| Saturday, July 11, 1998 June News Note to Green Book Subscribers: Thanks to all of you who have signed up to receive the USHR Green Book. We're putting the finishing touches on this summer's edition now, and it will be mailed out Tuesday, June 30. For those still interested in purchasing a copy call 978-635-1705 or send an e-mail to greenbook@ushr.com. The cost of the comprehensive scouting report is $69.99 for USHR online subscribers and $100 for non-subscribers and college, junior, and prep school programs. Anyone wishing to pay by check or money order should send it to the address below:
If you would like more detailed information about the Green Book scouting report, click here. Moving Up in the World The U.S. Hockey Report is proud to announce a partnership with an Ontario based scout, who will provide the USHR with relevant scouting reports from major tournaments in the province of Ontario. He's currently scouting the Ontario Under-17 camp in Waterloo, and will provide a report on the week's action on Friday. The tournament includes all the top picks in this year's OHL draft. USHR is close finalizing similar partnerships with scouts in Minnesota and Michigan as we continue to truly nationalize the scope of the web site. Thanks for your continued support and please feel free to share your comments on anything to do with the site by e-mailing us at info@ushr.com. Hill Bound for Barrie Green Bay Gamblers defenseman Ed Hill has committed to play for the Barrie Colts of the OHL next season. Barrie drafted the Newburyport, Massachusetts native in the fourth round of this month's OHL draft. You may remember that the 6'3" rearguard spurned the Erie Otters last summer, after that organization picked Hill in the second round of last year's draft. After indicating his intentions to play major junior, he bolted the Erie tryout camp in August. So Hill decided to return to Green Bay for a second season with the idea of accelerating his course work so he could enter a DI school in the fall of 1998. Two schools, UMass-Amherst and Wisconsin, felt strongly enough to offer him a full scholarship, while several other big name schools waited to see how his academic situation panned out. As it turns out Hill just had too much course work in make up, and in the middle of the year decided he'd return to Green Bay for what would be his senior year. Instead, he'll be joining Bert Templeton's Barrie Colts. In other related OHL news, Mike Van Ryn will return to Michigan for his sophomore season rather than join the Sarnia Sting as had been speculated. A New Coach for Shattuck-St. Mary's After two seasons at Shattuck-St. Mary's School, Brian Riley has decided to return to West Point. Riley was an assistant there for seven years before accepting the position at the Faribault, Minnesota boarding school two years ago. Riley will be replaced by Andy Murray, who has coached the Canadian National Team since 1996. Baby Grand Last year, 6'5", 210 lb. right wing Stephen Baby of the Green Bay Gamblers reminded us of Lurch from the Addams Family. "He falls over a lot," we wrote, "often taking a few others -- both teammates and opponents -- down with him." But we noted his soft hands, and when he moved up from Team Illinois to the Green Bay Gamblers he came through with a 17-17-34 line in 56 regular season games, and in the playoffs was the Gamblers' leading scorer. Now, as the July 1 early signing period nears, Baby is getting serious attention from both Cornell and Lake Superior State. Meanwhile, look for Gambler right-shot D Jeff Finger, a grad of Houghton High, to stay on the U.P. and play for Michigan Tech starting in the fall of 1999. Finger, 6'0", 185 lbs., led all Gamblers witth 208 penalty minutes last winter. Last season, the Gamblers' first under Mark Osiecki, was a rebuilding year, and the Gamblers were bounced from the playoffs in the first round. Now, they're reloading. Incoming players for '98-99 include 6'3" winger Mike Woodward of Madison Memorial HS, 5'11" center Joe Mastronardi, recently graduated from Choate, 6'2" winger Brett Engelhardt, formerly of the U.S. National Program, and Maris Ziedins of the Latvian National Junior Team. All looked strong at the Green Bay Gamblers recent tryout camp. Other new Gamblers for next year include the Twin Cities trio of Christian Olsen of Edina High School, forward Dan Boeser of Burnsville, and defenseman Erik Ste. Marie of Bloomington Jefferson HS. Tendered players who signed with the Gamblers include D Danny Calzada and F Joe Kautz, both from Team Illinois, and Wisconsin High School players Robin Fincko (Onalaska HS) and Del Schwab (Madison Memorial). Draft Recap The following is a list of American and NCAA players (all nationalities) drafted in the 1998 NHL Draft:
Sullivan Makes It Official U.S. Under-18 forward Brent Sullivan has signed with Owen Sound Platers of the OHL. The Platers drafted the former Little Caesar's product in the third round (57th overall) of this year's OHL Draft. Sullivan, an '81 birthdate, had one more year left in Ann Arbor. We expect to know the decision of another '81 forward prospect, Hotchkiss School star Brett Nowak, by this time next week. Nowak must decide whether he wants to forgo his senior year at the Connecticut boarding school to play for the U.S. Under-18 team in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Finnegan Leaving Duluth East Pat Finnegan of Duluth East High School will be foregoing his senior year at Duluth East High School to go major junior with the Windsor Spitfires (OHL). Tony Curtale, coach/GM at Windsor, was looking for an offensive defenseman, which describes Finnegan to a T. This past season, Finnegan, who's played for East since the 8th grade, had -- in 26 games -- 21 goals, and 33 assists for 54 points. Finnegan, 5'11", 190 lbs., is a smooth-skating defenseman who can -- and likes to -- carry the puck in all three zones. He would have been the top recruit on D among returning seniors in Minnesota, and North Dakota would likely have been his top college choice. Finnegan follows in the footsteps of the Dallas Stars' Jamie Langenbrunner, who left Cloquet High School after his junior year ('93) and played for two years with the Peterborough Petes.
Joe King Due Back in Court July 2 Former Canterbury boy's hockey coach and athletic director Joe King is due back in Connecticut Superior Court in Bantam, Conn. on July 2. King, now living in Rye, N.H., was arrested last month and charged with three counts of second-degree sexual assault and two counts of delivery of alcohol to a minor. The charges come from allegations made by a former Canterbury player that he was sexually molested by King once or twice a week between November 1995 and June 1996. A 45-page arrest warrant detailing the case against King was recently unsealed.
6/22/98 Mass. 15's won't have Collins When the Massachusetts Select 15's head out to Ann Arbor, Michigan on August 1st they'll be without Sean Collins, Reading High's star freshman forward. Collins, who bowed out of the April tryouts after one day, was reported by his father, Jim, to be mentally and physically exhausted, and adamant about taking time off. Collins is currently working out four nights a week at Mike Boyle's gym, and skating a couple of hours every Sunday with BU bound-defenseman Chris Dyment and other Reading High teammates. Dyment, you may recall from recent years, was also invited out to USA Hockey's Select Festivals, and also declined. Even without Collins, the Mass 15's will be strong, blending both size and skill. Look for them to do some damage in Ann Arbor. Here's the team: Goal: Tim Warner (Waltham), and Hardy Allen (Hingham). Defense: Ryan Whitney (Scituate), Jesse Lane (Needham), Donald Grover (Rockland), Seamus Young (Dedham), Brian Yandle (Milton), Rob Flynn (Canton), and Edward McHale (Milton). Forwards: Brian McConnell (Norfolk), Jack Greeley (Scituate), Andrew Jewett (Belmont), Derek Boudreau (Weymouth), Mike Morris (Dorchester), Dan Murphy (N. Andover), Michael Derderien (Randolph), Brendan Byrne (Cohasset), Mark Thomas (S. Boston), Mark Pandolfo (N. Andover), and Brendan Timmins (Arlington). The head coach is Jamie Rice. He will be assisted by John Heinz and Brian Daccord.
6/20/98 Roster for Lake Placid Now Official Ten members of the U.S. National Junior Team which placed fifth at last winter's World Junior Championship are among the 55 candidates invited to Lake Placid August 7-15 to compete for slots on the 1999 team. Forwards Jonathan Cheechoo of the Belleville Bulls (OHL), and Eric Chouinard of the Quebec Remparts (QMJHL), dual citizens eligible to play for the U.S. or Canada, will not be among them -- they've opted to go to the Canadian camp in Winnipeg. For the full roster and schedule, click here.
6/19/98 Musical Chairs With Brian McCloskey headed back to UNH, Jamie Rice will be taking over as the #1 assistant to Dartmouth head coach Bob Gaudet. Brendan Whittet, who played for Gaudet and Rice at Brown, and was an assistant there last year, will be packing his bags for Hanover and stepping in as the #2 assistant for the Big Green. And who'll fill Whittet's position at Brown? The two leading candidates appear to be UConn assistant Chris Potter and Hamilton assistant Greg Klym.
Housatonic League Goes to Halves The Housatonic League (formerly the founders League) will be switching from three 15-minute periods to two 25-minute halves starting this coming season. This format adds five minutes of playing time to the game while allowing the game to be played in the same amount of real time. Housatonic League members are Avon Old Farms, Choate, Deerfield, Hotchkiss, Kent, Loomis-Chaffee, Salisbury, Taft, Westminster and Trinity-Pawling.
US to USHL The USHL has signed a two-year deal with the U.S. National Team Development Program that will enable the Ann Arbor-based program to operate as a full league member for the 1998-99 and 1999-2000 seasons. The national team will play the full 56-game schedule and be eligible to take part in the playoffs. During the season, each USHL team will make one road trip to Ann Arbor. In other USHL news, the league has switched from a North/South divisional alignment to an East/Central/West setup for next season. Dubuque, Green Bay, Waterloo, and the National Program make up the East. Des Moines, North Iowa, Rochester, Thunder Bay, and the Twin Cities make up the Central. Fargo, Lincoln, Omaha, and Sioux City make up the West. Teams will play an unbalanced schedule.
Underclassman Leaves Canterbury New Jersey defenseman Kenny Walsh, who would have been a senior at Canterbury this year, will instead be playing for the Danville Wings of the NAHL. Danville, under new head coach Dave Peters, formerly an assistant at Providence College, has a number of east coasters on the roster. Recent signings include Pat Dolezal who, like Walsh, is a Canterbury defenseman from the Garden State. Also heading to Danville are a pair of ex-Catholic Memorial forwards, Danny Cotter and Ryan Tormey. Ex-Reading High and Avon Old Farms center Pat Libitz; and Winchester High goalie Martin Kresac (see below).
6/17/98 Kelley Returns to the Prep Ranks Longtime coach Ted Kelley, who led Tabor to prep championships in 1988 and '91, will be returning to the prep ranks in the fall when he takes over at the Pomfret School in Pomfret, Connecticut. Pomfret, a Division II program, has been coached in recent years by Bill Army, who will be taking a sabbatical next year, then returning as Kelley's assistant in '99-00. Kelley's hiring is a major step in upgrading Pomfret's program which, according to headmaster Brad Hastings, will remain Division II -- at least for a short while. "We have to earn our way into Division I," Hastings said. The school also recently began raising funds to build a new rink on campus. Hastings stressed that Pomfret will not be loading up on post-graduates in an effort to gain instant success. "PG's will not be how we build our program," said Hastings, "though we will admit a couple." Right now there are only a handful of PG's among the 170 boys at Pomfret. Since leaving Tabor at the end of the '90-91 season, Kelley has been living in the Dallas area, coaching the Dallas Junior Stars and teaching at the Green Hill School. Before that he coached the Boston Junior Bruins. Other stints included eight years at Winchester (Mass.) High School and eleven years at Cranbrook-Kingswood in Michigan.
6/14/98 Baker Lifts Whalers in OT In the championship game of the NECDL (New England College Development League) Showcase this afternoon, the Cape Cod Whalers edged Custom Crafted, 8-7. The winning goal, which came just 32 seconds into overtime, was scored by BU-bound Jack Baker on a one-timer of a backhand pass off the stick of Princeton-bound Brad Parsons, a Thayer Academy teammate of Baker's for the past several years. Brian Collins of St. John's-Shrewsbury also assisted on the play.
Huskies Get Another Goalie Northeastern University, moving quickly in the wake of star goalie Marc Robitaille turning pro, got some much-needed insurance this past week when Thunder Bay, Ont. native Scott Sutton committed to playing for the Huskies in the fall. Sutton, who'll turn 21 in August, has spent the past two seasons with the Thunder Bay Flyers (USHL). He finished the past season with a 3.73 GAA in 42 games played. Sutton is the second USHL goaltender to commit to Northeastern, joining Jason Braun, who spent the past season with the Green Bay Gamblers.
Bavis the One? Mike Bavis is reported to be the leading candidate for the Boston University assistant's job that opened up when Pertti Hasanen took a head job in his native Finland. Bavis, whose twin brother Mark is an assistant at Harvard, skated for the Terriers from '89-93. Recently, he's been working as a sports agent in the Boston office of Mark Witkin.
Kresac's Future Set Winchester High School goaltender Martin Kresac will be playing for the UMass-Lowell Riverhawks in the fall of 1999. Kresac came to the U.S. from his native Czechoslovakia and played Pennsylvania high school hockey at Radnor High for a year before coming up to Massachusetts, where he lived with a host family while attending Winchester High and playing for coach John Messuri. Kresac will get ready for Hockey East play by taking a year with the Danville Wings (NAHL). His coach there will be former Providence College assistant Dave Peters.
6/12/98 Looking Ahead to Lake Placid With less than two months to go before the start of the U.S. National Junior Team Camp in Lake Placid, it's time to take a look at who might be there. First off, ten skaters from this past year's squad will be eligible again next year. Six are forwards: Kevin Colley, Oshawa (OHL); Brian Gionta, Boston College, Scott Gomez, Tri-Cities (WHL); Ty Jones, Spokane (WHL); Dustin Kuk, Wisconsin; and David Legwand, Plymouth (OHL). Competition should come from, among others, the following '79 birthdates: Tyler Arnason -- dual citizen, Fargo-Moorhead (USHL); Dan Carlson, Notre Dame; Carl Corazzini, Boston University; Alex Kim, Miami University; Geoff Koch, University of Michigan; Justin Morrison, Colorado College; Matt Murley, Syracuse Junior Crunch (MTJHL); Ryan Murphy, Bowling Green; Mike Pandolfo, St. Sebastian's School; Mike Vigilante, Lake Superior State; and Erik Westrum, University of Minnesota. 80's who could get a look include Kyle Clark, Matt Doman, Troy Ferguson, Joe Goodenow, Adam Hall, Barrett Heisten, Brett Henning, Willie Levesque, Doug Meyer, and Chris Purslow -- all from the US Under-18 team, and Michael Rupp, Erie (OHL). There's even a couple of 81's likely to get a look -- Andy Hilbert of the US Under-18 Team, and Tim Connolly of the Erie Otters (OHL).
Four defensemen will be eligible again: Jay Leach, Providence College, Paul Mara, Plymouth (OHL), Chris St. Croix, Kamloops (WHL), and Nikos Tselios, Plymouth (WHL). Competition should come from, among others, the following '79 birthdates: Aaron Dwyer, St. Cloud St.; Chris Dyment, Reading (Mass.) High School; Lucas Nehrling, Sarnia (OHL). '80 birthdates likely to get a look include Pat Aufiero, US Under-18; Bill Cass, US Under-18; Kevin Holdridge, Plymouth Whalers (OHL); Andrew Hutchinson, US Under-18; Doug Janik, US Under-18; Jeff Jillson, Mt. St. Charles; Jordan Leopold, US Under-18; Will Magnuson, US Under-18; Kevin Mitchell, Guelph Storm (OHL); Brooks Orpik, Thayer Academy; Mike Stuart, Rochester Mustangs (USHL); David Tanabe, US Under-18; and Ryan Van Buskirk, Sarnia Sting (OHL). As for '81-born defenseman, it's highly unlikely anyone will be brought to camp. The leading candidates to get a look between the pipes are Joe Blackburn, Michigan St.; Chris Madden, Guelph Storm; Shawn Timm, Bowling Green -- all '79's -- and Adam Hauser, US Under-18; Ryan Miller, Soo Indians (NAHL), Phillipe Sauve --- dual citizen, Rimouski (QMJHL) -- all '80's. The U.S. National Junior Camp will be held in Lake Placid and will feature games against Finland, Switzerland, and Sweden. For the schedule, click here. The 1999 World Junior Championship will be held in Winnipeg Dec. 26-Jan. 5.
6/11/98 NECDL Showcase Gets Underway Tonight Tonight at 8 p.m., Neil Hall's Custom Crafted team will play the Bridgewater Bandits at Walpole's Iorio Arena. Custom Crafted's roster includes Niko Dimatrakos, Jeff Jillson, Danny Cotter, John Petricig, Billy Cass, Chris Lynch, Jeremy Vokes, Brendan Hodge, Pat Leahy, Darren McPeak, Todd Marr, and Wayne Russell. In tonight's other game, the Boston Harbor Wolves will play the Select 82's at 8:10 pm. All sixteen teams will be in action tomorrow and Saturday, with games at both Iorio Arena and the Pilgrim Arena in Hingham. Last year's champion, Team New England (formerly NECDL #1), plays their first game at 7:20 pm tomorrow at Hingham. Coached by Chris Byrne, the team includes Mike Byrne, Graham Morrell, Larry Pierce, Niels Heilmann, Trevor Byrne, Jeremy Wilson, Steve Greeley, Jimmy Callahan, Patrick Foley, Halsey Coughlin, Mike Aroesty, and Ryan MacNeil. Another top team will be Donnie Parsons' Cape Cod Whalers, which includes Mike Mottau, Brooks Orpik, Ryan Cox, Jackie Baker, Brad Parsons, Brian Collins, Luke Smith, and Ryan Whitney. The semi-finals (8:50 am, 9:10 am) and finals (2:40 pm) are on Sunday at Hingham.
6/10/98 Mitchell Returns In January, we wrote in these pages about Greg Mitchell, the Western Michigan recruit who quit hockey, gave up a 4-for-4 scholarship, and enrolled at a Texas college. Well, he's had a change of heart. Speaking from Florida, where he's spending the summer working on the loading dock of his father's Budweiser beer distributorship, Mitchell said that he was away from hockey for a month when he began to miss it. "I called Coach Wilkinson and asked if there was still a spot for me. He said there was. I don't have a scholarship, though -- at least for the first year." Mitchell, who's 6'5", 210 lbs., will be heading up to Brainerd, Minnesota in mid-July to get in shape. While there, he plans top drop down to St. Cloud and watch his (equally large) younger brother, Kevin, at the U.S. Select 17 Festival. Kevin, a forward at Wellesley High School in Massachusetts this past winter, will be playing for the Atlantic/S.E. squad. coached by John Michelleto. For the full story, click here.
6/07/98 Cornell Trumps the O A lot of speculation going into yesterday's OHL draft centered on 17-year-old center Krzysztof Wieckowski, a coveted recruit recently landed by Cornell University. Wieckowski, who played Junior A for the Ottawa Senators last season, was rated fourth overall in the final rankings of OHL central scouting, and was the object of much wooing by OHL clubs in the hours leading up to the draft. However, the 6'3", 185 lb. prospect scared off his suitors. He was drafted anyway, by Kingston, but way down in the 7th round (148th overall), where clubs don't mind wasting picks on long shots unlikely to pay off. With the fourth pick in the OHL draft, the St. Michael's Majors selected Mark Popovic, a 6'2", 175 lb. left-shot defenseman from the Mississauga Chargers. Popovic, the son of a dentist, is a dual citizen who has kept his grades at the Ivy level. He also has a sister going to college in Ohio. So it was felt that there was a good chance the 15-year-old would accept an offer to join the U.S. Under-18 team in Ann Arbor, and then go on to play NCAA hockey. He still could, of course, but reportedly the Popovics are happy with the educational opportunities offered by St. Mike's. However, St. Mike's was spurned by Jason Crain, the big Ohio State-bound defenseman from Pennsylvania they took in the second round last year. So while it's never a totally sure thing, we think it's pretty unlikely St. Mike's will be making the same mistake twice. And anyway, Popovic's a better prospect than Crain. Like Popovic, Kris Vernarsky of the U.S. Under-18 team is an '82 birthdate. He would have gone higher than 15th overall but that's where the Plymouth Whalers were picking -- and the Vernarskys had made it clear that there was no other OHL team their son would play for. After the season, and all the attention that came the way of fellow Michigander David Legwand, turning down Plymouth would have been difficult for the 16-year-old. Peterborough used a relatively high pick (70th overall) to select New Jersey Junior Devils defenseman Arthur Femenella in the fourth round. The 6'5" Femenella, who turned 16 on Saturday and is being advised by Bobby Orr, committed to the U.S. National Team Development Program in February. The QMJHL also had its draft yesterday. Bai-Comeau took center Yanick Lehoux of Cap Madeleine with the fist pick. Simon Lagace-Daigle of Lac-St.Louis went to Drummondville with the second pick. Center Thatcher Bell, a Newfoundlander playing for Upper Canada College, went to the Rimouski Oceanic with the third pick. A player reported to have NCAA aspirations who was selected was 17-year-old Quinte Hawks defenseman Andrew Carver, picked by the Hull Olympiques in the first round (#11 overall). Carver, 6'2" and 200 lbs., is a 5/10/81 birthdate. Equally surprising was the Halifax Mooseheads' selection of 15-year-old center Brandon Benedict of King's Edgehill School. Benedict, a 10th grader at the Windsor, Nova Scotia private school, was also said to be leaning heavily toward the U.S. college route. Benedict, 5'9" and 165 lbs., was picked in the second round (#17 overall). In the third round (#40 overall), Halifax picked 5'10", 150 lb. defenseman Mathieu Paul off the Atlantic Cup-winning team from College Charles Lemoyne. Paul is expected to play prep hockey as a repeat junior for Tim Pratt at Tabor Academy next winter.
Lac St. Louis Trio Go in Q Draft Three players from the Lac St. Louis midget program ticketed for New England prep schools were selected in Saturday's QMJHL draft. The Halifax Mooseheads selected 6'0", 155 lb. forward Brent Robinson 95th overall, the first pick in the seventh round. Martin Brisebois, 5'11", 170 lbs., was picked 179th overall by the Baie-Comeau Drakkar. Both Robinson and Brisebois have committed to play for coach Damon White at the Hotchkiss School next winter. 6'1", 198 lb.defenseman Oriel McHugh, a Deerfield recruit, went 180th overall to the Drummondville Voltagieurs.
Guelph Snags Wax The OHL Champion Guelph Storm selected New York Apple Core right wing Evan Wax 313th overall in the OHL draft. Wax, who attends Portledge School on Long Island, is an Ivy level student and has already taken unofficial visits to Harvard and Yale. So he's unlikely to choose the major junior route, but he'll attend the team's July tryout camp nonetheless. While there, Wax, who's 5'11" and 170 lbs., will be reunited with former Apple Core defenseman Kevin Mitchell, who quarterbacked the Storm power play this season en route to the Memorial Cup. Proceed for the remaining OHL Draft Selections. OHL Draft List Here's the OHL draft list including the first round and all players with American connections selected:
A Sun-Dried Samsonov? We haven't seen him yet, but a reliable source has described Noah Babin as "highly skilled, fast, and quick, with excellent lateral movement...he's a Samsonov type of skater, low to the ground, really good balance." He's also from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida -- and only just turned 14. "He's a baby in the hockey sense, and not exactly sure about the finer points of the game," our source continued. "However, he's intelligent -- he passes into open space very well -- and highly developed for a kid who came out of nowhere." His family is also confused -- in the good sense -- about what to do next, but right now it looks like young Noah will be playing next year in the Toronto Marlies or Compuware organizations, or at Avon Old Farms, a Connecticut prep school.. "We visited Avon Old Farms and walked out of there just stunned. It's a beautiful place," said Don Babin, the boy's father, "but they only play a twenty-game schedule. Noah's hungry to play, and he's always played up." The youngster started playing roller hockey in Florida at age eight, and was so good that his parents had to form a team so he'd have someone to play with. Several years later, in the fall of '95, Noah, then 11, switched to ice skates when a Florida developer completed Planet Ice, an indoor arena a few miles from the Babin home in Palm Beach Gardens. Last year, Babin played for the Team Florida Midgets, sharing the scoring lead with his 17-year-old linemate. Noah, who's a right shot center, is 5'10", 170 lbs. and was born on March 11, 1984. His father is 6'0", 200. Babin will be playing in the Peterborough, Ontario Lift-Lock Tournament July 17-19.
6/04/98 The Connolly Flap Erie Otters center Tim Connolly, a native of Baldwinsville, N.Y., has been replaced on the New York State Select 17 team -- and it's all the result of a totally avoidable conflict. Here's the story in a nutshell. Every July, Otters' GM Sherry Bassin holds a team weekend in Erie. This year, it falls on the third weekend of the month, the same weekend the 17's get underway in St. Cloud. Among the events hosted by Bassin is a dinner in which newly-drafted players meet their future teammates, the local media, and fans. Quite simply, Connolly, the team's star, has to be there -- cutting is not even an option. With that in mind, the center's father studied game and flight schedules. He figured he could promptly get his son to St. Cloud as soon as the main Erie events were completed. At most, Connolly, a 6'0", 175 lb. 30-goal scorer in the OHL, would miss one practice and one game. However, USA Hockey's New York District chief, Bill Hall, of Port Jefferson, nixed the proposal and then dumped gasoline on everything by accusing the center of quitting the team. Besides seriously impairing the possibility of further dialogue, the charge left the Connollys, who felt they'd made a good-faith effort, angry and alienated. So Connolly goes down as a healthy scratch. It's too bad, too -- the New York 17's are weakened, opponents won't get a chance to test themselves against the player now projected to be the top-ranked North American in the 1999 NHL Draft, and fans won't get a chance to watch him. Connolly's spot on the roster will be filled by forward Matt Stack of the Millbrook School.
6/2/98 Robitaille Gone? With several NHL teams talking to him and the money in the $700,000 range, it's unlikely that free agent goaltender Marc Robitaille, will be returning to Northeastern University for his junior season. Robitaille, who played all but 38 minutes this past season, finished with a 21-15-3 record, a 3.19 gaa, and a .904 save percentage. As of now, Northeastern has one incoming freshman goalie -- Jason Braun of the Green Bay Gamblers. The backups are sophomores-to-be Dan Calore and Andrew Puttick Speaking of Northeastern, former Husky forward Dmitri Vasiliev, cut from the team after his freshman season (1996-97), will begin play at UMass-Amherst this season. Update: Robitaille signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday, June 4.
Alliance Tournament This Weekend Mike Addesa's Alliance Tournament starts Thursday June 4th at the Janus Rink in Lowell, Mass. There will be four games that day, the first beginning at 2 p.m. On Friday, all twelve teams will be in action. Games that day, as well as Saturday and Sunday, begin at 8 a.m.
They're Loaded The Minnkota entry in the Select 17 Festival (St. Cloud, Minn., July 24-Aug1.) is almost a carbon copy of the team that won the Select 16 Festival last summer. Returning will be both goalies, all the defensemen, and nine of the twelve forwards. Here's the team: In goal will be Jason Jensen and Adam Berkhoel. On defense will be Jason Reimers, Ben Tharp, Lee Marvin, Bryan Skrypek, Rico Fatticii, and Beau Geisler. Up front, the players are Dan Welch, Dave Iannazzo, Shawn Roed, Jesse Modahl, Jon Francisco, Brett MacKinnon, Jeff Taffe, Josh Anderson, Joe Cullen, Adam Sharratt, Paul Martin, and Josh Olson. The last three listed forwards -- Sharratt, Martin, and Olson -- are the new players. But Martin was at the 16 Festival last year, as a defenseman playing as an at-large for the Rocky Mountain team. Martin was named to the all-tournament team.
6/1/98 Dartmouth Coach Returns to Hockey East Dartmouth assistant coach Brian McCloskey will leave the Hanover, N.H. school to return to the University of New Hampshire. McCloskey came to Dartmouth last spring from UNH, where he served as an assistant under Dick Umile. The UNH position became available when Chris Serino took the head coaching job at Merrimack earlier this spring.
Copyright © 1998 U.S. Hockey Report
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