| 06/01/99 03:41 PM USHR's May News Scout's Notebook: Prospects '99 -- The Big Bash The Prospects Pre OHL Draft/Future NCAA Tournament took place over the weekend at Ice Sports, a four-rink complex in Etobikoke, Ontario, which, in case you were wondering, is right by the Toronto Airport. With forty teams in the tournament, it was difficult to park, difficult to see every team, and practically impossible to see every player. However, we gave it our best shot, and probably got a good luck at about 90% of the players there. The following lists, alphabetically-arranged, are the guys who caught our attention. The tournament, which moved from Guelph to Etobikoke this year, is played out on four sheets, all of which are viewable from one enormous room with a restaurant and a central bar. Suffice to say, you couldn't move sideways without bumping into someone you knew. Every OHL team was there. Practically every NCAA Div. I school east of the Mississippi was there. Several USHL teams were represented. And then there were agents galore -- about a quarter of the teams were even sponsored by agents. The U.S. Hockey Report sponsored a team, too. On Friday night, the USHR DotComs got excellent goaltending from Catholic Memorial's Matt Kelly and goals from Mike Patton, Erik Roos, Jimmy Gilbride, Cody McCormick, and Colin Fitzrandolph to handily beat Pro Hockey Blue, one of the top teams in the tournament. But in the other three games, against weaker opposition, the forwards were shut down, mustering only one other goal as the team finished out of the playoffs with a 1-3 record. Nonetheless, team defense was excellent, as the DotComs held opponents to an average of only two goals a game. Chris Elliott, who shared goaltending duties with Kelly, played very well, too. In front of them was a defensive corps of Ryan Whitney, Noah Welch, Bryan Miller, Chad Gromek, and Steven Mead. The tournament was won by the Eastern Ontario Selects. The top-finishing American team was Compuware, which lost in the semifinals. Here then, are all the players who caught our eye. Actually, make that plural -- eyes. All are '82s unless otherwise noted. For the record, '82s make up approximately 80% of the players in the tournament. Teams are allowed a maximum of five younger players. U.S. Players Jon Booras, LC, Billings Jr. A -- Small, but can stickhandle in the smallest of spaces. Extremely savvy playmaker. Quick. Feisty. BJ Byfuglien, LW, Roseau HS -- 6'2" Minnesota high schooler who goes up and down the wing, crashes, and stirs things up. Peter Cohen, G, Milton Academy -- Quick pads. Best we've ever seen him play. Sean Collins '83, RC, Reading (Mass.) HS -- Scored four of his team's five goals in one game. Beats the D at the blue line, goes into another gear, and is in alone. Goalies can only pray. Great hands, great shot, great vision. We saw him roof one from the edge of the crease. An '83 and only 5'7", maybe 5'8" but one of the top players in the tournament. Plays both ends of the ice, too. Next winter, will again be playing high school hockey in Massachusetts. Needs to move on to continue his improvement. Sean Collins '83, D, Little Caesar's -- Yes, there are two Sean Collins. Both are '83s but this one is a defenseman. Smooth skater with good hands. Jeff Genovy, LW, Soo Hawks Midget AAA -- 6'2" winger has size, a shot, and hockey sense. Tim Gleason '83, LD, Leamington Jr. B -- He's filled out over the last year and added a couple of inches -- he's 6'0" now. Excellent skater -- forward, backwards, laterally -- and highly mobile. Outstanding with puck. Can play the physical game. Tremendous prospect. If he weren't picky about where he went (he's from Michigan), he'd probably go second overall (behind Jason Spezza) in Saturday's OHL draft. Rob Globke, RC, Compuware Jr. A -- Extremely quick and agile for a 6'2" kid. Can slip through openings, and spin off checks. Should be a first rounder in Saturday's OHL draft. Like Gleason, he's a Michigander, so might not want to play anywhere except Plymouth or Windsor. Greg Goodnough '84, RW, Toronto Young Nats Bantam -- A player to follow -- he's only an '84. Jonathan Goodwin, RW, Catholic Memorial HS -- Had an excellent weekend, and raised his stock tremendously. Strong and very hard to knock off puck. A dynamic player who drives to the net. Josh Griffith '83, LD, Compuware Midget AAA -- Big, strong D. A bit slow, but there's an economy to his game. He plays to his strengths and keeps it simple, conservative. Chad Gromek, LD, Osseo (Minn.) HS -- 6'0, 220 lb. A strong, blocky D who is a much better skater and far more mobile than his build suggests. Excellent outlet passes. Jon Hedberg, RD, Duluth East HS (Minn.) -- A solid 5'11" who can skate with the puck and bang away on opposing forwards. Tim Heneroty, G, Pittsburgh Midget AAA -- Quick hands and feet. Brian Holland, G, Philadelphia Jr. B -- Big goalie came up big for the Met League All-Stars, leading them to the playoffs. Matt Kelly, G, Catholic Memorial HS -- A positional goalie who's also very athletic. Was superb in his team's Friday night win. Very poised. Stands 5'10", maybe 5'11. Steven Kovalchik, RW, Honeybaked Midget AAA -- Power forward who continues to improve. Excellent shot, good ice awareness, will dig in corners and move puck along the wall. Good hands. Prefers to move puck quickly with a short pass rather than carry it. Jeff Lang, RD, Tabor Academy -- Good outlet passes. Very aware of where he is on the ice. Highly mobile. Nick Lang '83, LW, Compuware Bantam -- Fast '83 winger. Excellent acceleration -- can beat the D at the blue line and break in alone. Kyle Larman, RD, Detroit Trackers -- Big, rugged defenseman is solid in his own end. On offense, scored a nice goal from the point as he slid laterally along the blue line waiting for the screen to develop. Steve Lerner, F, Suffolk PAL Jr. B -- Has a nose for the net. Yale Lewis, LW, Cushing Academy -- Beat USHR DotCom D Ryan Whitney 1-on-1 to score a nice goal for his team (Little Caesar's). Has grown into his body. He's 6'2" and quicker and more agile than in the past. Brian McConnell '83, LC, Thayer Academy (Mass.) -- 6'1" centerman is an outstanding prospect. Has size and soft hands. Plays prep hockey but his style is more conducive to junior hockey. Got in a fight with top OHL prospect Carter Trevisani and was handling himself fine until Trevisani head-butted him twice, forcing the linesmen to quickly move in. Mike McKenna '83, G, St. Louis Bantam -- Big 6'2" goaltender plays his angles well, and fills up net. He's extremely quick up an down. One of the top five '83 goaltenders in U.S. Ben McManama, RW, Noble & Greenough -- Getting bigger and stronger. Fires strong, accurate shots coming down the wing on the fly. Steve Mead, LD, Andover Academy -- Small -- he's only 5'9" -- but his outlet passes are dead on. Very poised. Bryan Miller '83, RD, New Jersey Devils Jr. B -- On the small side -- 5'10" -- but he's an '83 and still growing. Could well be a Div. I star in a few years. Does everything well, and in all three zones. Carries puck with skill and confidence. Makes excellent passes. Can jump up into the rush. Ryan Murphy '83, RW, St. Paul's School (NH) -- Hadn't been on skates in a while and never got his timing down, but he can fly. Excellent acceleration. Going to US National Program in the fall. Brian Nicklas, RW, Compuware Midget AAA -- Good soft hands, good size -- 6'1". Works hard at both ends of the ice. Patrick O'Sullivan '85, F, Alvinston Jr. C -- Was 13 last summer when his nutball dad falsified documents, moved him to another district, and snuck him into the Select 15 Festival. At Prospects, no doctoring documents was necessary. O' Sullivan, who is now 14, didn't look the least bit out of place on his team. As a matter of fact, he may have been the best player. He's a small, hard-working centerman who can make plays or score. Dennis Packard, LW, Philadelphia Flyers Jr. B -- A great prospect with great size -- he's 6'4". On the ice, he's dynamic, but still raw. Needs to smooth out his stride, as he uses a slightly inefficient hop when he's trying to get up to speed. He's going to the National Program in the fall. Joe Pomeranski '83, RD, St. Louis Bantam -- Excellent 6'0" D who's going to the US National Program. Very poised with the puck. Excellent at both ends of the ice. Erik Reitz, RD, Leamington Jr. B -- Solid defensively, where he utilizes his strength, size -- he's 6-1/188 -- and physicality. On offense, picks his spots carefully, going for the high percentage play. We saw him break down the right side, open up and make a perfect pass across to an unrushing forward, who fired it home. Excellent play; excellent prospect. Anthony Sedler, RW, Ventura (Calif,) Jr. B -- Tremendously athletic. Can flat-out fly. Handled himself well in a fight, too. 6'1". He's only an '82 but he's graduating from high school next week. Chris Simpson, G, Cabrini HS -- A Detroit-area high school goaltender who we'd never seen previously. Played extremely well in the game we saw. Has size, mobility. Jimmy Slater, LW, Cleveland Barons Jr. A -- A pure scorer, we saw him score two goals on first shift in one game. Smallish, 5'10", but hardnosed, will drive to the net and take punishment to get off a good shot. Yan Stastny, LC, St. Louis Midget AAA -- The son of Peter doesn't have his dad's size but has his hockey sense. Clever, quick, will hit. Steve Swistak, RW, Compuware Jr. A -- Good skater. Never stops moving his feet. Plays hard. Finishes checks. Makes things happen. Joe Testa, LW, Philadelphia Flyers Jr. B -- Played with more grit here than we'd seen from him in a while. He's 6'2" so he has that going for him, too. Bryan Thompson, LD, Compuware Midget AAA -- Keeps getting better and better. Poised, steady. Does all the little things, like sweep checks, right. Has decent size. Tony Tomaino, LD, Duluth Marshall HS (Minn.) -- Smooth, super-mobile D who skate and handle the puck very nicely. Nick Watroba, RD, Buffalo Midget AAA -- An excellent skater -- forward, backward, and laterally -- with better-than-average size. Could become a little more economical in movements. A U.S. player with skill whom we'd never even heard of going into tournament. Chase Watson, LC, Philadelphia Flyers Jr. B -- He's always been smart and determined. Now, he's getting bigger and stronger. A solid DI prospect. Noah Welch, LD, St. Sebastian's School (Mass.) -- Has blossomed recently. He's grown into his body -- he's 6'2" -- and is quicker and more agile. Alex White '83, LC, Tecumseh Jr. B -- Excellent around net, and very patient with the puck. Decent size, too -- he's 6'0". Ryan Whitney '83, LD, Thayer Academy (Mass.) -- Lean 6'4" defenseman has great reach, sees the ice in front of him, and makes perfect passes practically every time he gets the puck. He doesn't rush the puck a lot, preferring to move it up quickly with a pass. He can fight, too -- after getting an elbow against the glass and being converged on by four skaters from the other team, Whitney went toe-to-toe with one of them -- and won. Most recruiters we talked to at the tournament named him as the best player there. Canadian Players Ryan Aschaber, G, Bancroft Jr. A -- Because his team's other goalie went down with a shoulder injury, Aschaber played a lot. Not only that, but he came through big time, leading his team to a playoff berth. He's 6'2" so he fills up the net. Jason Baclig, LC, Leamington Jr. B -- At 5'8" he's small, but he's also incredibly pesky. Has excellent hands, and can stickhandle in tight quarters. Jimmy Ball '83, LD, Markham Jr. A -- 5'10" D works like a dog and is nasty -- he'll chop, slash, and fight. Patrick Barbieri, LW, Bramalea Jr. A -- A deadly accurate shooter. We saw him bury a snapshot high in the corner that might have been one of the prettiest goals in the tournament. Taylor Christie '83, D, Wexford Bantam -- Young, raw D who played for a lousy bantam team over the winter. Here, though, he got a chance to show what he could do against the top kids -- and came through. Trevor Daley '83, LD, Vaughan Jr. A -- Flashy, 5'10" D was the best skater in the tournament. Sure to be a high 1st round pick in Saturday's OHL draft. John Dunphy, RW, Streetsville Jr. A -- A strong, physical 5'10" forward. Good hands. Finds a way to score. Steve Eminger '83, RD, Bramalea Jr. B -- Cool as a cucumber, very poised. Very smooth skater. Great acceleration through the neutral zone. Very tough to beat 1-on-1. On offense, showed excellent passing skill. Paul Flache, RD, Cobourg Jr. A -- Very physical. Used size -- he's 6'4", 210 -- to his advantage. Hammered kid in a fight. Mobile for a big man. Handles puck decently. Andrew Gallant, G, Summerside, PEI -- Lets his body block the shot -- he's 6'2" -- and doesn't overreact. Nick Gibson, RW, Stratford Jr. B --- He can flat-out score -- excellent hands. Also, at 6'1", he has good size. However, he doesn't like being hit much -- it gets under his skin and distracts him. Eric Himelfarb '83, RC, Don Mills Bantam -- 5'9" and hard to catch. Quick hands and feet. Excellent passer. Excellent on draw. Excellent player. Greg Jacina, RC, Orangeville Jr. B -- Tremendous patience with the puck. Can just take it and go. 6'0". Possible 1st rounder -- top half -- in Saturday's OHL draft. Cole Jarrett '83, LD, Waterloo Jr. B -- Played tremendously. Very poised with puck, relaxed. Colt King '83, LW, St. Thomas Jr. B -- 6'3", 200 pound winger came on strong at the end of the season, and continued his strong play here. A native, he's a dual citizen. Cody McCormick '83, RW, Elgin-Middlesex Bantam -- 6'0". Good speed. Quick and tenacious. Hungry for puck. Drives to the net and pounces on rebounds. He's a native (Chippewa), hence he's also a dual citizen. Steve Ott, LC, Leamington Jr. B -- A 5'11" forward who flat-out competes. Has speed and quickness. Also has puck skills and the knowledge to use them. Not big, but plays a very physical game. He can fight, too. Adam Paiement, RW, Streetsville Jr. A -- 5'11 forward, the son of former NHLer Wilf Paiement, is an excellent skater. He's fast, quick, has a good shot, and can handle the puck. Marco Rosa '83, LC, Wexford Jr. A -- 5'11" center is an excellent skater who can stickhandle in traffic. He sees the ice well, and his passes are accurate. Mike Sellan '83, LD, Richmond Hill--Vaughn Bantam -- Strong, mean, physical, and a good puckhandler, too. Danny Sisca '83, LC, Markham Jr. A -- Small (5'8"), speedy, and quick, Carries puck well and makes plays at high speed. Carter Trevisani, LD Kitchener Jr. B -- Smooth skater with excellent acceleration. At 6'1", he has size. In a fight he head-butted an opponent (Brian McConnell). Not the smartest thing we've ever seen. Kyle Wellwood '83, RC, Tecumseh Jr. B -- Shifty and clever 5'9" centerman. Can change direction quickly. Good 1-on-1. Passes are on the money. Mark Wires, LC, Wexford Jr. A -- 5'11", with a bomb of a shot. Good skater who plays both ends of ice. 5/27/99 DotComs Hit the Road This year, for the first time, The U.S. Hockey Report is sponsoring a team in the Prospects Tournament OHL Draft/Future NCAA Weekend. The USHR Dotcoms are, if nothing else, the most geographically varied team in the tournament. All players are either Americans or, in the case of one player, a dual citizen. They come from eight different states and one province: Massachusetts (4), Pennsylvania (3), New York (2), New Jersey (2), Ohio (2), Connecticut (1), Michigan (1), Minnesota (1), and Ontario (1). Twelve are '82s, and with four '83s and one '84, we're carrying the maximum of five allowable underage players. Seven of our players will be playing in tomorrow night's all-star games. The full team gets into action on Friday morning. Next week, we'll have our report in these pages. Have a fun Memorial Day weekend. Because of this roadtrip, the U.S. Hockey Report's offices will be closed until Tuesday, June 1. Click here for the USHR DotComs roster 5/26/99 Scout's Notebook: Prospects '99 Over the last two weekends (May 14-16, 22-24) at the Prospects Tournament in Etobicoke, Ontario, we've had a chance to check out U.S. players born in '83,'84, and '85. Here are our notes. Goalies: Kevin Amborski '83 5'10"165 Rochester Bantam -- Very quick reflexes and feet, very good on dekes, goes down a fair bit, challenges, corrals rebounds well. Jimmy Howard '84 6'0"180 Westport Jr.B -- From upstate NY, but plays in Ontario. Good size, good glove, good upside. Dwight Labrosse '83 5'11"165 Pittsburgh Bantam -- Moves well. We saw him shut out a very strong team. Bobby Pruchnik '83 5'11"170 Honeybaked Bantam -- Good size and reflexes, paddle down on screens, uses butterfly, down on scrambles at times. Defencemen: Brendan Boyes '84 RD 5'11"170 Honeybaked Minor Bantam -- Good frame, confident with the puck for a young player. Frank Burgio '83 RD 5'10"165 Rochester Bantam -- Good skater with mobility, smart, competes, handles and moves puck well, good skills. Cory Clements '83 RD 5'11"165 Honeybaked Bantam -- Needs to improve strength, has good shot, not flashy but gets job done. Jeff Hadlay '83 LD 6'0"180 North Bay (Ont.) Bantam -- Dual citizen, smooth skater, hits hard, can be mean. Nick Hamm '83 RD 5'11"165 Little Caesars Bantam -- Good skater, forces the play well, poised. Peter Harrold '83 RD 5'10"160 Cleveland Midget -- Not big but very good skater, handles puck well, carries it up-ice smartly, very good skills. Jason Hicks '83 LD 6'2"190 Rochester Bantam -- Very good size, mean, physical, punishes opponents, feet need a bit of work but he’s still growing, has some skill -- an interesting project. Matt Jones '83 LD 5'10"160 Chicago Chill Midget -- Excellent skater, great mobility, handles the puck very well and with confidence, uses spin-a-rama move a lot, stops and reverses direction, sees ice well, moves puck very well, quick feet and hands, may overhandle puck at times. Kenny Jung '83 RD 6'0"175 Honeybaked Bantam -- Good size, not a speedster but skating is good, physical and aware in own zone, confident with puck, likes to go with it. Andrew Keeney '83 RD 6'0"180 St. Ignatius School -- Solid frame, good skater with mobility, smart on point on power play, shoots well, hits, good on defensive coverage. Brian Kolesar '83 LD 6'1"180 Cleveland Midget -- Very good size, solid in own zone, will carry puck up ice at times. Brian Kozanecki '83 RD 6'0"180 Belle Tire Bantam -- Good skater, physical, aware in own zone, likes to hit. Cory LeClair '83 LD 5'11"175 Little Caesars Bantam -- Good skater, physical, joins offense, jumps up into the slot quickly. Brian Lefevor '83 LD 5'10"160 Culver Academy -- Smooth mobile skater, flys around the ice, loves to force the play up high, is physical, carries the puck well, has good skills -- an exciting player. Pat McGrath '83 RD 6'0"175 Honeybaked Bantam -- Good size, good skater, shoots the puck very well and at all opportunities, can be physical. Joe Pomeranski '83 RD 6'0"175 St Louis Bantam -- Good frame, will fill out, very smooth wide stride, powerful skater, handles puck with confidence and poise, moves puck very well, very good mobility to take man out 1-on-1, excellent upside. Frank Reddicker '85 LD 5'11"170 Compuware Minor Bantam -- Good size for his age, showed some poise, handled himself well physically, definitely a player to watch over the next two years. Jon Saunders '83 LD 6'0"180 New Jersey Jr.B -- Good size, very good skater, solid defenceman, good in both ends of the rink. Derek Smith '83 LD 6'0"180 Compuware Jr.A -- Has grown, very confident vs. own age group, feisty, aware, good strength, strong smooth stride, mobile, carries puck up ice, moves puck well with crisp passes, sees the ice, jumps into slot, shoots well -- a great prospect. Dinos Stamoulis '83 RD 5'11"170 NY Bobcats Bantam -- Good puckhandler, shoots well. Eric Werner '83 RD 5'8"155 Little Caesars Midget -- Small, but will take a hit to make the play, uses a very long stick for his size, handles the puck very well, patient, does not get rattled when forced, moves the puck well, loves to shoot. Forwards: Noah Babin '84 RW 5'11"170 Compuware Bantam -- Florida native, good skater, quick hands, tries things with the puck -- a player to follow next year. Josh Baker '83 RW 5'10"160 Dallas Midget -- Good skater, good shot, has good skills. Brian Boyle '84 LC 6'0"155 South Shore Kings -- Very lanky, skinny legs, wide stride, very good skater who swoops into the play. Has good speed, and the confidence to carry the puck up ice, highly skilled for his age, another player to follow next year, lots of upside. Chris Conner '83 LW 5'8"150 Honeybaked Bantam -- Small but very quick, skilled. Ben Curtis '83 LW 5'11"170 Culver Academy -- Made some smart, skilled plays Alan Eberstein '84 RC 5'10"170 Dallas Stars Bantam -- Fast, digs in, works, has some skill. Lee Falardeau '83 LC/LW 6'1"165 Honeybaked Bantam -- Lanky frame, needs strength as he can be knocked down, very good puck skills and poise, can hold onto it and protect it well, can be physical -- very good upside. Danny Fritsche '85 RC 5'11"165 Cleveland Minor Bantam -- Only an '85 but an incredible player already, unbelievable skill and poise, very quick hands, goes into traffic, great passer, very smart, does not mind getting dirty, made some great plays around defence then took it to net. A name to remember. David Gallagher '83 RW 5'11"180 Mt Lebanon Midget -- Good player, shows some skill and smarts, works, hits, forces. Steve Gionta '83 RC 5'6"145 Rochester Bantam -- Brother of Brian, small but feisty and skilled, good puckhandler and playmaker. Brett Hughes '83 RC 6'1"175 Clinton NY H.S -- Not a smooth skater but has a long stride so he gets there, showed some good skills, handles puck well, wants to score Danny Knapp '83 RC 5'11"165 Honeybaked Bantam -- A ducky skater but elusive, very patient with the puck, takes it through traffic and to the net, incredible knack in tight, a goal scorer who sees the ice well. Highly skilled. Nick Lang '83 LC 5'9"150 Compuware Bantam -- Small but handles puck well at top speed, skilled. Mark Langdon '83 LW 6'0"180 Rochester Bantam -- Good size, physical, feisty, good skater, has smarts and skill, heads for net, scored nice goal on deke. Brian Liamero '84 LC 5'10"160 New Jersey Devils Bantam -- A good skater with good speed, feisty agitator, handles puck well. Cody McCormick '83 RW 6'0"175 Elgin-Middlesex Bantam -- A dual citizen. Very good skater, smart, skilled, very hard worker, destroys guys with hits. Justin McCutcheon '83 RW 5'11"165 Shelbourne Jr.A -- Good skater with a wide stride, works hard, forces and hits, works boards well, smart puckhandler, cycles well, goes hard for net, good skills. Jamie Milam '84 RW 5'10"160 Honeybaked Bantam -- Good skills for a young player. Patrick Murphy '83 LC/LW 6'0"170 Aurora Jr.A -- Son of Ottawa Senators assistant coach Mike Murphy, dual citizen, good skater, good skills, good upside, can dash in with puck for good scoring chance. Alan Nolan '83 LW 6'0"185 Sault Ste Marie Bantam -- Nephew of Ted Nolan, dual citizen, getting bigger and stronger, mean, loves to force play and destroy opponents, can fight, good skills. Eric Sargeant '84 LC 5'10"160 Honeybaked Minor Bantam -- Very good skater, confident with the puck, has very good skills for his age, scored two goals in game we saw. Jason Schulz '83 RC 6'0"170 Pittsburgh Hornets Bantam -- Good size and skater, shows some skill. Lee Stempniak '83 RC 5'10"160 Buffalo Saints Midget -- Good skills, scores a lot of points, can be neutralized by a good hit. Jason Tejchma '83 LC 5'8"160 West Michigan Bantam -- Small but solid, good skills, moves the puck well, spins away from checks well. Michael Walsh '83 LW/LC 5'11"180 Compuware Bantam -- Good size, can be physical, skating needs to improve, has some skill. Alex White '83 LC/LW 6'0"165 Tecumseh Jr.B -- A dual citizen, very good skater and puckhandler, moves the puck well, needs to get dirty more often. Ryan Wright '83 LW 5'9"150 Honeybaked Bantam -- Small but very skilled, hungry to score.
5/25/99 Powers to Harvard? Billy Powers, an assistant under Red Berenson at Michigan for the last seven years, is emerging as a strong candidate for the head job at Harvard. If Powers gets the nod, it would be a return home. A native of Somerville, Mass., and a 1984 Matignon graduate, Powers started his college career at Div. II St. Anselm College,where he ripped it up, transferred to Michigan for his sophomore year and wound up scoring 107 points for the Wolverines over his three seasons of eligibility. He was an assistant at Illinois-Chicago for two years before Berenson brought him back to Ann Arbor for the 1992-93 season. By the way, if Powers were to win the Harvard job, he'd go from one great college fight song, "Hail, Michigan" to another great one, "10,000 Men of Harvard." RIT Hires Wilson Longtime Bowling Green assistant Wayne Wilson was chosen yesterday as the new head coach at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Wilson, except for one year he spent as an assistant at UNH in the late 80's, has been an assistant at BGSU ever since 1985, working under both Jerry York and Buddy Powers. Wilson, a defenseman, played at Bowling Green, too, and was a co-captain on the Falcons' 1983-84 National Championship team. That, of course, was the year of the longest NCAA title game game in history, Bowling Green's 5-4 quadruple overtime win over Minnesota- Duluth. By the way, Bowling Green's fight song goes, "Ay Ziggy Zoomba Zoomba Zoomba." We have no idea what RIT's fight song is -- or even if they have one. From Pooley to Poulin? Providence College assistant coach Brad Willner is interviewing this week for the Notre Dame assistant's job vacated by Tom Carroll. Last week, Union College assistant John Micheletto was out in South Bend for an interview. In other college news, Choate goaltender Dan Weinrieb will be going to UMass-Lowell. Former Avon Old Farms defenseman Anthony D'Arpino, who played in the USHL with the Lincoln Stars this year, is leaning toward walking on at BC right now. D'Arpino, a Rhode Island native, had long been rumoured to be heading to Providence. However, with BC cooling on Bill Cass, there could be an opportunity for D'Arpino to swipe a job. A Dubious Proposition Last week, USHL teams voted in favor of granting Omaha Lancers' owner Ted Baer a second franchise in the league. The yet-to-be-named team will be located in Kearney, Nebraska -- and that, according to some observers, could be a problem. Kearney, in case you're wondering is smack dab in the middle of Nebraska, along Interstate 80. It's pretty small for a USHL franchise. We checked the census records this afternoon and found that Kearney's population is 27,000. That's a one-stoplight town compared to Lincoln (209,000) and Omaha (364,000). Supporters of the plan point to the fact that Kearney is part of a "three-city triangle." With that in mind, we went to the atlas and census reports and learned that the other two cities are Grand Island, with a population of 41,000 and Hastings (no, it's not named after Lancers coach Mike Hastings) with a population of 22,000. They're all about 40 miles apart from each other, so it's legitimate to ask how many people from outside Kearney will bother making the trek. The power base in the USHL right now is with the big city franchises. Lincoln, Des Moines, and Omaha are all perennial attendance leaders and money makers for thier owners. Sticking a franchise in a corn country town seems like a dubious proposition at best. Perhaps there are other motives -- could Kearney be a taxi squad for the Lancers? No matter what, all systems are go. A 4,000 seat arena is under construction. Now, they need a coach, a name, and, we think, a massive population explosion. 5/21/99 New Division I Prep League Taking Shape A new Division I prep league that has been in the talking stage for several years is quickly moving closer to becoming a reality. The architects of the plan, Cushing AD Bill Troy and Exeter head hockey coach Dana Barbin, hope to see the league debut in the fall. The confirmed schools for what looks to be a 12-14 team league are primarily the current Independents: Cushing, Exeter, Andover, Tabor, Northfield-Mt.Hermon, Kimball Union, Gunnery, Berkshire, and Canterbury. Holderness is also in, having just gotten their headmaster's approval to upgrade to Division I earlier this week. There are up to four other schools, all currently Div. II, which could be part of the league either now or in the near future. They are Winchendon, Pomfret, Albany Academy, and New Hampton Prep. Pomfret, coached by former Tabor and Boston Jr. Bruins coach Ted Kelley, reportedly has his school administration's go-ahead Winchendon, which won this past winter's Div. II crown, and Albany Academy, which won the 1998 title game, are both optimistic that their respective administrations will approve a move to Division I status. New Hampton, from reports we've received, is a bit of a question mark. The school downgraded from Div. I status only three years ago, and the administration might be a bit hesitant to jump back in. However, head hockey coach Brad Holt is reported to be urging the school to seriously consider it. If the 10 current Div. I schools (we're included Holderness in this figure) are indeed joined by Winchendon, Albany Academy, and Pomfret, that would make a 13 team league. New Hampton could make it 14. What are the alignment scenarios? The most likely one is an East-West setup, with six or seven teams on each side playing a home-and-home series with the other teams in their division, and a single game against each team in the other division. The following six are likely for the East: Andover, Exeter, Holderness, Kimball Union, NMH, and Tabor. The West would get the following six: Berkshire, Canterbury, Gunnery, Winchendon, Albany Academy, and Pomfret. A current sticking point is which division gets Cushing. A perennial powerhouse and a good road draw, the central Mass. prep school is coveted by both the east and west divisions. That could get resolved at the next "league" meeting, scheduled for next Thursday, May 27 at Cushing. There's no name for the league yet. Caldwell to Denver in '00 Lanky, smooth-skating defenseman Ryan Caldwell of Deloraine, Manitoba and Shattuck-St. Mary's has committed to the University of Denver for the 2000-01 season. Caldwell, an early '81 birthdate, stands 6'3" and weighs 175 pounds. Caldwell, who came to Shattuck as a senior, will be graduating in a couple of weeks, but is planning to return to Shattuck in the fall for a PG year. In 65 games on Shattuck's blueline this year, Caldwell had 65 points (21g,44a). NCAA Coaches Play Musical Chairs New Colorado College head coach Scott Owens still hasn't decided on his assistants for next season. Current USHL coaches Mark Osiecki (Green Bay), Dave Hakstol (Sioux City), and Mike Hastings (Omaha) have all reportedly turned down the job. Names heard lately include North Iowa (now Cedar Rapids) head coach Steve Nelson and Alaska-Fairbanks assistant Tavis MacMillan. Current CC assistant Mark Tabrum may still be under consideration. Up at Cornell, Mike Schafer is looking for two assistants, as Matt Carlin has resigned and Scott Garrow has returned to take the assistant's job at Western Michigan, his alma mater. Garrow made his move back to the midwest after Chris Wells left Western to return east to take the assistant's job that opened up at his alma mater, St. Lawrence, when P.J. Flanagan resigned. So 'round and 'round it goes. Then there's the RIT job. The three candidates there are reported to be Oswego State head coach George Roll, Bowling Green assistant Wayne Wilson, and UMass-Lowell assistant Mark Taylor. Rochester Rolls at Prospects Last weekend's 30-team Propects Tournament -- primarily '83s with some top '84s and even five '85s sprinkled in -- was won by the Rochester (N.Y.) Americans. Coached by Steve Langdon, the Rochester team featured 11 players who played for the Rochester Americans Bantams last winter. Another six players were top '83s from the Utica-Syracuse-Buffalo area. In the championship game, Rochester beat Honeybaked, 3-0, with Mark Langdon, Lee Stempniak, and Steven Gionta (yes, Brian's litttle brother) scoring and Kevin Amborski notching the shutout . In the semis, Rochester beat the Toronto Black Knights, 4-3, behind two Langdon goals. In the other semi, Honeybaked beat the Cleveland Barons. Little Caesar's went 4-0 in the round-robin portion but got knocked out by the Black Knights in the round of 16. Rochester players, in addition to those mentioned above, included Barrett Schenk, Kevin Amborski, Mark Bianchi, Jared Consler, Tyler Schremp, Ryan Dolan, Bill Burgio, Mark Kuczmanski, Frank Burgio, Keith Cadwell, Mike Pasley, Jeff Rasmussen, Brett Hughes and Jason Hicks. One of the most talked-about players in the tournament was one of those five aforementioned '85s -- Cleveland Barons center Danny Fritsche. While he's only 13, Fritsche, our scout in Ontario says, has a skill level right now equal to most of the kids projected to go in the first round of next month's OHL draft. Jim Fritsche, the boy's father and a Parma, Ohio sports shop owner, told us the other night that it was "just incredible" how many agents had called his home in the few days since he had returned with his son from Prospects. It's not likely to stop, either -- Fritsche will be at Prospects again this weekend. 5/19/99
This year's Central District Select 16 Team will be returning 16 of the 20 player's from last year's squad that, by topping Pacific (in three OT's) and Michigan, won the gold medal at Ann Arbor. The Central 16's weren't as good, finishing in 5th place. They're only returning eight players, while adding 12 new ones. The Select 16 Festival gets underway June 25h in St. Cloud, Minn. while the 17 Festival starts on July 2. The Select 15 Festival runs July 18-25 in Ann Arbor, Mich. Players whose names are followed by an asterisk below are returning players.
5/16/99
5/14/99 Tomassoni Axed at Harvard After nine years, Harvard pulled the plug on the Ronn Tomassoni era today. While the official word is that Tomassoni resigned, that's just Harvard spin-doctoring the situation. While many observers of the local hockey scene have seen it coming for a long time, it's still a tough call -- and perhaps toughest for Harvard AD Bill Cleary, who plucked Tomassoni,. a 1980 RPI graduate, from the Union College coaching staff in 1982. Tomassoni's claim to fame will be his recruiting. In the 1980's, under Cleary, assistant coach Tomassoni was instrumental in bringing in a slew of top Div. I stars -- Scott Fusco, Lane MacDonald, Peter Ciavaglia, C.J. Young, Allen Bourbeau, Mike Vukonich, Ted Donato, John Weisbrod, Jerry Pawloski, and Don Sweeney among others. Seven of those players were members of Harvard's 1988-89 NCAA championship team. After that year, Cleary coached for one more year (perhaps one year too many). After the Crimson went 31-3 in their banner year, they fell to 13-14-1 in 1989-90. At the end of the year, Cleary resigned, took over the AD's job, and handed the hockey team over to Tomassoni. It was a tough situation for Tomassoni, an Eveleth, Minnesota native who, unlike the charismatic Cleary, always seemed more comfortable in the shadows than the limelight. Still, Tomassoni was able to put together a good run in the early '90s, mostly with players he'd had a hand in recruiting -- Ted Drury, Sean McCann, Kevin Sneddon, et al. Eventually, the well ran dry, and, by the late '90's a beleagured Tomassoni faced rebellions from key Harvard players. Two seasons ago, a group of players reportedly went en masse to Harvard president Neil Rudenstine with complaints about Tomassoni's coaching style. This typist heard almost continual criticism of the Harvard coach from players, parents, and alumni. There was a high level of tension around the program, and in recent years it showed on the ice as the Crimson continually underachieved. It was an untenable situation, and only a matter of time until the intensely loyal Cleary made the move. Who are the top candidates for the Harvard job? At the USHR, we believe Middlebury College coach Bill Beaney is the top cat. He's won five straight NCAA Div. III championships, after all. Right behind him (maybe even in front?), we see Princeton's Toot Cahoon, who, like Cleary, is outgoing, charismatic, Irish, etc. Also like Cleary, Cahoon was a greater Boston schoolboy and college star (Marblehead HS and BU) -- and with eight years as head coach at Princeton under his belt, he knows the ins and outs of the Ivy scene. The question is -- would he want to leave Princeton? Another coach who'll probably get consideration, though he's significantly yonger than either Beaney or Cahoon, hence a real long shot, is Sneddon, now the head coach at Union College. Sneddon, a '92 Harvard grad, played under both Cleary and Tomassoni. Stay tuned. 5/14/99 Michigan Select 16's & 17's Named At the conclusion of the Michigan Select 16/17 Festival last weekend, a group of 18 evaluators put their heads together and picked the following players to represent Michigan this summer. A number of top players were not there. Tim Gleason, an '83 D from the Leamington (Ont.) Flyers and a projected first-round pick for this June's OHL draft, did not show up. A year ago this spring, Gleason, then as now the top-ranked '83 in Michigan, had an off-weekend at the select tryouts and did not make the team. With the coaches who made that decision last year still in charge of the '83s this year, Gleason felt it was better not to even get involved. Among the '82s, most conspicuous by his absence was that age group's top D, Jared Newman of the Compuware Ambassadors (OHL). Reportedly, Newman's agent told him that playing with kids at this level would only lower his stock. Rob Globke, a 6'2" center with the Compuware Jr. A team, also did not attend. Nor did C Trevor Johnson of the Ann Arbor Ice Dogs midget AAA team. On the positive side, we got a report from the 16's that Compuware forward Mike Walsh had an excellent weekend. Described by our scout as a left-handed Adam Hall, Walsh has put on about four inches and 10-15 pounds since this time last year. The 16 Festival will run from June 24 to July 1. The 17 Festival will run from July 2-9. Both will take place at St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Players with an asterisk following their name are the incumbents. That is, they were on Michigan's 15 or 16 Select teams last summer. The 16's have eight players who weren't on the 15 team; the 17's have 12 players who weren't on the 16 team.
# Note: Bloomingburg and Slater appeared at last summer's 16 Festival as at-large players with, respectively, the Pacific and Atlantic/S.E. squads.
5/13/99
Giles Takes Over at Edina Curt Giles has been named the head hockey coach at Edina HS, perhaps the most-coveted high school job in the state. Giles, who takes over for Bart Larson ('91-'99), becomes only the fifth coach in Edina's history. Giles, a native of The Pas, Manitoba who went on to play college hockey at Minnesota-Duluth ('75-79) also had a lengthy NHL career, mostly with the Minnesota North Stars. The search committee didn't have to look far -- most recently, Giles has been coaching in Edina's youth hockey system.
Werner Named to NTDP Eric Werner, a 5'7", 138 lb. highly-skilled right-shot D from Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan and the Little Caesar's Midget AAA program, will be joining the U.S. National Team Development Program in the fall. Here's an up-to-date list of the other new players coming in to the program: Goaltenders Steve Belanger (Anchorage, Alaska) and Travis Weber (Hibbing, Minn.); defensemen Matt Maglione (N. Syracuse, NY), Joe Pomeranski (Chesterfield, Mo.), Marcus Smith (Richmond Hill, Ont.) and Derek Smith (Marysville, Mich.). Forwards are Joey Crabb (Anchorage, Alaska), Lee Falardeau (Midland, Mich.), Jesse Harnden (Thunder Bay, Ont.), Justin Maiser (Edina, Minn.), Dennis Packard (Kingston, Pa.), Ryan Murphy (Rumson, NJ), Jake Riddle (Minneapolis, Minn.), and Barry Tallackson (St. Paul, Minn.) All are '83 birhtdates except Maglione and Packard, who are '82s. 5/12/99 Kolarik, Lush Sign USHL Tenders A pair of high profile 11th-grade forwards from the prep ranks -- Deerfield's Tyler Kolarik and Belmont Hill's Tristan Lush -- have signed tenders with USHL teams. Kolarik, a dynamic, hard-nosed 5'10", 170 lb. RW from Abington, PA, is a top student who, come July 1st, should have a mile-long list of colleges tossing offers his way -- whether or not he actually does wind up going to the USHL. Lush, a 6'1", 185 lb. LC, and Belmont Hill's top offensive threat, is shooting for a scholarship from a Hockey East school. He wants the challenge offered by tougher competition and a longer season -- and he's willing to head west to get it. A Minnesota high school underclassman, defenseman Keith Ballard (he's also an excellent forward) of Lake of the Woods HS in Baudette, Minn., will be playing for the Fargo- Moorhead Ice Sharks this fall. The Ice Sharks, by the way, are coached by Dave Christian, who's from Warroad, the first town west of Baudette. (For those under a certain age, Christian, like his father and uncle before him, won a gold medal in hockey (1980), but, unlike his predecessors, went on to play 15 years in the NHL. Christian played for Winnipeg, Washington, Boston, St. Louis, and Chicago before finishing pro career in the IHL three years ago.) Anyway, we're getting sidetracked a bit here. The following is the full USHL tender list. Today, Wednesday, the league draft was held in Minneapolis, and for some unfathomable reason no one beyond league commisioner Gino Gasparini (who, by the way, coached Dave Christian at North Dakota in the late 70's) could possibly understand, they like to keep the proceedings very hush-hush. Still, we'll do our best to get them for you. In other words, assault and robbery is OK, but murder is definitely out. USHL Signed Tenders:
5/11/99 Carroll to Take the Reins in Des Moines The Des Moines Bucaneers (USHL) today named Tom Carroll as their new head coach and general manager. For the last 14 years, Carroll has been an assistant at Notre Dame University. For one year before that, in 1984-85, Carroll was the head coach at Culver Military Academy. Carroll, who played at Edina, Minn. HS under Willard Ikola, went on to Wisconsin as a walk-on before playing his way to a full scholarship. Carroll, a forward, won two NCAA titles at Wisconsin, in '81 and '83. Carroll, an excellent recruiter who has been a large part of Notre Dame's return to national prominence in hockey, will be replacing Scott Owens at Des Moines. Owens was named head coach at Colorado College a couple of weeks ago.
National Program Set to Clean Up at the Draft Fourteen players from the U.S. National Team Development Program's inaugural season (1997-98) were ranked in the just-released NHL Central Scouting Bureau's Final Rankings of North American players. For the record, that's pretty much the whole of the first graduating class. Four -- F Barrett Heisten, D Jordan Leopold, D Doug Janik, and D David Tanabe -- were ranked in the first round. Five -- D Andrew Hutchinson, F Adam Hall, D Pat Aufiero, and F Willie Levesque -- were ranked in the second round. Also, D Will Magnuson and F Matt Doman were ranked in the third; F Kyle Clark and F Doug Meyer were ranked in the fourth; F Brett Henning in the sixth; F Joe Goodenow in the seventh. Goaltender Adam Hauser was the #10 ranked North American goaltender. Other gleanings from the list: -- Boston College High C Mike Ryan was the top U.S. High School player selected, ranked in the second round. -- Deerfield Academy D Trevor Byrne was the top prep school player selected. He was ranked in the 3rd round. -- The top Minnesota High School player ranked was D John Conboy, from Silver Bay HS. He was ranked in the fourth round. Right behind him, in the fifth round, was F Jay Dardis of Proctor High School. Both towns are right outside Duluth. The highest-ranked down-state player was F Jeff Yurecko of Edina, appearing in the seventh, and final, round. -- The highest ranked USHL player was Omaha Lancers F Ryan Malone, ranked in the third round. -- The highest-ranked NAHL player was 6'4" RW George Parros of the Chicago Freeze, ranked in the seventh round. -- The highest-ranked EJHL player was Doug Murray of NY Apple Core, ranked in the fourth round. -- The top ranked U.S. goaltender was Craig Andersson of the Guelph Storm (OHL). Andersson, an '81 from S. Barrington, Ill., started the season with the Chicago Freeze before being signed in November by Guelph. Keep in mind that when the actual draft takes place, non-North American players are included, so, even if nothing else has changed, a player will generally get drafted lower than where he appears in the CSB final rankings. It's just something to keep in mind. Anyway, here are the U.S. kids and where they've been ranked. The actual draft is Sat. June 26, in Boston.
5/8/99 Fregoe Looking to Bail on Providence College Providence College recruit Peter Fregoe, who led the USHL in scoring this past season, is looking to bail out of his commitment to the Friars and follow Scott Owens, his coach with the Des Moines Buccaneers for the past several years, to Colorado College. What makes this possible is the fact that Fregoe, because he was a Prop 48 player, was prohibited from signing a National Letter of Intent, thus his commitment to Providence was purely a verbal one, and contingent upon getting himself academically eligible. Fregoe, a Massena, NY native who'll turn 21 in July, is finishing up a year of classes at Iowa State now. He'll enter college in the fall -- be it at CC or Providence -- as a sophomore transfer student. He'd be eligible to play immediately and he'd have three full years of eligibility. To the best of our knowledge, Fregoe, if he does indeed go to CC, would be that school's first Prop 48 player. Fregoe, who had a 46-57-103 line for the USHL champions Bucs this season, is one of only three USHL players in the last ten years to reach the 100-pont mark. Jason Blake had 100 in '93-94 and Peter Ferraro had 101 in '91-92 -- not bad company. Speaking of CC, we've heard several names bandied about for the assistant's job -- Green Bay Gamblers coach Mark Osiecki, Sioux City Musketeers coach Dave Hakstol, and Omaha Lancers coach Mike Hastings. 5/7/99 NAHL Tendered Players Here is an up-to-date list of the players who've been tendered by NAHL teams. This is not a final list. That will come next week, in advance of the NAHL draft, scheduled for Mon. May 17. The huge number of players Chicago Freeze coach/GM Guy Perron has been able to stockpile are the result of a mid-winter players-for-tenders trade with Compuware.
5/5/93
Lincoln, Neb. -- The North American Hockey League's Compuware Ambassadors, behind a pair of goals from Jack Redwood, knocked off the powerful Des Moines Buccaneers , 3-1, tonight to win the last National Junior A championship of the 20th century. The win also ends a four-year USHL run of Junior A titles. Before tonight, the last non-USHL winner was -- you guessed it -- Compuware, back in 1994. And Mike Vellucci was behind the bench for Ambassadors then, too. A win in tonight's game would have given Des Moines coach Scott Owens, in his final USHL game before taking over as head coach at Colorado College, the triple crown, and a nice sendoff. But it didn't happen -- #1 seeded Des Moines will have to settle for wins of both the USHL's regular season and playoff championship. Anyway, to the game. After a scoreless first period, Compuware got on the board at 5:14 of the second when Redwood lifted a rebound of a Steve Jackson shot over sprawling Bucs goaltender Matt Carney. Redwood added his second goal of the game at 14:20, winning a draw, skating toward the Des Moines net and beating Matt Carney. Late in the second period, Des Moines cut the Compuware lead in half with a powerplay goal, as big winger Erik Jensen knocked home a rebound inside the crease. In the third, Josh Bowers put Compuware back up by two, taking the puck off the boards at center ice, skating in on easily on Carney and beating him stick side. For Compuware, Craig Kowalski made 32 saves on 33 shots. Carney kicked out 32 of 35 for the Bucs. New York Selects Named And here they are. The biggest changes, by the way, are on the 16 team, which returns 10 players, has eight new ones, and loses two slots to at-large players because of their last-place finish at the 15 Festival last summer. The 17 team also has eight new players. Conspicuous by has absence is star defenseman Matt Maglione, who will be taking the summer off before joing the U.S. Under-18 Team in September. Maglione played juniors last season for the Auburn Crunch (OPJHL). (Note: Players whose names are followed by an asterisk are returnees. That is, they represented N.Y. at last year's 15 or 16 Festivals.) *** 1999 New York District 15 Team ('84 Birthdates)
Head Coach: Dave Rider. Assistant Coaches: Mike Cleveland and Tim Vaninni. *** 1999 New York District 16 Team ('83 Birthdates)
Head Coach: Frank Bretti. Assistant Coaches: Lou Santini and Mike Warde. *** 1999 New York District 17 Team ('82 Birthdates)
# LaTulippe played at last summer's 16 Festival on the Atlantic/S.E. team as an at-large player. Head Coach: Stan Moore. Assistant Coaches: Mike Trimboli and Chris Wells. 5/05/93 Shouneyia OT Goal Lifts Compuware into Title Game A breakaway goal by Michigan recruit John Shouneyia 1:48 into overtime gave the #3 seeded Compuware Ambassadors a 4-3 win over over the #2 seeded Omaha Lancers in the first of yesterday's semifinals. Earlier, a goal by Pat Brush and a pair off the stick of Mark Mink gave Compuware a 3-1 lead. Omaha then came back to tie things up with a pair of goals by Brett Davis and Rob Sandrock -- both on the two-man advantage -- before Shouneyia came through in OT. Joe Motzko also scored for the Lancers. The only even strength goal in the game was Shouneyia's game winner. Craig Kowalski made 38 saves for Compuware, while Tony Zasowski had 23 for Omaha, who also lost an OT game to Compuware a few days earlier in the round-robin portion of the tournament. *** In the late game, the #1 seeded Des Moines Buccaneers had goals from eight different scorers as they romped to an 8-1 win over the host Lincoln Stars. Peter Sejna (1g,2a); Mark Krueger (0g,3a); Nick Field (1g,1a), and Dan Donette (1g,1a) led the scoring parade. The other Des Moines goal scorers were Noah Clarke, Garrett Stafford, Michael Chin, Kelly Miller, and Nick Stodgell. Matt Carney had another big game for the Bucs, kicking out 33 of 34 shots and even notching an assist on Miller's second-period goal. Carney has only allowed two goals in four games here. Andy Schneider had Lincoln's only goal, with an assist going to Chris Fournier. Wayne Russell stopped 29 of 37 shots for the Stars. The title game is at 7 pm tonight (Wed.). 5/03/99 Des Moines Rolls On The Des Moines Buccaneers shut out the Compuware Ambassadors, 3-0, yesterday at the National Jr. A Tournament in Lincoln, Nebraska to go undefeated in the round-robin portion of the tournament, and nail down the #1 seed going into the Tuesday's semis. Matt Shasby, Wade Chiodo, and Jerrid Reinholz scored for the Bucs, while Matt Carney kicked out 19 shots for the shutout. Craig Kowalski made 31 saves for Compuware. In the other games: -- The Omaha Lancers bombed the St. Louis Sting (NAHL), 12-1, and picked up the #2 seed. Rob Sandrock (3g,1a), Paul Caponigri (2g,2a), and Ty Hennes (1g,3a) led the scoring parade for the Lancers, while Joe Motzko and Ryan Malone each added a goal and an assist. Derek Eastman, Drew Kriiner, Eric Skaug, and Jason Platt also scored for the Lancers. Omaha unloaded 52 shots on beleaguered St. Louis goaltenders Dominic Blouin and Doug MacClure. St. Louis finished the tournament winless in three attempts. -- Lincoln, by topping the Billings Bulls (AWHL), 4-1, moves on to the semis as the #4 seed. Wayne Russell kicked out 21 shots and Brendan Hodge, Chris Fournier, Drew Otten, and Preston Callandar each scored one goal for Lincoln. Marc Ranfranz had 40 saves for Billings. Tomorrow at 3 p.m. local time, #3 Compuware (NAHL) will play #2 Omaha (USHL). At 7 pm local time, #1 Des Moines (USHL) will meet #4 Lincoln (USHL), the host team. A Dubious Achievement The Billings Bulls, who went 0-3 and were outscored 19-4, won the Sportsman Award, which goes to the least-penalized team in the round-robin portion of the Jr. A Nationals. According to a press release we received, this is the fourth consecutive year that Billings has won this award. Ouch. Now, we're all for people going home happy, but who came up with this award? Mr. Rogers? The Teletubbies? After three days of lopsided scores the last thing you want is a trophy reminding you of how sweetly you took your beatings. This is the sort of hardware that gets heaved into the dumpster on the way to the bus -- or out the window at the first intersection. 5/1/99 Scout's Notebook: Alliance Under-17 The Alliance Under-17 Tournament (1983's) was held April 23-25 in Woodstock, Ontario. This is what our scout saw. Goalies Justin Day, 5'10"170, Lambton -- Will challenge the shooter. Uses his blocker well. Keeps paddle down on scrambles. Kris Gabriele, 5'10"165, Chatham-Kent -- Moves well. Confident. Poised under pressure. Defencemen David Jackson, LD, 6'1" 180, Waterloo -- Good size, and not afraid to use it. Will jump into the play. Is always moving. Keeps puck in the offensive zone well. Craig Overholt, LD, Lambton -- Not big, but very mobile - and skilled. Moves puck well. Good shot. Ben Ritsma, RD, 6'1"160, Stratford -- Very confident. May hang onto the puck a bit too long, but he can move it well. Makes smart plays in offensive zone. Needs to work on his play in the defensive zone. Nick Rombough, RD, 6'1"180 -- Good puckhandler - moves it well. His skating is improving, too. Likes to join the rush. Can be physical. Derek Schultz, LD, 6'1"185, Waterloo -- Hits well - and has a mean streak. Very confident with the puck. Likes to lead or join rush. Jon Sitko, LD, 5'10"165, Kitchener -- Smooth skater. Confident puck carrier. Anticipates very well. Pound for pound one of the best hitters anywhere - really destroys opponents. Greg St Clair, LD, 6'1"180, Stratford -- Good in own zone. Physical. Carries puck a bit. and moves it fairly well. Forwards Tom Belanger, LC, 5'10"165, Lambton -- Good skater. Works. Bumps. Good puckhandler who shows patience and will take a hit to make play. Not afraid of traffic. Jordan Brenner, LW, 6'0"180, Waterloo -- Good size. Competes. Works. Hits. Has some speed. Needs a bit more mobility. Shows smarts in close. Not flashy; not overly skilled. Andrew DiMaria, LW, 5'10"165, Lambton -- Not big but works hard. Has some speed and quickness.Good puckhandler with some skill. Moves the puck very well even when pressured. Scott Dobben, LW, 6'0"180, Waterloo -- Good size. Great powerful stride. Forces well and hits hard. Moves the puck well. Sees ice. Not very creative1-on-1 -- he tends to go wide or dish off. Heads hard for net. Has some hands in close. Confidence with puck should improve. Mike Emrich, RC, 6'1"160, Kitchener -- Lanky. Needs more strength on skates and upper body. Has a wide stride. Wants the puck. Has confidence. Can be creative. Good playmaker who breaks well to open ice. Takes the puck to the net, but needs to be a bit faster when carrying it. He can score. Brandon Gingerich, RW, 6'0"170, Waterloo -- Good size; good skater. Forces well and finishes checks well. Works hard. Good puckhandler, but not showing same confidence as earlier in season. Sees ice well. Will take a hit. Shoots through screen. Kevin Hurley, RC/RW, 6'1"185 -- Good size; good strength. Physical. Competes. Has a short stride. Needs to improve speed/quickness, especially with puck. Good in tight. Wants it, gets it on net and can score. Good passer but needs to keep head up and move it quicker in his own zone Wes Martin, LW, 6'2"185, London -- Very good size. A good skater who anticipates and forces well. Can hit hard. Makes some good plays along boards to maintain possession. Doesn't show a lot of confidence carrying puck in open ice. Would rather advance it early and head for the net. Cody McCormick, RW, 6'0"175, Elgin-Middlesex -- Good skater. Has speed. Darts in for loose pucks or to throw heavy hit. Competes. Always around the puck. Doesn't hesitate to shoot when near net. He's smart -- heads for net at right time. Very good skill level. Creative 1-on-1. Moves puck well. Jamie McRae, LC, 6'1"180, Lambton -- Good size. Hands and feet need to get a bit quicker. Has some smarts and hands. Takes puck to the net. Can be creative with it. Can be physical. Daryl Moore, LC, 5'8"150, Brantford -- Small but very skilled. Very confident with puck, hanging onto it and waiting for options. Good speed. Shifty. Outstanding vision of the ice. A heads-up player. Moves puck well under pressure. Breaks well to open ice. Unselfish. Very creative. Brock Radunske, LC, 6'1"170, Waterloo -- Very good speed and stride. Confident, skilled puckhandler and playmaker. Still, he needs to hang on to the puck longer in traffic -- he'll often dish off when pressured. Has to pay the price, and get the puck on net. He can score creative goals, and throw good hits. 4/30/99 Hollweg Makes History When left wing Ryan Hollweg was picked first overall by the Medicine Hat Tigers in yesterday's WHL Bantam Draft, he also made a bit of history -- he's the first American ever picked #1 overall in the league's draft. Hollweg, of Downey, Calif., a Los Angeles suburb, played for the Langley Hornets (BCHL) this season, had a 14-40-54 line, and was named the BCHL Coastal Division Rookie of the Year. Hollweg was also the fifth-leading scorer for Langley but here's a telling point: the four players ahead of him were either '78s or '79s; Hollweg is merely an '83. Hollweg, 5'11" and 190 lbs, was also Langley's leader in penalty minutes with 173. USA Hockey officials hope that, despite the pressure of being a #1 pick, Hollweg will choose to join the US National Program in Ann Arbor, Mich and thus retain his NCAA eligibility. There were five other Americans chosen in the draft. Four are from Alaska and one from Minnesota. -- Picked #5 overall, by the Kelowna Rockets, was Jason Ryznar, a 6'3" LW who played for the Anchorage, Alaska Bantams this past winter. -- Picked #51 overall, by the Tri-City Americans, was 6'0" RW Ryan Stattner of the Alaska All-Stars Bantams. -- Picked #61 overall, by the Seattle Thunderbirds, was 6'0 RW/RC Joey Crabb of the Alaska All-Stars Midget AAA. -- Picked #89 overall, by the Kamloops Blazers, was 6'0" goaltender Steve Belanger, also of the Alaska All-Stars Midget AAA team. -- Picked #140 overall, by Seattle, was Justin Maiser, a 6'0" LW/C from Edina (Minn.) High School. Canadian players born in 1984, and American players born in 1983 are eligible for the draft. Playoff Structure Changed There will be a change in the playoff structure at USA Hockey's Select Festivals this summer. In the old system, you may recall, six of the ten teams were eliminated on the first day of the playoffs, thus over half the kids had nothing to look forward to on the last day except packing bags and being a spectator at the gold and bronze medal games. In the new system, by eliminating the two crossover games (#1 American vs. #2 National, and vice versa) and instead playing a regular round robin slate involving all teams on the tournament's penultimate day, the playoffs become a one-day affair involving all ten teams. In other words, #5 National will play #5 American; then #4 will play #4; #3 will play #3; #2 will play #2; and, in the gold medal game, #1 will play #1. In addition to giving all 200 players -- instead of just 80 -- a game to play on the tournament's last day, there is another worthwhile benefit to this system. With a team no longer able to win a gold medal without winning its division, the final day of the round-robin portion of tournament instantly becomes more important -- much like baseball's pennant races before the advent of wild cards. The Select 16 Festival will begin in St. Cloud, Minnesota on June 25 and run for a week, with the Select 17's moving in the following week. The Select 15 Festival will run from July 18-25 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. See you there. Columbine Survivors Include Two Hockey Players Among the lucky survivors of the April 20 carnage at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado were a pair of hockey players, Chip Dunleavy and Tim Mullan. After appearing at the Chicago Showcase with Team Colorado, both had returned to Columbine the day before the shootings. Dunleavy, a junior, is a skilled right-shot centerman, while Mullan, a 6-0 goaltender, and also a junior, is a player who caught the eye of USHR scouts in Chicago (see below). Columbine HS doesn't have a hockey team. Dunleavy and Mullan both played midget hockey in the area.
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