Taft's Al Nejmeh. Amherst got just their third recruit in juniors defenseman Austin Ho of the Springfield Jr. Blues. Finally, Conn College added Brian Belisle of the famous Rhode Island school, Mount St. Charles.

The Bantams netted Taft captain and Lancaster, PA native Al Nejmeh.  After playing for the Central Penn Panthers in 2009-10, Nejmeh spent the past three seasons at the Watertown, CT prep school. In his first season as a sophomore in 10-11, the 93' forward had six points (1-5-6).  As a junior, Nejmeh was a co-captain and netted 23 points (8-15-23). Perhaps most importantly, the Pennsylvania native appeared in a Taft fashion blog and was the 2013 commissioner of the Pre-Study Ball League (PSBL), Taft's intramural softball league.

Trinity also nabbed Hotchkiss forward Ryan Doppelheuer. The Mclean, VA native, who co-captained the 2012-13 Hotchkiss squad with Tufts recruit Dan Camilletti, led the Bearcats with 16 points (7-9-16). In his first season at the Lakeville, CT prep school in 2011-12, Doppelheuer  had 13 points (8-5-13). Before that, he played on the Washington Little Capitals Midget team in 2009-10.

Defenseman Austin Ho became the third member of the Springfield Jr. Blues from the North American Hockey League (NAHL) on  the 2013-14 NESCAC recruitment list, joining Blues teammates Jon Carkeek (Hamilton) and Ryan Kellenberger (Tufts). The Chino Hills, CA native heads to Amherst, MA to play for Jack Arena's Amherst squad. Ho started the 2012-13 NAHL campaign with the Odessa Jackpoles (Texas), but was traded after 29 games to Springfield on January 25th.  In 40 games with Odessa/Springfield, the 6'0" 190 lb blue liner had five points (0-5-5). Before junior hockey, Ho played for the Los Angeles Jr. Kings U18 team and L.A. Selects U16 Midget teams.

The NESCAC as a conference is known for its high academic standards and we've mentioned on this site several times that four of the top six ranked (U.S. News and World Report) liberal arts colleges come from the 'Cac. This fact doesn't seem to be lost on Amherst's lastest recruit.

Amherst ranked as #2 undergraduate program in the US
— Ho, Austin (@a_ho94) April 25, 2013

Conn College snagged Brian Belisle, grandson of legendary Mount Saint Charles Academy coach Bill Belisle and the best high school player in the state of Rhode Island. Belisle forwent juniors and prep school to stay at the Woonsocket, RI school and play for his father and grandfather. The Mount has won a record 43 Rhode Island State hockey titles, including 26 straight from 1978-2003. Mount's hockey program was the subject of the book "Pride on the Mount" and the documentary "Ice Kings."

After leading the state in scoring in 2011-12 with 40 points (18-22-40), Brian missed a significant portion of the 2012-13 when he suffered successive concussions within a month of another in the fall. The first was a minor concussion in November while playing for his Midget team, the Rhode Island Saints. In MSC's regular season opener, Belisle took a blindside hit that would result in several weeks of missed school and a month away from the ice. When the Cumberland, RI native came back he ended up with 27 points (9-18-27) to  help MSC win yet another state title. Below find a segment on Belisle's season from Cox Sports RI.