Showing posts with label Recruiting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Recruiting. Show all posts

Sunday, June 11, 2017

NESCAC Recruiting Twitter update

We have plenty of time before the 2017-18 academic calendar starts, let alone the official release of rosters in November with the newest class of recruits. In the meantime, let's catch-up with what the twitterverse has to tell us about the incoming commits. As with all things twitter, it is fun and accessible, but hardly reliable as a comprehensive source of information. This list is of about fifty players, and on average there are probably around 80 new recruits in a season.

Just because a player isn't listed in the twittersphere as a recruit, it doesn't mean he won't be lacing it up as a neophyte NESCACer next fall at Sage or Alfond or the Malden Valley Forum II (get an on campus rink already, Tufts!). The converse is true as well, as a 140 character commitment doesn't mean you'll be on the roster come November 1.

The recruiting mix is pretty evenly distributed among prep school players and  there's also a mix of mix of players from hockey recruits to the few that are looking to play as many sports as they can.

And if you like stories told in 140 character snippets, check out some of the game stories from past NESCAC playoffs and NCAA Tournament games.

If you know of other recruits twitter claims for the 'CAC , please tweet them at us (@hockeyinthecac) or shoot us an email with the link to the tweet. We'll update the post as more come in.

Special thanks to Neutral Zone (@_Neutral_Zone), which include rankings for their recruits. Former Tufts coach Brian Murphy is actually a scout now for Neutral Zone.

Anyhow, on to the tweets!

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Friday, August 5, 2016

NESCAC Recruiting Twitter Update

We have plenty of time before the 2016-17 academic calendar starts, let alone the official release of rosters with the newest class of recruits. In the meantime, let's catch-up with what the twitterverse has to tell us about the incoming commits. As with all things twitter, it is fun and accessible, but hardly reliable as a comprehensive source of information (less than half of Bowdoin recruits show up on twitter, while Trinity and Wesleyan tweeted out all of their own recruits) . Just because a player isn't listed in the twittersphere as a recruit, it doesn't mean he won't be lacing it up as a neophyte NESCACer next fall at Sage or Alfond or the Malden Valley Forum II (get an on campus rink already, Tufts!). The converse is true as well, as a 140 character commitment doesn't mean you'll be on the roster come November 1.

There's quite a range of recruiting sources from schools that prefer Canadian Juniors (the entirety of Hamilton's recruiting) to schools that tend to go prep (looking at you, Williams) or US Juniors (Trinity) to a mix of all three. There's also a mix of mix of players from hockey recruits to the few that are looking to play as many sports as they can (welcome to the 'Cac, Frank Coslito).

And if you like stories told in 140 character snippets, check out some of the game stories from past NESCAC playoffs and NCAA Tournament games.


AMHERST



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Friday, May 30, 2014

2014 NESCAC recruiting as told by the twitterverse

We will have to wait until November until we find out who officially makes the 2014-15 NESCAC men's hockey rosters, but with the age of the internet we are aware of who the vast majority of recruits will be.

The WordPress blog currently has 83 names and with five months until team activities can begin, we'll have plenty of time to discuss which school has the best haul, the breakdown of juniors/prep, age of incoming class, favorite animals,etc.

But for now, let's talk a look at who twitter has confirmed as incoming recruits. This list is by no means comprehensive and is mostly just for fun. We'll update it as more tweets are discovered and as always, let us know if you know of any more twitterfirmations.

AMHERST 


BOWDOIN  

COLBY  


HAMILTON  
MIDDLEBURY 
TRINITY
TUFTS  

WESLEYAN 
WILLIAMS

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Saturday, April 19, 2014

Recruiting in NESCAC, an updated look

By Benet Pols

Union College, one of the founding members of NESCAC, has won the 2014 NCAA DI men's ice hockey championship. As we wrote a couple of weeks ago, Union left the conference back in 1977 after its ambitions for a DI program rocked the campus and eventually cost its coach and president their jobs.

In the wake if Union's success and our brief view what recruitment was like back in the 1970's it is a good time to look into how current recruiting practices at NESCAC colleges have evolved both from an academic standpoint and an athletic standpoint.

Fortunately for the staff here at HockeyInTheCac, the hard work has been done for us by the Bowdoin Orient in a recent three part series on athletics at Bowdoin. The first part, Banded Together, gives an excellent overview of recruitment practices and policies across the conference and across all sports.

Posters on the USCHO online forums frequently denigrate the conference's stringent recruiting standards and point out that success like that had by Middlebury on the 1990's and 2000's is unlikely to be repeated.

In reading the Bowdoin Orient's Sam Weyrauch's excellent three part series on athletics at Bowdoin, we have to wonder if the forum gripers may not be right?  Weyrauch's first piece, Banded Together, certainly points out a homogenization across the conference that suggests it is unlikely that one school will ever be able to collect enough "B Band" students to dominate the way Middlebury once did.

Below are links to the three stories.

"Banded Together: recruited athletes with sub-average academics can receive preference in admissions."


"A Path to Campus: looking at the weight of recruitment visits and 'early reads.'"


After the Acceptance: walk-ons and GPAs.


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Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Colby announces 13 incoming recruits

Colby's Ben Chwick ('16) is getting 13 new teammates 
Colby announced their thirteen incoming recruits for the 2013-14 men's hockey season today, over two months before NESCAC rosters are official on November 1.
"The 12 members of the Class of 2017 are forwards DevinAlbert (Reading, Mass.), Kevin Doherty (Wakefield, Mass.), Scott Fenwick(Quispamsis, N.B.), EJ Rauseo (Methuen, Mass.), Colin Reilly (Pelham, N.Y.),Brandon Willett (Toronto, Ont.), Michaelvan Siclen (Carlisle, Mass.), defensemen Jack Burton (Reiserstown, Md.), KaiFrankville (La Jolla, Calif.), Sam Hudziak (Charlotte, Vt.), and Geoff Sullivan(Topsfield, Mass.), along with goaltender Ben Csiernik (Hamilton, Ont.).
Colby hockey will also add one to the Class of 2016 in defenseman Alex Walsh (Basking Ridge, N.J.)."
The announcement gives background on each player, including Colby head coach Blaise MacDonald's take on each of the thirteen man class. According to the WordPress Blog, which correctly identified all thirteen names, the new Mules are the second largest 'Cac recruiting class, behind only Trinity, who has 14 incoming players. 

This was the first full recruiting cycle MacDonald has had since being hired in June of 2012. Prior to coming to Waterville, the former head coach of Division I Niagara (1996-2001) and UMass-Lowell (2001-11) spent a year as an assistant at UMass-Amherst in 2011-12. 

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Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Recruitment Update: 5/22/13


St. Anselm transfer and Trinity recruit Liam McKillop
Since out last update, we have learned of three additional names for the 2013-14 NESCAC recruitment list. Trinity added a prep school forward in St. Paul's Nate Wark and a NCAA D-II transfer in St. Anselm's Liam McKillop. Tufts nabbed prep school forward Matt Pugh from Salisbury.

Trinity
Burlington, VT native and Trinity recruit Nate Wark co-captained St. Paul's varsity hockey team with Williams recruit Greg Zaffino in 2012-13. Wark, a 5'11" 180 lb. forward, spent the past three seasons at the Vermont prep school. In 2011-12, Wark finished sixth on the Pelicans with 12 points (5-7-12). As a senior this past season, he had 18 points (5-13-18). The Scouting News noted Wark's  "quickness and accurate shot" and prior to the 2012-13 season, the New England Hockey Journal named him a player to watch.

Wark played baseball for the Pelicans in 2011-12 but stepped away from the diamond in his senior season. More importantly, he participated in a three-on-three hockey tournament in 2011 that raised over 2,000 dollars for Haiti earthquake relief efforts. Wark's team didn't win the tourney, but they did take home the prize for best uniform for their fluorescent leotards. Current Colby Mule Brendon Bourgea's team won the charity event.

Before coming to St. Paul's, Wark played high school hockey in Burlington. In 2010, Wark made the Burlington Free Press All-Vermont team for his 51 point sophomore campaign (19-32-51).

Wark will be joined on Coach Matt Greason's squad next season by NCAA D-II transfer Liam McKillop. The 5'11" 175 lb. forward spent his first two college years with St. Anselm's, netting 56 points (27-29-56) in 49 games. This past season, he was second on the team in goals (16) and tied for the team lead in points (16-16-32).  The Hawks won the Northeast-10 regular season and conference championships with McKillop making the NE-10 All-Conference team.

St. Anselm is technically D-II, but they also play a D-III ECAC East regular season schedule with teams such as national powerhouse and Middlebury rival Norwich. The NE-10 is the only D-II conference that has hockey and since the NCAA D-II Hockey Championship was suspended after 1999, St. Anselm and other D-II hockey schools have no post-season aspirations, similar to NESCAC members prior to 1993.  The first ever D-II hockey championship in 1978 was mentioned in last week's Throwback Thursday piece.

Before going to the Manchester, N.H. college, McKillop played junior hockey on Long Island  for the New York Bobcats. Prior to that, the New York native grew up on Manhattan's east side and played youth hockey with many current NESCAC players. McKillop was part of both the North Jersey Avalanche peewee national champions and Long Island Gulls midget team that made it to the national semifinals.

Wark and McKillop become the 11th and 12th names on Trinity's recruiting list, tying them for now with Colby for most recruits for 2013-14.  Bowdoin, Hamilton and Williams come in tied for third with nine recruits each, followed by Tufts with eight, Wesleyan and Conn College with six, Middlebury with four and Amherst with only three names so far. 

 A large recruiting class that includes proven scorers such as McKillop should help Trinity soften the blow of losing four of their five top scorers from 2012-13 to graduation. 

 Tufts
Salisbury forward Matt Pugh will head to Medford, MA next year to play hockey for the Jumbos. USHR describes Pugh as a "solid, north/south power forward who can skate and is strong enough to hold his own at the D-I level." In his PG season in 2012-13, the 6'1" 190 lb. forward finished fifth on the team in scoring with 25 points (11-14-25) en route to a New England Prep School Championship. Currently Pugh pitches and plays outfield for the 21-2 powerhouse Salisbury baseball team.

 Prior to PGing at Salisbury, the Watertown, MA native spent three years at Buckingham Browne and Nichols. In 2011-12, Pugh was an All-ISL selection and finished second on BB&N with 40 points (17-23-40) in addition to co-captaining the Knights with his once and future teammates, current Jumbos Luke Griffin and Aidan Hartigan. Pugh led BB&N in scoring with 37 points (14-23-37) in the 2010-11 season and co-captained the team with Hartigan and current Hobart player Alex Quinn. 

Apparently Pugh wants to room at Tufts with Jumbo recruit Conal Lynch from Andover.  So there's that.
While at BB&N, Pugh played split seasons with the U18 Junior Bruins along with Wesleyan recruit Elliot Vorel and Colby goalie recruit Ben Csiernik.  You can find a highlight video of Pugh from his time with the Bruins in 2011-12 here.

Pugh also played summer hockey for the Boston Junior Whalers and will skate for them in the Chowdah Cup this summer. The Whalers have a post on their website congratulating Pugh and Trinity recruit Jordy Abrams on their NESCAC futures.  Pugh may follow the likes of Bowdoin's Tim McGarry in playing NESCAC hockey and baseball, but has not yet committed to the diamond for the Jumbos.

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Friday, May 3, 2013

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.

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.

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Tuesday, April 23, 2013

4/24/13 Recruting Update

Since we last updated you on 4/11, six names have been added to the incoming NESCAC recruitment class for 2013-14. Tufts added two players from juniors, a goalie in Ryan Kellenberger and a hybrid forward/defender in Sean Kavanagh. Wesleyan landed a hybrid player of their own from prep school, Cole Morrissette of Milton; Trinity added prep school forward Jordan Abrams from Buckingham Brown and Nichols. Hamilton received defenseman Bennett Hambrook from Canadian juniors. Finally, Colby, who already had a recruiting class of 11 incoming players, nabbed the first transfer of the off-season, poaching Alex Walsh from Middlebury.


 Tufts
Ryan Kellenberger, of the Springfield Jr. Blues (North Atlantic Hockey League), becomes the second goalie
recruited by Tufts this season along with Ross Bendetson of Andover. The 6'3" net-minder from Los Altos, California also becomes the tallest goalie and the first to come from juniors of the eight backstops in the incoming NESCAC recruitment class.

Sean Kavanagh (courtesy Spingfield Pics)
According to this article from his town paper, The Los Altos Town Crier, Kellenberger switched to goalie from defenseman at age ten after filling in for his pee wee team's starter and subsequently beating an undefeated team. After graduating with a 4.1 GPA from Los Altos High in 2012, the Canadian-born Kellenberger spent the past year with the Jr. Blues of the NAHL. Kellenberger played in 23 games, splitting time with fellow D-III recruit and  SUNY Genesso bound Matt Leon, who played in 38 games.

Kellenberger posted a 7-11-2 record with a 3.07 Goals Against Average and a .903 save percentage in the regular season for the 26-30-4 Blues. The tall goaltender earned NAHL North Division Star of the Week Honorable Mention  in December 2012. The Blues were eliminated, 2-0, in a best of three play-in playoff series against the Kalamazoo Wings. Kellenberger didn't start either game, but relieved Leon in both blowouts, 7-1 and 6-0.

Tufts also recruited F/D Sean Kavanagh from the Springield Pics of the Eastern Junior Hockey League (EJHL). Several NESCAC recruits come from the EJHL this year, including Kavanagh's Pics teammate, Zak Kokosa, a forward committed to Bowdoin. Kavanagh played his high school puck at Cathedral High School in Springfield, MA, and earned ESPN Boston MIAA All-State "Best of the Rest" honors in 2011.

After doing a PG year at Andover in 2011-12, the Wilbraham, MA native played 44 games for the Pics, garnering 24 points (5-19-24). The Pics website has a post regarding Kavanagh's commitment to Tufts. In the statement, Pics GM/Head Coach Patrick Tabb says, "Sean is an offensive defenseman with good size and mobility. He is a strong character kid with a great work ethic both athletically and academically." 

Hamilton 
Can't fight in the NESCAC, though. (source) 
Defenseman Bennett Hambrook of the Trail Smoke Eaters (British Columbia Hockey League) becomes Hamilton's ninth recruit for 2013-14. The 6'0" Kimbereley, BC native also becomes the fourth Continental recruit with a 1992 birth year, making coach Rob Haberbusch's bunch the oldest recruiting class in the NESCAC.

Hambrook spent the past three seasons in the BCHL as a member of Trail, Vernon, Prince George and Slamon Arm, tallying 18 points and 183 penalty minutes in 135 career games. This past season he was traded from the SalmonArm SilverBacks to Trail in November. Before being traded, Hambrook served as the 12th captain in SilverBacks team history.   In 29 games with the Smoke Eaters, Bennett had 12 points (1-11-12). According to dropyourgloves.com, a site that tracks hockey fights, Hambrook dropped the gloves eight times in his three seasons in the BCHL. (see picture)

In a statement announcing Hambrook's commitment, Trail coach Bill Birks called Bennett a "tremendous assett" and said, "His leadership qualities and work ethic are the best I've ever been around."

Below, find an interview with Hambrook from when he was named SilverBacks captain. Besides the normal platitudes about how honored and proud he is to be named captain, you also learn the genuinely moving news that Hambrook's late mother instilled the values that earned him the C on his sweater.

Wesleyan
Meanwhile in Watertown, CT, Milton's Cole Morrissette joins his teammate Elliott Vorel in committing to Wesleyan. Morrissette, a 5'10" Bristol, RI native, was the number three scorer on Milton's team, netting 26 points (12-14-26) as a forward en route to All-ISL honors. In his first year at Milton in 2011-12, Morrissette played defense and had nine points (3-6-9).  Highlights from Cole's senior season, including video from games against Thayer, St. Sebastian's and Northfield Mount Hermon, can be found here.

Morrissette is also a multi-sport athlete, playing lacrosse at Milton and Moses Brown in Providence, RI before that. Williams 2012 second team All-NESCAC goalie Sean Dougherty also played lacrosse at Milton. In addition, Morrissette played football earlier in his youth, as this highlight reel from 2007 set to the unedited version of  DMX's "Tear it Up" can attest.

Trinity
Trinity has landed Buckingham Brown and Nichols leading scorer Jordan Abrams. The 5'11" 190 lb. forward and All-ISL selection had 39 points (13-26-39) this season, a marked improvement from 2011-12, when he had sixteen points (6-10-16).  The Lexington, MA native, who goes by Jordy, played his entire high school career at the Cambridge,MA prep school, increasing his scoring output every season; freshman year he had four points (2-2-4) and followed it up with 13 (5-8-13) in his sophomore campaign.

Jordy was named by the New England Hockey Journal as a player to watch for BB&N prior to  the 2012-13 season. Abrams also played baseball at BB&N in 2012 on the same team as Tufts defenseman Aidan Hartigan.

Colby 
Walsh (courtesy of Middlebury.edu)
Blaise MacDonald is not messing around. After completing his first year as Mules head coach, the former UMass-Lowell bench boss has already recruited 11 incoming freshman from prep school and juniors for the 2013-14 season. Now he has added a NESCAC transfer to that list in Middlebury defender Alex Walsh. The 6'1" 185 lb. defender had two goals in 24 games as a freshman for the Panthers in 2011-12, but did not make Bill Beaney's roster for the 2012-13 season.

Before Middlebury, the Basking Ridge, NJ native played in Swedish juniors in 2010-11, scoring eight points (3-5-8) and spending 44 minutes in the sin bin for Nacka HK. In 2009-10, Walsh played for the Delbarton School in New Jersey, where he scored 19 points (1-18-19). Also on that Delbarton squad, future Colby teammate Matt Gelnaw  and recent D-I national champion Kenny Agostino. Yale's Agostino ended the season tied for the Bulldogs team lead in points with 41 (17-24-41) and the 140th overall pick in the 2010 draft was also a piece in the trade that sent NHL veteran Jerome Iginla from the Calgary Flames to the Pittsburgh Penguins.


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Thursday, April 11, 2013

News and Notes 4/11/13: Recruting update, Frozen Four and NCAA D-III Week

New Recruits for Conn College and Tufts
Ninth place Conn College and last place Tufts both added New England prep school defenders to their list of recruits this week; Canterbury's Greg Liautaud for the Camels and Hotchkiss' Dan Camelltti for the Jumbos.

Liautaud, a 5'10" 180 lb blueliner, spent the past two years at Canterbury. In his junior year in 2011-12, he had 12 points (5-7-12) in 28 games; this past season he had 21 points (4-17-21). In addition, Liautaud earned All-Tournament honors at the Cushing Holiday Tournament and was a co-winner of the Saints' Coaches Award this year.

Before matriculating at the Connecticut school, the Butler, NJ native played Tier 1 youth hockey for the North Jersey Avalanche and high school hockey at Depaul Catholic. In 2010-11, the Conn College bound defenseman was the second leading scorer on his DePaul team with 31 points (17-14-31), good enough to place him on the All-North Jersey 2nd team. Also, according to his Canterbury Admissions Ambassador profile, his favorite animal is the moose. Maybe he should play for Middlebury?

Tufts gets Camilletti, a 6'0" 198 lb defender from Hotchkiss. The Oakville, Ontario native spent the past three years bleeding blue and co-captained the 2012-13 Bearcat varsity hockey squad. In 2010-11 Camilletti had 7 points (1-6-7) and in 2011-12 he increased that to 11 (4-7-11). Before making his way to Lakeville, CT, Camilletti played Tier 1 youth hockey for the Toronto Marlboros.  In January of 2010,  The Greater Toronto Hockey League selected Camilletti to play in the GTHL Top Prospects Game.

If his twitter account is any indication, Camilletti is quite excited to be a Jumbo next year.


Williams Recruits win 18U National Title  
Now the Patriots aren't the only championship team to play their home games in Foxboro, MA.

In addition to playing for their respective prep schools, Williams recruits James McNamara (Choate) and George Hunkele (Lawerence) also played for the Neponset Valley River Rats at the USA Hockey Tier I 18U National Championships last weekend in Pittsburgh. On Sunday, the River Rats took home the national championship with a dramatic, come from behind 4-3 victory in OT against the St. Louis Blues.

James will join his brother, Ephs blueliner Brian McNamara, in Williamstown next year. Brian's 2005 North Jersey Avalanche team won the 12U National Championship in Fairbanks, Alaska, but Brian unfortunately missed it with a fractured femur.

Read More: USA Hockey - - Youth Tier-I 18U: Late-game, OT heroics spur Neponset Valley to first-ever 18U title 

Former Hamilton Player, Joe Houk, in Frozen Four
Yesterday we explored the 'Cac coaching connections in the Frozen Four, which included former Hamilton coach Norm Bazin. Joe Houk, Bazin's best Continental player and the only sophomore to ever win NESCAC Player of the Year, also made the jump to Division I UMass- Lowell with his coach. With Lowell playing Yale in the Frozen Four today, David Hendrickson of USCHO has a piece on the offensive minded defenseman's rise from D-III to D-I.

After sitting out a year due to transfer rules, Houk made his D-I debut this year as a member of the River Hawks in 2012-13. Early on he had troubles adjusting to the higher level of competition, "accumulating a minu-6 statistic over the first seven games."  But once Houk got his D-I frozen sea legs, he has rallied to tie for the team lead with a plus-17.

“Joe is an excellent offensive threat,” Bazin said at Wednesday’s news conference. “You haven’t seen that too much at the Division I level yet, but he’s maturing into that."

Read More: David Hendrickson USCHO - - Joe Houk follows Norm Bazin to success with Massacusetts-Lowell 

 D-III Week
We are in the middle of the NCAA's "D-III Week," which runs from April 8-14. Participating schools are holding events throughout the week to celebrate Division-III student athletes and the NCAA is giving away prizes on Facebook and twitter.

 The official twitter hashtag is #d3week and the NCAA's D-III twitter handle is @NCAADIII. In addition, NCAA research @NCAAresearch is tweeting out interesting facts about D-III student athletics. For more on D-III week, see NCAA president Mark Emmert's video below.
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Friday, April 5, 2013

New recruits for Conn College and Trinity

The NESCAC hockey WordPress Blog posted three new recruits this week. Conn College landed Ryan Mowery, Westminter's leading scorer, and St. Sebastian forward Alex Calabro. Trinity welcomes Loomis-Chafeee co-captain Edward (EJ) Culhane.

Mowery, a 5'10" forward from Escondido (San Diego County), CA, joins Westy teammates Ethan Holdaway (Trinity),Xavier Moron (Hamilton) and Sean Orlando (Trinity) as a NESCAC recruit. After playing his youth hockey in California, Mowery spent the past two years on Westminster's varsity team. In 2011-12, he had nine points (6-3-9) for Westy. He followed it up with a big senior campaign, leading the New England Prep School Runner-ups in scoring with 32 points (11-21-32). With an October 1994 birth date, Ryan will step foot in New London, CT this fall as an 18 year old; something only 8 of the 63 recruits on the current list are young enough to claim. 

 Below you can find Mowery's  recruitment video from his San Diego days set to Joe Satriani's "Summer Song/Interview." Notice the rink with the curling markings across the circles. Not unsurprisingly, ice space is very limited on the west coast.



 Mowery will be joined on the Camels by St. Sebastian's forward Alex Calabro. The 5'11" Newton, MA product spent the last two years at the Needham, MA school, amassing 5 points (1-4-5) in his junior season and 17 (11-6-17) in 2012-13. Calabro was also awarded the Coach's Award for St. Sebastian's in 2013. One caveat: Calabro's main sport is lacrosse, so he could end up opting to play lax only; the Camels men's lacrosse team is currently ranked 20th in the country. 

 Calabro and Mowry are the first two reported forward recruits for Conn College coach Jim Ward. Before now, only two Pomfret defenders, John Cunningham and Max King, had been reported as incoming Camels.  With only two graduating seniors (Dawson Luke and Sean Murray), Conn College has a rather full roster of returning players. 

 As for Trinity, their recruit list added its seventh name in Loomis Chaffee defender Edward James (EJ) Culhane. The 5'10' redheaded defenseman from Cohasset, MA spent the past two years at Loomis Chaffee and even co-captained the 2012-13 varsity squad. EJ is NOT the son of former AHL player and Western Michigan hockey coach Jim Culhane. But just for fun, here is a video of Jim Culhane fighting in a 1989 AHL game.

 2013 NESCAC Coach of the Year Matt Greason has sought a mix of junior and prep school players in his recruiting class thus far. Three of the seven recruits come from the North American Hockey League (NAHL), with four coming from New England prep schools. 
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Thursday, March 28, 2013

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.

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.

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Monday, March 25, 2013

After a Year: Evaluating the 2012-13 NESCAC recruiting class

With Wisconsin Eau-Claire being crowned the NCAA D-III men's hockey champion on March 16th, the D-III hockey season is officially over. In the coming weeks and months, all eyes in the D-III hockey world will turn towards the 2013-14 incoming recruitment class.

But we'll have plenty of time to discuss that. For now, let's take a look, school-by-school, how the 2012-13 
NESCAC recruiting class did in their inaugural collegiate season. 

 Amherst
Amherst's Conor Brown
Eight freshman saw playing time for fourth place Amherst, with three dressing for 20 or more games. Conor Brown (Greeley, Ontario) led the youngsters in scoring, finishing eighth on the team in points with 18 (7-11-18) in 21 games. After an injury in January, Brown worked his way up to the first line in February, including a big four goal weekend in Maine against Bowdoin and Colby. In an interview with USCHO, Lord Jeffs thirty year head coach Jack Arena said this about the frosh, "Conor is not a flashy kind of player out there. He works hard every time he goes out on the ice. He makes good decisions with the puck, and really has been a nice addition to that line. " (full article)

Forward Topher Flanagan (Edmonton, Alberta) and defenseman Kevin Ryder (Gates Mills, Ohio) also played significant roles for the men in purple. Flannagan had seven points (2-5-7) and led the team with 31 penalty minutes, including a game misconduct against St. Michael's. Ryder had six points (3-3-6) and 17 penalty minutes of his own, and also had a game misconduct for a late hit against Wesleyan in November. All New England Prep School goalie Dave Cunningham (Arlington, Massachussets) served as the primary backup for senior Nathan Corey, garnering a (4-1-1) record in seven games; Cunningham had a 1.49 GAA and .927 save percentage. With Corey graduating, Cunningham should at least compete for, if not earn, the starting job next season. 

Bowdoin
A total of seven frosh (3 forwards, 4 defensemen) dressed at some point in the season for the 2013 NESCAC men's hockey regular season and tournament champion.  Dylan Shamburger (Atlanta, Georgia) led the novice forwards with six points (3-3-6), including a goal in the first round NCAA Tournament game against U-Mass Dartmouth. Blueliner Gabriel Renaud (Quebec City, Quebec) dressed in 28 games and became a mainstay in coach Terry Meagher's defensive pairings. Benet Pols had this to say about Renaud: 
He was very solid all year long, but became increasingly noticeable as the season wore on. I think he learned a lot from (senior co-captain) Tim McGarry and showed real improvement in a couple of areas. He was solid throughput the season as a classic defender, taking the guy in front, defensive end corner work and shot blocking all while mainly staying out of the box.
But late in the season he suddenly became very noticeable in transition, he showed a lot of confidence in collecting the loose puck between the blue lines and turning it right back around---classic play for an offensive minded Bowdoin D guy like McGarry or Kyle Shearer-Hardy. He also played a great game against Hamilton in the playoffs, kept the puck in the offensive end a lot when Bowdoin was scrambling to get back into it. I bet he collects a lot of assists next season.
Max Fenkell

Sophomore transfer Max Fenkell (Meadowbrook, Pennsylvania) also gets included in this category in his first year as a Polar Bear. Fenkell spent a year in Canadian juniors after leaving Colgate before landing in Brunswick. He split time with Steve Messina between the pipes, going 10-1-1 in 14 games, with his first loss of the season coming in the NCAA Quarterfinals at Utica. Fenkell received positive reviews from both his coach and fellow players with his hockey IQ being the most consistent attribute of his game receiving praise. To hear Coach Meagher talk about Fenkell, as well as the controversial (to some) decision to play Fenkell on back to back days on NESCAC championship weekend, click here. 

Colby 
Only five first years saw the ice in Coach Blaise MacDonald's first year behind the bench in Waterville. Three players dressed in more than twenty games, with Jonathan Sdao (Niwot, Colorado) leading the way with eight points (4-4-8).  Sdao scored the game winner in a 2-1 contest against Connecticut College in the final weekend of the regular season that helped the Mules make the playoffs. Forward Tyler Lingel (South Glenn Falls, New York) had six points (3-3-6) and defenseman Chris Kennedy (Sherborn, MA) had three assists (0-3-3) to round out the trio of impactful freshman. 

With coach MacDonald having his first full off-season at Colby, expect a larger group of freshman dressing in games next year for the Mules. According to the WordPress Blog, Colby already has 11 incoming names on their recruitment list for the 2013-14 season.

Connecticut College 
The ninth place Camels had one of the larger recruiting classes in the NESCAC with nine players seeing playing time. Of the baseball team sized class,Tim DiPretoro (Philadelphia, PA) had the most statistically impressive season, finishing tied for the team lead in scoring and fourth on the team with 14 points (9-5-14). Sebastian Meltzer (Montreal, QC) also saw significant playing time on his way to six points (3-3-6). 

In net, freshman Tom Conlin (Norwood, MA) split time in net with junior Mike Petchonka (Ridgefield, CT). In 13 appearances, Conlin led the team in wins (5-6-0), save percentage (.917) and Goals Against Average (2.65).

Hamilton 
Marko Brelih
With a big recruiting class and a slew of injuries, 10 rookies played for the eight place Continentals this season. Eight of them played in 17+ games and another, Kenny Matheson (Pointe Claire, Quebec), tied for fifth on the team in points (2-6-8) despite playing in only nine games due to a concussion. Freshman blueliner Marko Brelih (Toronto, Ontario) led the team in points (7-13-20) and game winning goals (2), and made 2nd Team All-NESCAC as well as  the All-USCHO rookie team.

Two other Conts played their first full season in Clinton, NY. Junior Dom Jancaterino (Needham, MA) and sophomore Nick Vassos (Caledon, QC) transferred to Hamilton in the spring semester of the 2011-12 season. After appearing in sixteen games for Division-I Sacred Heart in 2010-11, Jancaterino played in 14 games for the Continentals in 2011-12 and had two helpers (0-2-2).  This season, the D-1 transfer finished second on the offensively challenged team in scoring (8-4-12). Vassos came over from Bowdoin, where he didn't play, and didn't appear in any games in the conference's ugliest unis either in the spring of 2012 due to concussive symptoms.  In hist first collegiate season dressing, Vassos had 5 points (2-3-5).

Middlebury 
11(Coach Bill) Beaney Babies donned the giant M on their chest in the 2012-13 campaign. Matt Silcoff (Thornhill, ON) led the way, finishing first on the Panthers in scoring (11-13-24) en route to NESCAC Rookie of the Year honors. Silcoff played with Hamilton's 2nd Team All-NESCAC rookie Marko Brelih two seasons ago at Upper Canada College before they went their separate ways in junior hockey. Forward Evan Neugold (Goshen, CT)  had 18 points (8-10-18)  and Brendan McGovern (Centerport, NY) also reached double digits (2-8-10).

On the backline, three frosh saw significant playing time. Terrance Goguen (Weston, MA) led all freshman in games played and rookie blueliners in points (4-5-9). Rare 18 year old recruit Max Greenwald (Potomac, Maryland)  and former D-1 Heisenberg watch list product Connor Frick (Webster Groves, Missouri) also saw significant playing time.  Netminder Liam Moorfield-Yee (Toronto, Ontario) was one of four goalies that saw time between the pipes for the Panthers this year. Moorefield-Yee had a (1-6-0) record before falling out of the rotation in late January.

Trinity 
Mike Hawkrigg
NESCAC Coach of the Year Matt Greason played seven rookies in his second year as Bantams coach. Mike Hawrigg (Tornoto, OT) was third on the team in goals and had 18 points (9-9-18). None were bigger than his three point effort against Wesleyan in the NESCAC Quarterfinals (2-1-3), including the game tying and OT winning goal to send Trinity to Brunswick for the NESCAC Semifinals. His performance also earned him NESCAC Player of the Week honors - something no other freshman achieved - on February 25th. Hawkrigg had 5 game winning goals, all in conference play, to lead both his team and the conference as a whole. Hawkrigg also led all NESCAC rookies in penalty minutes with 41.

Besides Hawkrigg, forwards Elie Vered (Ottawa, ON) and Jim Burt (Hamden, CT), as well as defender Ben Hjalmarrson (Lidingo, Sweden), saw solid playing time. Backing up All-NESCAC first team goalie Ben Coulthard (South Windsor, CT),  Nathaniel Heilbron (West Vancouver, British Columbia) had a 2-1-0 record in five appearances, which included an impressive 1.76 GAA and (.947) save percentage.

Tufts
Last place Tufts had nine freshman make the squad this year, with seven rooks playing 17 or more games. Stewart Bell (Marriettta, GA) finished second on the team with 20 points (9-11-20), with Dom Granato (Pittsburgh, PA) adding 9 (2-7-9) and Keith Campbell (Newark, Delware) contributing 7 (2-5-7). For the blueliners, a pair of Arlington, MA natives (Brian Oullette and Aidan Hartigan) played a considerable amount. Goalie Derek Metcalfe (Stoneham, MA), younger brother of senior captain Nick Metcalfe, played in seven games and at (2-3-0) had the best winning percentage (.400) among net-minders on the team.

Wesleyan
Wesleyan had a bit of a different freshman class than the rest of the conference. The Cardinals had the second smallest rookie group (6) in the NESCAC, but all five skaters played 20+ games. No frosh cracked double digits in points, but all five had at least six points; Jay Matthews (Marshfield, MA) led the way with nine (5-4-9). 2011-12 mid-season transfer Casey Fratkin (Burnaby, BC) had three points (0-3-3) in his first full season as a Wesleyan defender after transferring from Elmira.

The real star of the rookie class was goaltender Nolan Daley (Exeter, New Hampshire). In 11 appearances, Daley went (5-3-3), leading the team in Win% (.591), Save Percentage (.926) and GAA (2.50). Daley had a season high 46 saves on February 2nd to shepherd the Cardinals to a 0-0 tie against 2nd Team All-NESCAC goalie Sean Dougherty and Williams.

Williams 
Joining Wesleyan at the bottom of the list both alphabetically and in freshman class size (6), Williams had moderate impact from their rookies.  Defender Zander Masucci (Far Hills, NJ) led the freshman Ephs in scoring with 11 points (3-8-11), but also finished second on the team in penalty minutes with 26. Fellow blueliner Greg Johnson (Dallas, Texas) also dressed in all 27 games and netted eight points (2-6-8). Goalie Noah Klag (Bryn Mawr, PA) backed up Dougherty and went (2-0-1). Klag gave up three goals on 41 shots for the season, including a 15 save shutout against Wentworth on January 28th.

 


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Monday, March 18, 2013

News and Notes 3/18/13: Bowdoin defenseman goes pro, March Madness and more


Bowdoin's Milley signs SPC with Wheeling Nailers of ECHL

Milley sports flowing locks
Nick Craven isn't the only NESCAC senior joining the pro ranks. After his Polar Bears season ended with a 4-2 loss to Utica in the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals on March 9th, Bowdoin defenseman Alexander Milley signed a Standard Player Contract (SPC) with the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL)'s Wheeling Nailers on Saturday's March 16th. Milley appeared in the Nailers 3-1 loss to the Toledo Walleye (you can't make up minor league hockey names) on Saturday.

The ECHL is the second highest level of minor league hockey in North America, behind only the American Hockey League (AHL). 25 of 30 NHL franchises have an affiliation with one of the ECHL's 23 teams. The Wheeling Nailers, based in Wheeling, West Virginia, are affiliated with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens. The Nailers currently sit eight points behind the Walleye for the eighth and final playoff spot with seven games remaining in the regular season.

The 5'9" 165 lb. defenseman from Winchester, Mass. played in 49 games in four years at Bowdoin, garnering 32 penalty minutes and 6 points (3-3-6). He scored his third and final collegiate goal in Bowdoin's 5-2 NCAA Tournament opening round victory over UMass-Dartmouth on March 6th, exactly three years to the day (3/6/10) after his second college goal.  Milley wore number 26 for the Polar Bears but wears number four for the Nailers.

Alexander Milley's official Wheeling Nailers roster page 

March Madness
Sure it isn't hockey, but everyone loves picking brackets for the soon to tip off NCAA D-I men's basketball tournament. We are having our own bracket challenge, with the winner getting a nescachockey.com t-shirt (design to be revealed this week) and a hat from the winner's NESCAC school of choice. The Middlebury Hockey hat to the right is an example of what you could get, but it is just an example. The choice is yours...if you win, of course.

You can enter and follow the standings here. No fee for entry, limit one entry per person. You can signup with a yahoo ID, facebook or google account. Standard bracket scoring: 1 point for correct picks from the round of 64, 2 points for the round of 32, 4 points for the sweet 16, etc. You have until tip-off of the first game on Thursday, March 21st to enter.

NESCACHOCKEY. COM TOURNAMENT CHALLENGE 

Recruitment 
With the season officially over for all of D-III and most of awards season having come and gone, the majority of the attention in the NESCAC puck world turns towards recruiting. We'll have our own list and coverage, but for now you can check out the WordPress blog's recruitment list  and the USCHO forum recruitment list thread.

If you know of other credible resources for D-III hockey recruitment or have tips on recruits not listed on any of these sites, please email us.

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