April News

A Change of Heart

 

    A while back, we reported that Catholic Memorial brothers Billy and Matt Kelly would be leaving CM for Cushing Academy. Well, they've had a change of heart. The latest news -- and it could always change again -- is that they're staying at CM. We've heard that a meeting with CM coach Bill Hanson may have played a significant role in the Kelly's decision to stay at the West Roxbury powerhouse. Billy is a junior RW who averaged about 1.5 PPG last winter. Matt, a freshman, was the top-rated goaltender at the U.S. Select 15 camp last summer. In CM's undefeated season, sophomore Billy Zaniboni got the most starts, followed by Kelly. Far behind them was junior Artie Imbriano, who saw his playing time cut into enormously from the previous season.

 

    Imbriano is leaving Catholic Memorial for Tabor Academy where he'll be a repeat junior.

 

Charlie Daniels Band Rocks Out

 

    Since his days setting scoring records at East Boston High School, Charlie Daniels has kept plugging away. First stop was a PG year at the Winchendon School, where he led the school to a Div. II championship. This past season, he lit it up for the Danville Wings (NAHL) where in 55 games he had a 35-27-62 scoring line, setting team records in goals, power-play goals, and points.

 

    Now, Charlie Daniels has accepted an offer from St. Lawrence.

 

    It's a tribute to his perseverance because, while Daniels always had size, hands, an accurate shot, and a strong sense of the game, his skating was just awful. At East Boston High it made no difference -- the league was lousy and the rink small. Over the past two years, he's played in bigger rinks against tougher competition and his skating has improved -- it's just a little below average now. In some ways he's similar to BU's Russell Bartlett, and he could turn out to be the sleeper of SLU's recruiting class.

 

Flying High

 

     6'2" Rhode Island Sharks defenseman Neil Barner, of East Greenwich, R.I., has committed to the U.S. Air Force Academy, a program that has been brought back to life since Frank Serratore and his staff took over last summer.

 

    Barner's 14-year-old brother, Greg, a 5-11/185 lb. winger who will be a freshman at Mount St. Charles this fall, was extremely impressive playing for the Edgewood Bantams earlier this month at the Nationals in Chicago. He's a strong skater, and has a nose for the net. He's already big for his age; if he grows to anywhere near the size of his older brother, he'll be very tough to stop. Look for him to be one of New England's top college recruits in a few years.

 

Reynaert Comes Up Big for Compuware

 

    The Compuware Ambassadors took the NAHL title with a two-game sweep of the U.S. National Under-18 Team last weekend. The big star for Compuware was goaltender Jeff Reynaert, who kicked out 33 shots in game 1, and 34 in Game 2. In the two games, the Under-18 Team outshot Compuware 71-36, but lost by scores of 5-2 and 4-2. Reynaert, from Sterling Heights, Michigan, will be heading to Western Michigan University in the fall.

Two More Sign with Under-18 Team

    Add defenseman Brett Lebda and forward John Snowden to the list of '82's who will be heading to Ann Arbor, Michigan in September to join the U.S. Under-18 Team.

 

    Lebda, 5-10, 169 lbs., and a left shot, is from From Buffalo Grove, Ill. This past winter, he was a tenth grader playing for the Team Illinois Midgets. He's a quick, highly mobile D with excellent puck-handling skills.

    Snowden, a 5-11, 172 lb. right wing is also a tenth grader. He's from Snohomis, Washington and played midget AAA hockey in Seattle this season. He had an off-weekend at the U.S. Under-18 tryout camp March 12-15, playing tight. However, he has the strength-skill combination looked for in power forwards.

Gone Fishin'

    Yesterday, the Rochester Mustangs (USHL) announced that Gary Sampson has resigned from his position as head coach and general manager.

    Sampson recently became a partner in a hunting and fishing lodge in Alaska.

    A native of International Falls, Minn., Sampson played at Boston College from 1978-82. He was also a member of the 1984 U.S. Olympic Team and played in the NHL with the Washington Capitals for parts of four seasons.

 

A New Coach for Kimball Union

    Peter Bergstrom, who's coached the JV team at Kimball Union for the past three years, will be moving up to take over the varsity slot vacated by Dean Charpentier's move to the Berkshire School.

    Bergstrom, 30, is a 1991 graduate of Connecticut College, where he played defense for the Mules. He also returned to his alma mater to work as an assistant to coach Doug Roberts in 1994-95.

 

4/26/98                               Vroommm!!

 

 

The U.S. National Team that will be competing in the World Championships May 1-17 left

Boston's Logan Airport at 7:00 tonight for Switzerland. They'll be arriving in Zurich at 8 a.m. Monday (that's 2 a.m. EST).

 

For a roster and schedule, click here.

                            A New Coach for the Vulcans

The Twin Cities Vulcans (USHL) named Jim Hillman as their new head coach. Hillman, who is from Blaine, Minn., has been an assistant to Vulcans GM/Head Coach Jim Johannson for the past two seasons. Before that he coached at Anoka High School. Hillman played 20 games for the University of Minnesota in the '92-93 season.

 

Musical Chairs

 

Danville Wings (NAHL) GM/ Head Coach Tom Rudrud is leaving to take the same position with the Gaylord Grizzlies franchise, which will have moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan by the start of next season.

Providence College assistant coach Dave Peters will be taking Rudrud's old job. Peters, who'd been at Providence since 1993-94, Mike McShane's last season, has been one of the hardest-working recruiters around. Before he came to Providence he was at Kent State and, briefly, UMass-Amherst.

And who'll fill Peters' slot at Providence? Most likely Dave Berard, returning back back to his home state of Rhode Island as well as to his alma mater, where he played for four years ('88-92) and worked as an assistant coach for two years ('94-96). For the past two seasons, Berard has been an assistant to Scott Borek at Lake Superior State.

The Pay's Better

After three years as an assistant at the University of Maine, Mario Thyer is moving on to the business world. Thyer, who turned pro after his sophomore year at Maine, returned and got his degree in business administration before beginning his coaching career. Now he's putting that degree to use. Names we've heard in connection with his old job have included Chris Imes and Greg Dreschler.

New England 15's, 16's, 17's Announced

Here they are:

15's FORWARDS: Christian Jensen, Justin Laverdiere, Michael Girardi, Ryan Shannon, Chris Chaput, Greg Barner, Kevin Child, Ryan Trowbridge, Kevin Hathaway, John LaLiberte, Adam Dann, Michael Rainville. DEFENSEMEN: Eric Lundberg, Jamie Sifers, Andrew MacDonnell, Chris Sullivan, Ben Brayden, David Cannon. GOALTENDERS: Mike Farnham, Jimmy Merola.

16's FORWARDS: Brady Leisenring, Conrad Barnes, Tim Plant, Ed Caron, Seth Pelletier, Josh Venice, Zachariah Klann, Joey Dumais, Ben Driver, Tom Cavanaugh, Gregg Johnson, Mark Soltys. DEFENSEMEN: J.B. Bria, Brian Phinney, Brooks Boucher, Ryan Kelley, Brandon Rogers, Chris Mounsey. GOALTENDERS: Kyle McNulty, Chris Frechette.

17's FORWARDS: Mike Brickley, Brett Nowak, Peter Zingoni, Todd Jackson, Chris Snizek, Erik Dalton, Peter Hambury, Dan DiLauro, Ryan St. Cyr, Peter Giatrelis, Tim Pettit, Jon DiSalvatore. DEFENSEMEN: Ron Hainsey, Paul Harris, Freddy Meyer, Mark Murphy, Robbie Barker, Mike Velez. GOALTENDERS: Mike Wolfe, Mike Healey.

4/24/98                      Merrimack Names Their Man

Merrimack College named current UNH assistant Chris Serino as the school's new head coach today. Serino replaces Ron Anderson, who was head coach from the beginning of the 1983-84 season until February, when the school opted not to renew his contract. We will have more details as they become available.

4/23/98                             Corey Goes Fishing in Montreal

Say what you wish about Lawrence Academy's stentorian head coach Charlie Corey, but he's always been able to attract talented players to the Groton, Massachusetts boarding school.  Last year he lured the Cardigan Mountain trio of defenseman Robbie Barker, goaltender Bo Christini, and center Michael Woodford.  All three made big contributions in their first season in the Keller Division. Next year they'll be reunited with their former Cardigan Mountain teammate Ryan Stevens.  But this year's big catch looks to be Jared Dickson, a defenseman from the Montreal area.  Look for Dickson to slide into the blueline slot vacated by graduating senior Matt Coleman.  

Deerfield Reloads

Look for Deerfield to make another run at the New England title next season.  While this season's leading scorers Ty Hennes (Omaha Lancers) and Drew Reid graduate, there's certainly enough scoring potential returning.  1996-97 leading scorer Tyler Kolarik battled injuries all year and never got on track, while his junior linemates Aaron Kim and Tye Korbl suffered through lackluster campaigns.  They'll be joined up front next season by Wes Fox, a PG from the Blake School in Minnesota.  Glenn Sanders will repeat his junior year, coming from Saugus (MA) HS.  Sanders, whose brother Matt skated for Jim Ward at Northfield-Mt. Hermon and now plays at Vermont, is a fine skater who had a 12-24-36 scoring line this season.  Andrew Miller comes in from Quebec, where he played midget AA.  '83 birthdate Eric Thomassian comes to Deerfield from Rye (NY) Country Day.

Big Chris Dirkes (Brown) and Danny Hauck depart from the Deerfield blueline.  Oriel McHugh comes in from the Lac St. Louis midget program.  With the seniors out of the picture, look for junior Rob Fried to get more ice time this season. 

USHL Bound

Anthony Switek, a senior forward at the National Sports Academy, has singed to play next season for the Waterloo Black Hawks. Switek's scoring line was 45-44-89 this past season.

The Hotchkiss Haul

Next year marks the beginning of the Damon White regime at Hotchkiss School.  White takes over for long time head coach Jeff Kosak.   Kosak will go on sabatical next school year and then will return the following season as White's assistant coach.  Here's a look at who White has coming to Lakeville in the fall:

Two tenth graders, Matt LeClair and Kyle McNulty, will battle this year's back up Eric Smith for the goaltending duties.  LeClair hails from the Montreal area, and comes highly reccomended.  McNulty played this season at Bishop Hendricken in Rhode Island.  He is best known for his brilliant 55 save performance in a 2-1 overtime loss to 20 time defending state champ Mt. St. Charles in the Rhode Island state finals. This year's goaltender, Jason Lefevre, will be between the pipes for Colgate next season.

Defensively, the Bearcats have added 6-4/210 Ryan Wilson from Fredericton, New Brunswick.  Last summer, Wilson was impressive while playing for Fred Englehart's Maritime outfit at Hockey Night in Boston. He'll come in as an 11th grader. 10th grader Brandon Rogers transfers in from division two Berwick Academy in Maine.  Also, Jay Goebel will PG from New Canaan (CT) HS.  Senior blueliner David Sproule will join his brother Mark at Yale. 

Up front, ten new forwards will battle to make the team next winter.   Martin Brisebois and Brent Robinson arrive as 11th graders from the Lac St. Louis midget program in Quebec.  Robinson, in particular, comes in with a reputation as a goal scorer.  Another promising 11th grader is Adam Foote, who played for New Hartford (NY) HS.  Foote played for the New York championship team at HNIB last sumer. Mendham, New Jersey native Chris Swon spurned Choate to come to Lakeville, and Chris Brooks and Cushing Donelan will transfer in from the division two Brunswick School.  Brandon Levy will PG from the Vail Avalanche, and 9th graders Alexis Augsberger and Jeremy Smith come from the Springfield Pics bantam program.  Seniors Derek Nowak and Gabe Polsky will suit up for Harvard and Yale respectively.

One current Hotchkiss player to keep an eye on is rising junior Andrew Helming.  Helming showed a real jump to his game in the recent Yankee Conference select 17's.  He skates well and has grown considerably in the last year.  

                                Omaha Lancers Crowned USHL Champs

On Tuesday night (April 21), the Omaha Lancers completed a four-game sweep of the Des Moines Buccaneers with a 5-2 win at the Aksarben Coliseum in Omaha. The win gave Omaha  coach/GM Mike Hastings his first USHL championship.

The Lancers were pretty much unstoppable in the post-season, winning 12 of 14 games and sweeping not only the Bucs but Fargo-Moorhead as well.

In hte final game, Omaha forward Chad Theuer scored two goals and added an assist. Other goals were scored by Pete Summerfelt, Paul Caponigri, and Drew Kriner. Goaltender Dennis Bassett faced only 17 Des Moines shots, stopping 15 of them.

For Des Moines, Jeremy Vokes and Peter Fregoe each scored one goal, while goaltender Jon Walker stopped 24 of 29 Omaha shots.

Omaha's Theuer was the post-season scoring champion with a 6-13-19 line. Bassett was the top goalie in the playoffs, posting a 2.21 GAA and .922 save percentage. He appeared in all 14 of Omaha's playoff games.

The championship is Omaha's fifth of the decade. They also won Clark Cups in 1990, '91, '93, and '94.

Both Omaha and Des Moines will be representing the USHL in the National   Junior A Tournament in Billings, Montana May 1-6.

4/20/98                  Merrimack Field Down to Three

With the last round of interviews winding up this week, look for Merrimack president Richard Santagati and A.D. Bob DeGregorio to name the school's next hockey coach shortly.

Sources close to the scene indicate the field has been narrowed to three candidates. They are:

• UNH Assistant Coach Chris Serino. A Saugus, Mass. native, Serino has put in seven years as an assistant to Dick Umile. Before arriving in Durham, he coached Northfield-Mt. Hermon for three seasons (1988-'91).

• St. Lawrence Head Coach Joe Marsh. After coaching in the prep ranks at Exeter, New Hampton, and Choate, Marsh served as an assistant at St. Lawrence before taking over the head job at the start of the 1985-86 season. He's been there now for 14 years. In 1987-88, he led the Saints to the NCAA championship game, where they lost to Lake Superior State. Marsh, a native of Lynn, Mass., played at Lynn English and UNH ('77).

• Boston College Associate Head Coach Jim Logue. An All-America goaltender at  BC in 1959, and a native of North Andover, Logue is a former Merrimack assistant ('69-'78 and '83-'88). He's also coached at North Andover High and Salem State, where he was an assistant prior to coming to BC in the fall of 1993. Logue was the U.S. goalie in the 1968 Olympics.

A Family Affair

Steve Greeley, after four years as one of Milton Academy's top guns, will be heading down the road to Thayer for his senior year. In his four years at Milton, Greeley scored 55 goals and 79 assists for a total of 134 points. For much of that time he was paired with current seniors Josh Roberts and Jeff Martin.

Entering Thayer with Greeley will be two of his younger brothers:

Jack Greeley, who'll be entering Thayer as a 9th grader, is a forward who played on the '83 South Shore Kings team that won the 1997 International Pee Wee Tournament in Quebec City. (Jack will be reunited with two of his South Shore Kings teammates at Thayer -- defenseman Ryan Whitney and center Brian McConnell, who's also transferring from Milton Academy.)

Mike Greeley, who'll be entering Thayer as a 7th grader, is a defenseman, and, like both his older brothers, a product of the South Shore Kings organization.

By the way, there's yet another brother in the pipeline: Look for Tom Greeley, a forward, to be at Thayer before long. Right now, though, he's only ten years old.

The Greeley family lives in Scituate, on Massachusetts' South Shore. The boys' father cited the shorter commuting distance to the school and the desire to have the whole family together as prime factors in the move.

Chandler to Miami 

Former Avon Old Farms forward Matt Chandler, who has played for the USHL Waterloo Black Hawks the past two seasons, will be playing at Miami of Ohio in the fall. Chandler, 6'1", 205 lbs., is from Watertown, NY, and graduated from Avon in 1996. For Waterloo this season he had a 22-20-42 scoring line while playing in all 56 of his team's games.

Other USHL commitments this week: Forward Nick Parillo of the Des Moines Buccaneers will be heading to Merrimack. Forward Nate Anderson of the Twin Cities Vulcans will be heading to Minnesota-Duluth. His teammate on the Vulcans, forward Mike Possin, will be heading to the University of North Dakota.

A Native Son for UVM

Graham Mink, who was basically the whole team at tiny Stowe (Vt.) High School, took a PG year at Northfield-Mt. Hermon and right from the start was a big contributor for coach Jim Ward. This fall, the big right winger -- he's 6'3"-205 lbs. -- will be attempting to move up to Division I college play when he heads off to the University of Vermont.

Bouchard Signs With U.S. Under-18 Team

Kris Bouchard, a 6'1"-182 lb.left-shot forward with Team Illinois '82 will be playing for the U.S. Under-18 Team in Ann Arbor starting in the fall. Bouchard, who's from Naperville, Ill., is a big, physical hard-working winger. He was the MVP of the Toronto Marlboros  Bantam Tournament in December.

The U Lands Welch -- Taffe Next?

Hastings (Minn.) High School junior winger Dan Welch announced that he'll be heading to  the University of Minnesota in the fall of   '99. Now the attention swings to his linemate, center Jeff Taffe, who was far and away the best U.S. player at the International Select-16 Tournament played Dec. 29-Jan. 4 in Kitchener, Ontario. Welch was Taffe's winger in Kitchener. One of the U.S. defensemen was Ben Tharp, yet another Hastings player. Hastings, which suffered their only regular-season loss while those three were in Kitchener, reached the semis of the Minnesota State High School Tournament only to be knocked out by eventual champion Duluth East.

Minnesota High School Hockey Takes a Big Hit

With the Gophers going through a rough season and a steadily-diminishing number of Minnesotans playing key roles on NHL teams, there was a lot of   hand-wringing this past winter in the Land of Joel Otto. A task force was even formed to address the problem on the high school level. And the task force came up with some recommendations that were both good -- and modest.

The main recommendation was simply to increase the number of  games high schools would be allowed to play from the current 22 per season to 24. The task force also recommended increasing the length of games from 45 minutes to 60 minutes.

Incredibly, both proposals were shot down by the Representative Assembly of the Minnesota State High School League. The vote was 47-40 against. And 27 of the nay votes came from districts with hockey -- including Hibbing, Duluth, and Grand Rapids.

The chairman of the task force, Bob Milbert, said, "It's clear some members of the Representative Assembly either don't understand or simply don't care about the dilemma facing Minnesota high school hockey."

Unlike other parts of the country, Minnesota high school players are not allowed to take part in midget hockey. Now, with the status quo intact, those 22 regular season games will be all most kids get in the way of serious competion. Many observers point to this as the reason that many of the top 14 and 15 year old players in the state fizzle out by the time they reach their senior year in high school.

  4/16/98                          The Jensen Decision 

The wait is over.  Forward Christian Jensen, one of the year's most sought after prep school recruits, will play for Mike Maher at Taft next year.  Jensen (an '83 birthdate) played this season at New Canaan (CT) HS, and played superbly at the recent Yankee Conference Select 15's.  The Red Rhinos are getting a powerful skater with superb puck skills, who will pay immediate dividends.  Jensen chose Taft over Deerfield and Hotchkiss.

As we speak the USHR staff is attempting to pull together prep school commitment lists.  It's a difficult task, so if you know of any  recruits please send us an e-mail.    

Gone Too Soon

It is with great sadness that we report the sudden death of Army assistant hockey coach Paul Haggerty.  Haggerty suffered a stroke yesterday (4/14), while running the steps of Michie Stadium on the West Point campus.  He was 29 years old.

Haggerty graduated from West Point in 1991 and was captain of the hockey team in his senior season.  Haggerty returned to his alma mater last spring, after a stint at Trinity College in Hartford, when Brian Riley left to take over the program at Shattuck-St. Mary's. 

Paul was a fixture at rinks throughout New England this year, distinguishing himself as one of the hardest working recruiters in the region.  He will be missed. 

He is survived by his wife Tricia and sons Nicholas, 4, and Luke, 2.      

D'Arpino Bound for Lincoln

Avon Old Farms defenseman Anthony D'Arpino has signed a card with the Lincoln Stars.  D'Arpino, an '80 birthdate, contemplated returning to Avon for a post-graduate year, but instead opted for a new challenge in the USHL.  Avon's "Best Defenseman" award winner received mild interest from Brown and Colgate this year.  D'Arpino will need to improve his quickness to garner more interest next year, but he's taken a step in the right direction.

Green Bay Gets One

The Green Bay Gamblers signed their first player this week. He's Robin Fincko of Onalaska (Wisc.) High School. Fincko made the Gamblers last year, but chose to return to Wisconsin high school action where, because of  injury, he wound up only playing seven games all season.

Hennes Looking at the USHL

Deerfield sparkplug Ty Hennes will most likely wind up in the USHL next year, with the Lincoln Stars or Mike Hasting's Omaha Lancers.  The Deerfield captain finished as the team's leading scorer at season's end.   

Charpentier Leaves KUA

Kimball Union coach Dean Charpentier will leave the New Hampshire boarding school at the end of the school year.  Dean will follow his wife, Lori, the coach of Kimball Union girl's team, to Berkshire School, where she will be the new girl's hockey coach.  Dean will assist his wife with the girl's hockey program, and will also guide the Berkshire boy's lacrosse team in the spring. 

Anyone interested in the Kimball Union opening should contact the school's headmaster Tim Knox at (603) 469-3211.

McPeak Makes It Official

Northfield-Mt. Hermon defenseman Darren McPeak has given a verbal commitment to play for Roger Grillo at Brown University next season.  Contrary to popular belief the rugged blueliner only committed to Brown recently, not in December as has been listed by a few recruiting pages. 

Jillson Finally Decides -- it's Michigan

Five days after watching Michigan edge Boston College for the National Championship, 6'3", 205 lb. Mount St. Charles defenseman Jeff Jillson announced he'd decided on the Wolverines. Thus ends an overlong recruiting saga that goes back to last year, when Jillson was being courted by the U.S. Under-18 Team and the Plymouth Whalers of the OHL.

Basically, the family had difficulty making up it's mind -- both this year and last. From all reports we heard, Jeff's mother hewed to the education line while his father favored the major junior route. The same sources reported that Jillson -- who was laid low by mono twice last year -- seemed  totally torn. At any rate, when the Whalers used their second draft pick on the young defenseman, it looked like they'd prevailed over the Under-18 Team. .

Then Jillson and his family made a third, and unexpected, choice -- to return for his senior year at Mt. St. Charles. Hockey-wise, it was a poor one. On ice, Jillson seemed lethargic -- a combination of the lingering effects of the mono and a lot of ice time. His physical game, quite evident his junior year, was gone. His stock dropped among NHL scouts.

That's all a moot point now. By going to college, Jillson opts out of this summer's NHL draft.  By the 1999 draft, scouts will have had a year to watch him in the CCHA, a good testing ground for big, physical defensemen like Jillson.

The other schools Jillson seriously considered were Harvard, Maine, and Notre Dame.

Michigan won its championship this year using a four-man rotation at defense. Only one, Chris Fox, was a senior. 

4/11/98                          Collins Drawing Raves

Twice in last week's Bantam Nationals in Chicago, the Middlesex Braves took tournament champs Compuware into overtime. After the final game, Dave Liimatta, Compuware's coach, said, "Sean Collins was the most outstanding player on either team. We were two-manning him and he still got a hat trick -- and he could have had two more. He's really something. OHL type material. You can't knock him off his feet."

Collins was a freshman this past winter at Reading (Mass.) High School, where he scored 50 points in 20 regular-season games. He turned 15 in early February, so he's likely to continue growing for awhile. He's about 5'6" now. .

DiCasmirro USHL Player of the Year

Nate DiCasmirro of the North Iowa Huskies cleaned up, winning Player of the Year, Top Forward of the Year, and a slot on the All-USHL First Team. DiCasmirro, who's from Burnsville, Minn. and will be going to St. Cloud State in the fall, had 29-45-74 scoring totals in 52 games.

For a list of  all the award winners in the USHL, as well as the All-Star teams, click here.

More Comings and Goings

Catholic Memorial defenseman Mike Matta will be PG'ing next year with hopes of pulling up his grades. He's looked at Avon and Salisbury.

U.S. Under-18 Team forward Brent Sullivan will be entering the OHL draft. Sullivan, who's 6'1", 199 lbs., and has a 3/22/81 birthdate, has 9-11-20 scoring totals and 131 PIM in 57 games. In early January, OHL Central Scouting projected him to go in the third round. Sullivan, who's from Algonac, Michigan, played for the Little Caesar's Bantams before going on to the National Program.

Henry Lazar's Apple Core program, which played a limited interlocking schedule with the Eastern Junior Hockey League this past season, will be joining the league as a full-fledged member this coming fall.

6'3", 200 lb. Omaha Lancers defenseman Jake Ortmeyer has committed to Miami of Ohio. In 55 regular-season games for Omaha, Ortmeyer had 5-25-30 scoring numbers and 117 PIM. Before going to the Lancers, Ortmeyer played for the Danville Wings (NAHL). As for the Lancers, they knocked North Iowa out of the USHL playoffs last night (April 10), four games to two.

Goaltender Kevin O'Malley of the Fargo-Moorhead Ice Sharks has committed to the University of Michigan. O'Malley, who's from Grosse Point, Michigan, posted a  9-11-3 record, a 2.72 GAA, and a .924 save percentage in 26 games this season. He also scored a goal on Nov. 29, in a 6-3 win over Green Bay. O'Malley is the second USHL goalie Michigan has signed this winter. The other is Josh Blackburn of Lincoln.

Joe Mancuso, the big 6'3" defenseman who played for Westwood (Mass.) HS and the NECDL Classics before going on to the Nipawin Hawks (SJHL) for the last two seasons, is coming back to Massachusetts. He's committed to Northeastern University.

4/10/98

USHL Tenders

The following players have signed tenders with USHL teams:

Dubuque Fighting Saints

Justin Martin, Hutchinson (MN) HS

Dave Tunon, Pittsburgh Hornets

Fargo-Moorhead Ice Sharks

John Grubb, Minot (ND) HS

Lincoln Stars

Grant Folulny, Grand Forks (ND) Red River HS

Christopher Lieckfield, Ann Arbor Ice Dogs

Joseph Markusen, Grafton (ND) HS

North Iowa Huskies

Kurt Sauer, St. Cloud (MN) Apollo HS

Joshua Schltoc, Forest Lake (MN) HS

Omaha Lancers

Derek Eastman, St. Paul (MN) Johnson HS

Tim Horst, South St. Paul (MN) HS

Joe Motzko, Bemidji (MN) HS

Rochester Mustangs

Joe Kruspctich, Eden Prairie HS

Tony Sylvester, South St. Paul (MN) HS

Sioux City Muskateers

Michael Betz, Mt. Lebanon (PA) Hornets

Chris Olspard, Seattle Sno Kings

Jimmy Scatchell, Chicago Young Americans

Twin Cities Vulcans

Kristopher Birch, Benilde-St. Margaret's (MN)

Jamison Steinert, Osseo (MN) HS

Hussey Headed West

After weighing offers from Providence and RPI, Avon Old Farms' winger Matt Hussey has committed to Wisconsin.  Hussey hails from Plymouth, Minnesota.

Milton's Future Now its Past

Eighth grade center Brian McConnell will be transferring from Milton Academy to Thayer, where he'll be reunited with his former South Shore Kings teammate,defenseman Ryan Whitney. McConnell and Whitney, by the way, were two of the three '83 birthdates invited to last month's '82 tryouts in Ann Arbor. The third '83 there was defenseman Marcus Smith, the younger brother of Julian Smith, the former Cushing center now with the Plymouth Whalers (OHL). McConnell and Whitney opened a lot of eyes in Ann Arbor, and have to be at or near the top of anyone's rankings of '83 prospects. Whitney, though a little stiff at first, loosened up and began making his trademark tape-to-tape passes by the second day's games. His feet are a bit on the heavy side --  something  for him to work on over the summer.

Eagles' Future Looking Good

 

It's already been reported that Cushing buzzbomb Jeremy Wilson, a 5'8" left wing, will be heading to Boston College in the fall of '99. Look for U.S. Under-18 defenseman Billy Cass to join him there. We rank Cass as the top American-born defenseman in next year's senior class.

 

Wilson, by the way, was expected to travel to Chicago for the Midget Nationals with his teammates on the Central Mass Outlaws, but failed to procure in advance the proper clearance from his teachers at Cushing, and had to stay at school. The Outlaws wound up winning the National midget championship, beating host Team Illinois in three overtimes.   

Six Months Makes a Difference

This typist watched the Northeast Wisconsin Roadrunners get rolled over at the Marquette Electricians Midget Tournament last fall. It was quite a surprise, then, to see them representing the Central District at the Midget Nationals in Chicago last weekend. It was a totally different team, and part of the reason was the play of 14-year-old defenseman Jason Karnosky. The tournament's youngest player by far (the next youngest was his 15-year-old teammate, Jacob Basten), Karnosky is quick, agile, poised, and extremely hard-nosed. He's small -- about 5'8" -- but plays big. Here are his replies to several of the questions put to him in the team's player profile book. Make of them what you will, but we like his attitude.

What was your favorite toy as a child?

None.

 

If you could be a character in a movie or television series, who would you be?

No one in particular.

 

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would that be?

Nothing. I like myself.

One More for the Black Bears

Gray Shaneberger, the Philadelphia Junior Flyer 's 6-4, 190 lb. forward/defenseman, has accepted a scholarship offer from the University of Maine. This one surprises us. We'd figured Shaneberger, who's only 17 and has a long way to go before his game is ready for DI play, to be in the USHL next year. A couple of years ago, Shaneberger almost went to Lawrence Academy, but family problems kept him home.

Comings and Goings

It's looking more and more like Cushing sophomore defenseman Jason Platt will be leaving prep school for the BCHL's Surrey Eagles. Platt, an '81, is 6-0, 205 lbs. and a native of Portola Valley, California.

 

Forward Tim Plant, currently a sophomore at of Spaulding High School in Montpelier, Vermont, has been accepted at Taft for next year.

 

Forward Christian Jensen of New Cannan (Conn.) High School, who was spectacular at the Yankee Conference Select 15's will be heading to prep school in the fall, at either Deerfield or Taft.

 

Defenseman Brandon Rogers of Rochester, N.H. will be transferring from Berwick Academy to Hotchkiss.

 

A couple of big power forwards will be joing the prep ranks in the fall: Bishop Guertin's Ed Caron will be heading to Exeter while Matt Caffrey of the Rhode Island Sharks will be heading to Avon Old Farms. 

 

In the fall, Apple Core defenseman David Sell and Ken Scuderi (brother of BC's Rob Scuderi) will be playing in the USHL with the Dubuque Fighting Saints.

Hill-Murray Star Signs On

Hill-Murray star Cole Bassett, a native of Oakdale, Minnesota, has committed to the U.S. Under-18 Team for next season. Bassett, a 5-11, 161 lb left-shot forward is an '82 and currently a sophomore at Hill-Murray. Extremely fast, with reat acceleration, Bassett was one of the top scorers in the state of Minnesota last season

4/06/98

Central Mass. Outlaws Knock Off Team Illinois in 3 OTs, Take National Midget Championship

CHICAGO, IL -- If they'd played nine more minutes of overtime they would have reached the 90 minute mark -- the equivalent of two prep games. In addition, both teams had played a game in the morning -- and four more over the previous four days. To say they were tired is stating the obvious.

But with Sunday night giving way to Monday morning and 56 seconds remaining in the third overtime, Northfield-Mt. Hermon's Paul Kelly found himself alone in the slot, gathered in a pass from linemate Brian Teixeira of Cushing Academy and fired it past Team Illinois netminder  J.R. Herwehe. The partisan Illinois crowd could only watch, stunned, as the Outlaws and a small group of parents celebrated with whatever remaining energy they had.

Earlier, Team Illinois had broken out to a 2-0 lead on first-period goals by Shane Martin and Brett Suzuki. Then Chris Vail, assisted by Billy Kelly and Paul Kelly, cut the margin to 2-1 late in the first period. In the second period, Cushing's Ben Murphy, with assists going to Mike Woodford and Greg Lauze, evened the score at 2-2.

And there it held, as both goalies -- Herwehe and Cushing's Ryan MacNeil -- came up big time and again. MacNeil was called upon to make several sparkling saves in the third OT.

For the game, the Outlaws outshot Team Illinois, 63-40.

By the time the Outlaws returned to their hotel after the game, it was nearly 2:30 a.m. which allowed them two to three hours of sleep before departing for the airport at 6:15 a.m. for the flight back to Boston.

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Earlier in the day, in the Bantam National Championship game, the Middlesex Braves, the Massachusetts entry, took the Compuware Ambassadors to overtime before falling, 5-4. The Braves' only other loss in the tournament had been three days earlier --  an identical 5-4 loss to Compuware, also in overtime.

In the Pee-Wee National Championship Game, the Cleveland Barons defeated the Madison Capitols, 5-2.