Despite posting won-lost records that have improved steadily over the past few years, from 10-21-3 in ’02-03 (the season Mike Ryan, Jason Guerriero, and Mike Morris were freshmen) to 11-16-7 last season to 15-18-5 this season, Northeastern AD Dave O’Brien has announced that he will not renew the contract of head coach Bruce Crowder.

Maybe, after nine years and just two winning seasons, the former UNH and Bruins’ winger wore out his welcome. Remember, Crowder was a hot property when he came on board, having paid his dues as an assistant to Sean Walsh, and then taken over at Lowell, where he posted winning records in three of his last four years there, including seasonsin which the River Hawks went 25-10 and 26-10.

Maybe someone else can come on and do better, but don’t count on it. People make the assumption that since Northeastern is in the Hub of the Universe, and a Beanpot school, that they should be competing with BU and BC for players. It’s never worked that way, though. Sure, Northeastern might steal a Mike Ryan or Mike Morris every blue moon, but those guys aren’t lining up on St. Botolph Street.

O’Brien says NU will begin their search immediately. Whoever takes the job had best be a great salesman, and with charisma galore. Will they get anyone like that -- or is Northeastern the graveyard of coaches?

3/15/05

Guthrie Named USHR Div. II Player of the Year

The USHR Division II Player of the Year is St. George’s School 6’0”, 187 lb. senior forward Shea Guthrie.

Guthrie, a RW/C, has great acceleration, can slow down or speed up the game, has a deadly shot, and is an excellent playmaker. At the Div. II level, he was frequently dominating. Had he chosen to play at a top Div. I prep school, his set of skills would have easily allowed him to star at that level, too.

Guthrie, the major reason St. George’s won the Div. II prep title (and reached the title game in each of his three years there), will be going to Clarkson in the fall.

In June’s NHL draft (we’re assuming they have one), Guthrie will likely be drafted somewhere between rounds 3-6.

Guthrie is from Carleton Place, Ontario, about 30 miles southwest of Ottawa, and is a 7/30/87 birthdate.

3/15/05

Quick Named USHR Div. I Player of the Year

The USHR Div. I Player of the Year is Avon Old Farms goaltender Jon Quick.

Quick, who started all 27 of Avon’s games, and played all his team’s minutes except for about 45, posted a 1.19 gaa and a .951 save percentage.

Here are some telling figures:
In nine games, he posted shutouts 
In ten games, he allowed only one goal
In four games, he allowed two goals
In two games, he allowed three goals
In one game, he allowed four goals (vs. Loomis)
In one game, he allowed five goals (vs. Albany Academy)

Allowing one or fewer goals in 19 out of 27 games is no small feat.

Quick, who is 6’0” and 180 lbs., came to Avon as a repeat sophomore from Hamden HS.

At the time, Avon was in a pickle. The previous April, Winged Beavers goaltender A.J. Bucchino surprised Avon Old Farms head coach John Gardner by informing him that he would be foregoing his senior year in prep school for the USHL.

Quick was thrown into the fire.

You could see right away, that he was going to be a great athlete,” Gardner said.

In June, Quick will be selected in the NHL draft, probably between rounds 2-4. In the fall, it’s off to UMass.

For now, though, Quick, a catcher, is going to Florida with the Avon Old Farms baseball team.

3/14/05

Rossman Commits to Huskies

Valley Junior Warriors (EJHL) 6’0”, 181 lb. forward Danny Rossman has committed to Northeastern. He’ll play one more year of juniors and arrive in the fall of ’06.

A 4/28/87 birthdate from Boxford, Mass., Rossman played for the Pingree School and Cushing Academy before leaving the latter after one year for the Junior Warriors.

In 50 games with the Valley Warriors, Rossman had a 25-29-54 line, and was the 10^th leading scorer in the league.

Rossman’s game is built around his speed and quickness. He’s learned to go the net harder and more often this season.

3/14/05

Romano to Big Red

New York Junior Bobcats 5’11”, 165 lb. forward Tony Romano has committed to Cornell for the fall of ’06.

Romano, a right shot LW, is a 1/5/88 birthdate from Smithtown, LI. He visited Cornell just before this weekend’s AJHL playoff games. In Saturday’s win over the NJ Rockets, Romano had a seven point game (3g,4a) in an 11-2 win.

Romano was the fourth leading scorer in the AJHL with a 34-29-63 line in 34 regular season games.

Romano is not a physical player, but he is very quick and has a great stick. Sometimes he’s invisible on the ice; other times, he looks like one of the next great college stars.

Other schools reported to be in the picture included Providence and Boston College.

3/14/05 Updated 3/15, 3/16, 3/17, 3/18, 3/19, 3/20

EJHL Playoffs

The 2005 Eastern Junior Hockey League playoffs get underway tonight with a pair of play-in games: the #7 Glades meet the #10 Falcons at 7:30, and the #8 Huskies meet the #9 CD Selects at 9:40 pm.

The winners will advance to the best-of-three quarterfinal round. In the quarters, each team plays a two-game series against a single opponent: #1 vs. #8; #2 vs. #7; #3 vs. #6; etc. If the teams split, there will be a 20-min. mini-game at the conclusion of the second game to determine which team advances to the semis, which will be on Sun. March 20 at noon and 3:00. The championship game is on Mon. night March 21 at 7:00 pm.

All EJHL playoff games will be at Holy Cross College; Worcester, Mass., up there on the hill, with the lights twinkling below.

Here are the final EJHL Standings: 1) Boston Junior Bruins, 77 pts. 2) New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs, 76 pts. 3) Valley Junior Warriors, 61 pts. 4) Bay State Breakers, 57 pts. 5) Walpole Stars, 56 pts. 6) NY Apple Core, 54 pts. 7) Green Mountain Glades, 52 pts. 8) New England Jr. Huskies, 48 pts. 9) Capital District Selects, 47 pts. 10) New England Jr. Falcons, 41 pts. 11) Jersey Hitmen, 38 pts. 12) Bridgewater Bandits, 26 pts. 13) Boston Harbor Wolves, 18 pts.

For the playoffs, teams will be reseeded after the play-in round and then again after the quarterfinal round. 

Playoff Schedule:

Mon. March 14 – Play-in Games:
7:30 pm – Falcons 3, Glades 0
9:40 pm – CD Selects 5, Huskies 3

Tues. March 15 – quarterfinals:
6:30 pm – Apple Core 7, Valley 3
8:30 pm – Stars 7, Breakers 2

Wed. March 16 – quarterfinals:
7:30 pm – Jr. Bruins 1, Junior Falcons 1
9:40 pm – Monarchs 9, CD Selects 2

Thurs. March 17 – quarterfinals:
6:30 pm – Warriors 4, Apple Core 3 (Warriors win mini-game, 2-1, and advance to semis, opponent TBD)
8:30 pm – Stars 3, Breakers 2 (Stars advance to semifinals, opponent TBD)

Fri. March 18 – quarterfinals:
4:00 pm – Jr. Bruins 4, Junior Falcons 3 
6:30 pm – Monarchs 6, CD Selects 2

Sat. March 19 – off day; no games scheduled.

Sun. March 20 – semifinals:
Noon -- Boston Jr. Bruins 2, Walpole Stars 0
3:00 pm -- New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs 7, Valley Jr. Warriors 3

Tues. March 22 –Championship Game at 7:00 pm.

Doneghey New Head Coach at Bridgewater

Merrimack College assistant coach Mike Doneghey will be leaving the Warriors to become the head coach of the Bridgewater Bandits (EJHL).

Doneghey, 34, a former goalie at Catholic Memorial and Merrimack, has been an assistant at his alma mater for the last six years. In one of those years head coach Chris Serino was getting treatment for throat cancer and Doneghey was the interim head coach.

At Bridgewater, Doneghey will be teaming up with Mike McLaughlin, who was head coach this year but will be the GM/associate head coach next year. Doneghey, who lives in North Attleboro, Mass., 25 minutes from Bridgewater, has been working summers with youth groups, the Hub Cup, and other enterprises out of the Bridgewater rink, which is owned and operated by Ben Ewing, the father of the BU forward.

When McLaughlin was hired last year, Doneghey was also a candidate.

“I wasn’t ready then,” Doneghey says. “And they got a great guy in Mike McLaughlin. Mike’s one of the reasons I took the job now. I’m excited about working with him. He has a good hockey mind and he’s a great guy.”

Doneghey was also the head coach at Fairfield University, when the program was Div. III, and was making the transition to Div. I as a MAAC school (and had no scholarships).In addition, he’s been an assistant at Hamilton and UNH.

Doneghey says he plans to use the contacts he has from his years of recruiting to strengthen the Bandits by bringing in more players from other parts of the country.

The Bandits finished this season 12^th in the 13-team EJHL with a 10-34-3-1 record.

3/13/05 Updated

Gendron Fired by Indiana

Indiana Ice (USHL) head coach Red Gendron was fired today by Indiana Ice owner/CEO Paul Skjodt.

From what we’ve been able to gather, the parting, in sports talk, was “by mutual consent.”  Gendron has one more year on his contract, which reportedly pays approximately $100,000 per year.

The Ice have not won in their last 11 games, since February 4, and are in imminent danger of being passed by Green Bay, losers of four of their last five, in the battle for the last playoff spot in the East Division.

The team’s director of player personnel, Dean Grillo, will be taking over as interim head coach. Grillo, who scouts for Pittsburgh, runs, along with his father Chuck Grillo, the Minnesota Hockey Camps in Brainerd, Minn.   

Also, Skjodt is reported to be stepping out of the owner’s box to go behind the bench as an assistant coach effective immediately. Skjodt, a Toronto native, played for the Indianapolis Checkers from 1985-87. In recent years, he and his wife Cindy were founding members of the Indianapolis Checkers AAA youth program.

Earlier in the season, the Ice lost top-scoring center Todd McIlrath to an ACL injury and last week lost goaltender Pat Watson for the remainder of the season with an injured groin. The goaltender they’ve been going with, James Kohout, who was expected to be playing back in Mass. with Acton-Boxboro HS, has struggled so far. He’s played five games, with a .853 save % and a 5.08 gaa.

On Friday, the Ice brought in forward Drew Fisher, one of the team’s draft choices, for the rest of the season, which ends in three weeks, unless the team reaches the playoffs. Fisher, a 6’3” forward played for Moorhead HS, posting a 20-25-45 line in 30 games. Fisher played sparingly Friday night; he didn’t dress last night.

It’s reported that Gendron didn’t see eye-to-eye with a significant number of his players, including the two Czechs on the Ice, forward Michal Borovansky, who played for the Czech Republic at the world junior championship, and forward Milan Gulas, who was the last cut for that team.

In mid-January, the Ice lost GM Josh Mervis, who reportedly didn’t see eye-to-eye with Skjodt.

Note: Indiana, as of today, has offically added Breck HS goaltender Alec Richards, a Yale recruit and the winner of the Frank Brimsek Award, which goes annually to the top senior goaltender in the state of Minnesota. Since he's an emergency replacement he is eligible to play in 15 days from Watson's injury.

3/13/05

Boston Bulldogs Win AJHL Crown

Salem, NH – The Boston Bulldogs won the Atlantic Junior Hockey League crown here this afternoon, topping the New York Bobcats, 4-1. The Mike Addesa-coached Bulldogs, a bit older than the Aleksey Nikiforov-coached Bobcats, were able to use their age and physicality to wear down the Bobcats. Naoto Hamashima and Craig Moore each had a goal and an assist for the Bulldogs. Dan Beauregard kicked out 29 of 30 for for the Bulldogs while Chris Molinaro, a Plattsburgh State recruit, stopped 47 of 51 for the Bobcats.

Boston Bulldogs 4, NY Bobcats 1

1^st Period:
Boston – Peter Schelzi (unassisted) 16:23
NY – Andrew Gagnon (Jason DeLuca, Mike Coppola) 18:01

2^nd Period:
Boston – Craig Moore (Naoto Hamashima, Craig Moreton) 2:56
Boston – Jim Koehler (Greg Costa) 3:52
Boston – Hamashima (Moore) 9:23

3^rd Period:
No Scoring

Penalties: Boston 4, NY 4

Goaltenders:
Boston – Dan Beauregard (30/29)
NY – Chris Molinaro (51/47)

In earlier games, all at the Salem Icenter:
Fri. 3/11 Quarterfinal: Northern Mass Cyclones 5, Washington Jr. Nationals 4
Fri. 3/11 Quarterfinal: New Jersey Rockets 5, Portland Jr. Pirates 3
Sat. 3/12 Semifinal: NY Bobcats 11, NJ Rockets 2
Sat. 3/12 Semifinal: Boston Bulldogs 11, Northern Mass Cyclones 2

League Awards:
Most Valuable Player: Vladimir Nikiforov (Bobcats)
Rookie of the Year: Tie between Nick Lampson (Rockets) and Mark Hanscom (Northern Mass Cyclones).
Most Valuable Goaltender: Chris Molinaro (Bobcats)
Most Valuable Defenseman: Jacques Perreault (Bulldogs)Coach of the Year: Aleksey Nikiforov (Bobcats)

3/12/05

Avon Old Farms Tops Final Div. I Prep Poll

Avon Old Farms, which won its fifth Div. I title by beating Canterbury in the quarters, Nobles in the semis, and Cushing in the finals, finished atop the final Div. I poll.

Final Div. I Prep Poll

St. George’s Tops Final Div. II Poll

St. George’s, which won the Div. II title by beating Brooks in the quarters, Worcester Academy in the semis, and Hoosac in the finals, finished atop the final Div. II Poll.

Final Div. II Prep Poll

3/12/05 Updated 3/13

Shattuck Wins Midwest Prep Invitational Championship

All Games at Culver Academy; Culver, Ind.

Fri. March 11:
Shattuck 4, Culver 3
Northwood 3, Gilmour 1
Lake Forest Academy 4, Upper Canada College 4
Wyoming Seminary 6, St. Andrew’s College 3

Sat. March 12:
Upper Canada College 3, Culver 0
Wyoming Seminary 3, Northwood 3
Shattuck 9, Lake Forest 0
St. Andrew’s College 3, Gilmour 1
Shattuck 6, Upper Canada College 1
St. Andrew’s 4, Northwood 3
Culver 6, Lake Forest 2
Wyoming Seminary 6, Gilmour 4

Standings after Round Robin:

Maroon Div:
Shattuck 3-0-0
UCC 1-1-1
Culver 1-2-0
Lake Forest 0-2-1

White Div.
Wyoming Seminary 2-0-1
St. Andrew’s 2-1-0
Northwood 1-1-1
Gilmour 0-3-0

Sun. March 13: PLAYOFFS

9:30 am: Maroon #2 vs. White #1: Wyoming Seminary 5, Upper Canada College 2
9:30 am: White #2 vs. Maroon #1: Shattuck 3, St. Andrew's College 2 (OT)

11:30 am: Maroon #3 vs. White #3: Culver 2, Northwood 2
11:30 am: Maroon #4 vs. White #4: Lake Forest vs. Gilmour

3:30 pm: Championship Game:
Shattuck 9, Wyoming 1

3/8/05

Rousseau Leaving St. Mark’s

St. Mark’s School varsity hockey coach Shawn Rousseau is leaving the Southborough, Mass. boarding school at the end of the school year to accept a position at a boarding school in Maryland.

His wife, Laurie Rousseau, the girls’ hockey coach and assistant athletic director at St. Marks, will be leaving with him. Neither will be coaching hockey in Maryland as the school, St. James School, doesn’t offer it.

Both made the decision because the new school offered them a chance to advance toward their professional goals of becoming, respectively, head of school and athletic director.

“I have mixed emotions,” Rousseau said. “My wife and I have loved our time at St. Mark’s.”

This year was Rousseau’s fourth year behind the bench. The team reached the semis of the Div. II tournament over the weekend in Salem, NH before bowing to Hoosac.

Rousseau, who broke the news to his players yesterday, will be handing over a team that is poised to do very well next season – there isn’t a single senior on the team. “I’m going to miss the boy’s more than I can articulate right now,” said Rousseau. “This year has been the culmination of my time here.”

There was no word on who the next coach might be. Rousseau’s assistant is 31-year-old Scott Dolesh, a Michigan native who went on to play defense at Dartmouth.

Lee Named Mr. Hockey

6’2, 200 lb. RD Brian Lee of Moorhead HS has been named Mr. Hockey in Minnesota.

Lee, who’s going to North Dakota in the fall, had a 12-26-38 line in 25 games for the Spuds. He missed six games while playing for the U.S. in the World Junior Championship in Grand Forks, ND.

Lee, a potentialfirst-round draft pick this summer, helped lead his team to the championship game of the state tournament, on Saturday, but the Spuds bowed to Holy Angels, 6-4

The award is given annually to the top senior in the state.

In addition to Lee there were nine other finalists. They are:

Brian Connelly, D, Bloomington Jefferson
Robby Dee, F, Breck
R.J. Anderson, D, Centennial
Mitch Ryan, F, Cloquet/Esko/Carlton
Jared Hummel, D, Holy Angels
Chris VandeVelde, F, Moorhead
Matt Ambroz, F, New Prague
Matt Niskanen, D, Virginia/Mt. Iron/Buhl
T.J. Oshie, F, Warroad

3/7/05

Maguire to Brown

5’11”, 185 lb. Noble & Greenough junior RW Ryan Maguire has made a verbal commitment to Brown for the fall of ’06.

Maguire is a hard-working, physical player with an edge. He’s also a strong skater, has a hard shot and can finish.

An Arlington, Mass. native, Maguire played at Arlington HS before heading to Nobles.

A right shot and an 8/13/86 birthdate, Maguire is also an excellent baseball player.

He was named MVP of the Cushing New Year’s Tournament.

3/6/05

Holy Angels, Warroad Winners in Minnesota

Holy Angels, despite being outshot by a wide margin, topped #1-ranked Moorhead, 6-4, in the Minnesota Class AA Championship Game at the Excel Center. 

Jay Barriball had a hat trick for Holy Angels (the last goal was an empty-netter). Tyler Hawkins, Ryan Hurley, and Lathan Logan had single goals. For Moorhead, Matt Becker, Chris VandeVelde, Cory Johnson, and Drew Fisher scored.

Class AA All-tournament team

Alex Kangas, G, Rochester Century; Eric Schulz, F, Tartan; Chris Sall, G, Duluth East; Cade Fairchild, D, Duluth East; John Ammerman, D, Moorhead; Chris Vandevelde, F, Moorhead; Brian Lee, D, Moorhead; Matt Becker, F, Moorhead; Lathan Logan, F, Holy Angels; Tyler Hawkins, F, Holy Angels; Jared Hummel, D, Holy Angels; Jay Barriball, F, Holy Angels.

***

Aaaron Marvin, off a T.J. Oshie pass, scored a powerplay goal at 11:27 of the second overtime to give Warroad a 4-3 win over Totino-Grace in the Minnesota Class A title game Saturday afternoon.

The game, an up-and-down classic, ended Totino-Grace's 25-game unbeaten streak, and gave Warroad (27-0-2) an unbeaten season.

Interesting stat: Totino-Grace scored the only goal of the second period, marking the first time Warroad had been outscored in a period all season.

Avon Repeats As New England Prep Champs

Avon Old Farms beat Cushing 3-0, behind shutout goaltending from Jon Quick, to take the 2005 New England prep title today in Salem, NH, their second straight, and fifth in school history.

No other school has won more than two titles. All of Avon’s titles have come under head coach John Gardner.

For the full story, please see Prep News.

3/5/05

Minnesota State Champions to be Crowned Today

Yesterday’s Minnesota State High School Tournament semifinal action at the Xcel Center in St. Paul, Minn.:

Class AA semifinals:

Moorhead 4, Duluth East 1. Duluth East senior goaltender Chris Sall stopped 48 of 52 Moorhead shots but it wasn’t enough to stop the powerful Moorhead Spuds from moving on to their sixth state championship appearance in 14 years. Senior goalie Derek Hittle had 18 saves for the Spuds. Defenseman Brian Lee and forward Nate Miller each had a pair of assists. Goals came from four different players.

Holy Angels 4, Tartan 2. Holy Angels scored three third period goals in less than six minutes to advance to tonight’s Class AA championship game against Moorhead. Tartan outshot Holy Angels, 31-25. Junior Lathan Logan had two goals for Holy Angels; sophomore Bryan Brutlag and junior Jay Barriball had one apiece. Junior Keaton Smith was strong in goal for Holy Angels, stopping 29 of 31 shots.


Class A Semifinals:

Warroad 4, St. Thomas Academy 0. Senior Kyle Krahn had a pair of goals and Ben Bengston and T.J. Oshie had one apiece in Warroad’s 4-0 semifinal win over St. Thomas Academy.

Totino-Grace 2, Duluth Marshall 1 (OT): Senior Erik Bredesen scored 32 seconds into overtime to give Totino-Grace a 2-1 win over Duluth Marshall.

Today’s Games, for all the marbles.
Class A: Warroad vs. Totino-Grace, noon CST, Xcel Center
Class AA: Moorhead vs. Holy Angels, 7:00 pm CST, Xcel Center

Note:

Rochester Century senior goaltender Alex Kangas broke a 57-year-old State Tournament record with 50 saves, but his team still lost, 2-1, to White Bear Lake, in a consolation semifinal at Mariucci Arena yesterday.

Kangas also made 42 saves in a 3-0 quarterfinal loss to Moorhead on Thursday.

The previous record for saves in a non-overtime game was 49, set by Jim Mattson of St. Louis Park in a 1948 quarterfinal game in which Mattson’s team was thumped 10-0 by Warroad.

The overall save record in a state tournament game was set by Apple Valley’s Karl Goehring, who kicked out 65 in a five-OT win over Duluth East in 1996.

3/5/05

Young Moses

Ryan Moses plays for Rye Country Day, a weak Div. II program so out of the loop that he wasn’t even one of the goalies voted to the Div. II All-Star team. That’s what happens when you play on a team that loses a lot of games. However, Moses keeps the scores respectable -- and gets a ton of work.

A couple of weeks ago against Brunswick he faced 76 shots and stopped 74 of them, allowing Rye to gain a 2-2 tie against a team they could barely skate with. (The final shots on goal were Brunswick 76, Rye 9.)

Moses coach, Gary Bingham, said he had “never seen a high school performance like that.”

He’s seen some that have come close, though, as Bingham said his goalie “gets deluged” in a regular fashion.

“He faced 55 shots against Hill; 66 against Lawrenceville. He’s the only reason we can hang around,” Bingham said. “I would not be surprised to see him at a Div. I program some day.”

Brunswick coach John Riley agrees. “He’s capable of playing Div. III college hockey right now. If he wanted to take two more years, he could be a candidate for an ECAC school. My understanding is that he will either PG in prep school next year or play junior hockey. He’s the best goalie we faced all year, that’s for sure.”

Moses, an 11/8/86 birthdate, is 6’0” and 185 lbs. and serious about his craft. He played for the Brewster Bulldogs in the fall, and was named to the Empire League All-Star Team after posting a 13-2 record, with a 2.55 gaa, and a .920 save percentage. He worked with Nashville Predators goalie coach Mitch Korn over the summer, which Bingham said “brought his game up another notch.” He’s also an outstanding student, with 1330 SATs.

“He’s very quiet, keeps to himself, almost shy,” Bingham says. “He has great focus and professionalism. He’s always working. I just leave him alone.”

3/5/05

South Kent Forward Battling Cancer

South Kent School senior forward Aaron Davies has been diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

Davies, 19, a three-year-player from Chesapeake, Virginia, only learned of it last week, a few days before the end of South Kent’s season. He’s back in Virginia undergoing an extensive chemotherapy program that will last 5-8 months and include 3-5 chemo sessions per week.

Yesterday, South Kent coach Geoff Marottolo reported that the tumor, after one week of chemo, had shrunk 50-60 percent – a hopeful sign.

Marottolo reports that Davies, who’s normally 6’0”, 220 but has shrunk down to 180 lbs., is a tough kid and a battler. Davies played on the same line this season as RPI recruit Andrei Uryadov, creating space for the skilled Russian, and gaining Davies attention from several Atlantic Hockey colleges.

 As the season went along, though, Davies faded. “He wasn’t himself,” Marottolo said. “When he started coming off ten seconds into a shift I became concerned. After the Northwood Tournament in late January I told him to go get a blood test. I suspected he might have mono.”

 One test led to another. Finally, early last week, the diagnosis ofnon-Hodgkins lymphoma (stage 3) came down. The cancer has not spread to his organs.

 “I didn’t play that bad with one lung, did I?” Davies kidded his coach.

 South Kent is a small school of 132 students where everyone knows everyone else. The community held a 24 hour vigil in advance of Davies’ first chemo treatment earlier this week.

 “Our heads are scrambled eggs here,” said Marottolo. “This is intense.”

 For those wishing to send a card or note to Davies, the address is:
Aaron Davies
1504 Elm Ave.
Chesapeake, VA23325

3/5/05

New England Prep Finals Set

In Div. I action today in Salem, NH, Avon Old Farms topped Nobles, 5-1; and Cushing surprised Salisbury, 4-2.

Cushing will take on defending champions Avon at 3:00 tomorrow afternoon.

In Div. II, St. George's and Hoosac emerged as winners and will meet in tomorrow's 12:30 pm title match. 

Check the Boy's Prep Pages for all the details.

3/4/05

New Time for Junior Bruins vs. Under-18 Team

The Boston Jr. Bruins (EJHL) vs. U.S. Under-18 Team game will be played at 1:30 pm tomorrow (Sat. 3/5) on the large sheet at the Belmont Hill School. This is 100% certain. The Junior Bruins, by the way, will be augmented by defenseman Anthony Aiello (Thayer), forward Chris Murphy (St. Sebatian's), and possibly Brian Gibbons (Thayer) and Brian Day (Gov. Dummer).  

3/4/05

Kessel to Announce it’s the Gophers

USA Hockey will be holding a press conference this afternoon to announce thatU.S. Under-18 star forward Phil Kessel has committed to the University of Minnesota.

First off, let us say that we think that USA Hockey’s holding a press conference to announce a 17-year-old player’s college decision is a mistake. What happens next? Will every player who goes to the NTDP get his own press conference to announce what college he’ll attend? Will the trickle-down effect lead to USHL teams holding press conferences to announce verbal commitments? Is this good for the sport? Is it good for kids? Is it a good precedent for USA Hockey to be setting? Has anyone in Colorado Springs thought this one out?

Well, you know the answer to that last question.

An unconfirmed report we received claims that Kathy Kessel, the player’s mother, hired a press agent to represent her son. If true, the press agent may have pressured USA Hockey to hold the press conference, and USA Hockey is not exactly an organization that stands on principle.

Back to Kessel. As of 6 pm last night he’d informed both Mike Eaves and Red Berenson (who’d made a late push) that he would not be playing for them.

Kessel made his official visit to the U on the weekend of Feb. 19. That night the Gophers played the Under-18 team, beating them, 7-5. In the stands, fans held signs – and they didn’t look handmade, either – imploring Phil to become a Gopher. Kessel figured in four of the five U.S. goals that night (2g,2a). Late in the game he was playing on a line with Gopher recruits Ryan Stoa and Peter Mueller. They were, said an NHL scout at the game, “the best line in college hockey – and they’re not even in college yet.”

There were two drawbacks to Kessel, a Madison, Wisconsin native, going with the hometown Badgers.

-- The Badgers, under Eaves, employ a more defensive system than than the up-tempo Gophers. Kessel, who has speed, likes the wide-open style.

-- The Badgers have recruited Kessel’s Under-18 team teammate, Jack Skille. Kessel and Skille don’t hang out together. It's also reported that the parents in the two families don’t speak to each other, at least not kindly. With all this bad blood between the two sets of parents as well as the kids, Eaves would have had to do an awful lot of fence-mending before Skille and Kessel shared the same stage.

A major plus for Minnesota, in addition to their style of play, is the fact that Kessel’s girlfriend will also be enrolling there. Plus, Kessel is pals with fellow Gopher recruits Jeff Frazee, Stoa, and Mueller.

The reason for the delay in Kessel announcing his college choice revolved around the OHL option. If an NHL collective bargaining agreement was in place, it’s possible he would have taken that route (his rights are owned by Saginaw) and spent his draft year there -- he’s a late ’87. However, with all the uncertainty surrounding the NHL’s future, it’s unlikely that Kessel’s family advisor, Don Meehan, would have suggested the OHL for next year.

Kessel’s father, Phil Kessel Sr., was a football player at Northern Michigan who went on to play quarterback on the Washington Redskins taxi squad for a couple of years. Afterward, he headed north to play in the Canadian pro league.

Kessel, who has a 30-28-51 line in 31 games this season, is being projected as the likely #1 overall pick for the 2006 NHL draft (if they have one).

After the press conference, Kessel and this teammates will fly to Boston, where they play the Boston Jr. Bruins Saturday afternoon (at Belmont Hill, 1:30), and the New Hampshire Junior Monarchs Sunday night (7:30 pm, at Harvard.)

3/3/05

14-Year-Old Shines at Minnesota State HS Tournament

Yesterday’s standout at the Minnesota State High School Tournament Class A quarterfinals was 14-year-old eighth grader Jordan Schroeder. The 1990-born forward scored two goals and added two assists to lead St. Thomas Academy to an 8-2 upset of Virginia/Mt. Iron/Buhl, one-upping 6’2” Virginia RD Matt Niskanen, a Minnesota-Duluth recruit expected to go in the top few rounds of this year’s NHL draft.

In yesterday’s other quarterfinals: sophomore forward Aaron Marvin (2g) and senior D Kyle Hardwick (1g,2a) led Warroad, still perfect at 25-0-2, past Albert Lea… Senior forward Dan Malone (1g,3a) and senior D Brian Schack (2g,1a) led Totino-Grace to a 5-2 win over Shakopee. The win was their 24^th in a row… Duluth Marshall hammered Little Falls, 9-2, outshooting them 44-18 in the process. Senior forwards Scott Kozlak (4g) and Chris Connolly (1g,3a); and junior forward Kevin Mahoney (2g,1a) led the scoring parade for Marshall.

In Friday’s semis at the Excel Center, St. Thomas will play Warroad at noon; and Totino-Grace will face Duluth Marshall at 2:00 pm.

3/3/05

Prep Coaches Nix NTDP Game

The Boston Junior Bruins vs. U.S. Under-18 Team game scheduled for Saturday night at 8:10 at the Icecenter in Salem, NH has been scuttled by NEPSIHA, the association of the New England prep school hockey coaches.

The Junior Bruins, after a couple days of scrambling, secured another venue this afternoon, and the game will be played at the Belmont Hill School at 12:10 on Saturday afternoon. According to Jr. Bruins coach Peter Masters, the time is “99% certain.” (When it’s 100% certain, we’ll let you know.)      

From the feedback we’re getting, there is a lot of disappointment over this decision by the prep coaches, mainly because the game would not have gone head-to-head with any of the semis. After the day’s fourth and final semi, the big sheet, where the prep games will be played, has a New Hampshire high school game scheduled.

The back rink is where the Jr. Bruins and the Under-18 team would have played. There would have been no conflict with the prep tournament whatsoever. Furthermore, it’s a totally different rink, with only a roof in common. It even has its own entrance.

NEPSIHA, since they only rent the big rink for the hours of the tournament, did not, contractually speaking, have the power to disallow the ice rental for the Junior Bruins vs.Under-18 game. However, they made it very clear to rink owner Peter Ferriero, whose son Benn Ferriero (Gov. Dummer) will be skating with the Under-18s this weekend, that, if the NTDP- Jr. Bruins game were to go on, that the prep tournament would take their business elsewhere next season. Ferriero made the smart business decision, but really shouldn’t have been put in that position.

Our question is simply this: why can’t we all get along?

Or is this just the year hockey fans get shafted at every turn?

Here’s the deal: If the game had been allowed to stand, everybody would have come out ahead. Fans who might not otherwise come to the prep tournament would show up, pay their admission, bolster the NEPSIHA coffers, and see four excellent prep teams go at it. The prep tournament, just like the Minnesota High School Tournament, is a great showcase, and one that would have had the chance to be even more memorable for those making the long trip. Many of the fans in Salem on Saturday will have never seen Under-18 forward Phil Kessel, who is looking more and more like a once-in-a-decade player, a U.S. Sydney Crosby. It would have been a treat for all to amble downstairs after the prep games and take a peek.

Now, the prep coaches have put themselves in the position of being seen as killjoys.

We know there are philosophical differences between the preps and the NTDP and junior hockey, but we don’t really see why the prep coaches feel threatened to the point that such protectionism as we’re discussing here is necessary. Prep hockey has been around for a long, long time, has an incredibly rich tradition (in all senses of the word), and is in fine shape. One can argue about whether the quality is as high as in other years, but when we look around we see about 800 Div. I varsity players, about 500 Div. II varsity players, and an even larger number playing JV, freshman, etc. We also see dozens of girls programs. And we see rinks that some college programs would kill for. Losing five or so kids to the NTDP and a handful to the EJHL is not going to make a dent in those numbers. Preps win most recruiting battles against EJHL teams. Don’t believe it? Ask the EJHL coaches.

However, sending the Junior Bruins – US Under-18 game packing gives the appearance that prep coaches are really concerned about being shown up or something. It gives an appearance of weakness, which is just bad PR. The NTDP, junior hockey, and prep hockey are all different products. Nobody with half a brain is going to confuse them.

On Saturday, a lot of the NHL scouts will head over to see the Under-18 Team and then show up in Salem later in the afternoon. Some might not show up at all. At the very least, many will miss the Div. II games. That’s too bad, because this weekend should be about the players. It’s their day in the sun. They worked hard to get to Salem. And we just want attentive people watching. Unfortunately, some of those people will be missing, and all because grownups felt the need to make a point that could have been better made elsewhere, and at some other time.

We feel strongly about this. Maybe this winter’s NHL labor battles have gotten the better of this, but we’re really sick of fighting. There just has to be a way to get along.

3/2/05

Top Seeds Move on in Div. I

In Div. I quarterfinal action this afternoon, home ice proved nice as all four top seeds moved on to Salem, NH for Saturday’s semifinals at the Icenter.

We want to thank all those who called and e-mailed in period-by-period updates. For those of you who haven’t seen them please check out the Prep Boys section – or even the Prep Girls section, for that matter.

Div. I Saturday Semifinal matchups:
#1W Avon vs. #2E Nobles, 3:30 pm
#1E Cushing vs. #2W Salisbury, 6:00 pm 

The Div. I championship game is on Sunday at 3:00 pm.

Div. II Saturday Semifinal matchups:
#1 Worcester Academy vs. #4 St. George's, 11:00 am
#7 Hoosac vs. #6 St. Mark's, 1:15 pm 

The Div. II championship game is on Sunday at 12:30 pm

3/1/05 Updated

Final NEPSIHA Rankings

Here are the final Div. I rankings, courtesy of NEPSIHA. The three categories are:
1) Overall NEPSIHA record.
2) Overall NEPSIHA Div. I record.
3) Strength of schedule.

EAST:

  1.Cushing: 4 (1-1-2)
  2.Nobles: 5 (2-2-1)
  3.Thayer: 12 (3-3-6)
  4.Andover: 12 (4-5-3)
  5.St. Paul’s: 16 (5-4-7)
  6.Exeter: 20 (6-6-8)
  7.   NMH: 22 (9-8-5)
  8.Tabor: 24 (7-7-10)
  9.St. Sebastian’s: 24 (11-9-4)
10.   GDA: 32 (10-9-13)
11.   Bridgton: 32 (7-11-14)
12.   Belmont Hill: 33 (12-12-9)
13.   Lawrence Academy: 38 (14-14-10)
14.   Milton: 44 (13-13-18)
15.   Holderness: 44 (16-16-12)
16.   KUA: 46 (15-15-16)
17.   Tilton: 49 (17-17-15)
18.   BB&N: 52 (18-18-16)

WEST:

1. Avon: 3 (1-1-1)
2. Salisbury: 7 (2-2-3)
3. Taft: 8 (3-3-2)
4. Canterbury: 14 (4-4-6)
5. Deerfield: 14 (5-5-4)
6. Choate: 20 (7-8-5)
7. Westminster: 24 (7-8-9)
8. South Kent: 25 (6-6-13)
9. Pomfret: 27 (10-10-7)
10. Berkshire: 30 (11-11-8)
11. Winchendon: 32 (9-7-16)
12. Albany Academy: 37 (12-13-12)
13. Loomis: 38 (14-14-10)
14. Gunnery: 40 (13-12-15)
15. Hotchkiss: 41 (15-15-11)
16. Trinity-Pawling: 48 (16-16-16)
17. Millbrook: 48 (17-17-14)
18. Kent: 52 (18-18-16)
19. Williston: 53 (18-19-16)

Div. I Notes:

St. Paul’s did what they had to do – i.e. win out – and they still didn’t get in. How close was it? If Thayer had lost on Saturday, St. Paul’s would have been in. Ironically, St. Paul’s beat Thayer on consecutive Saturdays – both times in OT. Thayer will be facing Nobles tomorrow without RW Pierce Norton who was tossed from Saturday’s game against St. Sebastian’s for a hit from behind.

Nobles, which beat Cushing in the Watkins finale, came extremely close to taking over the #1 spot in the East from the Penguins. The difference between the team when all the numbers were crunched was .001.

Div. II Notes:

In Div. II, there’s not much disagreement: the top four seeds all deserve to be there. With the exception of #4 St. George's, which has a loss and a tie in their two games with #5 Brooks (tomorrow's opponent) and a loss also to #6 St. Mark's, the teams that got home ice went undefeated in head-to-head competition against the bottom four seeds.

Of the 56 potential matchups (8x7) in Div. II, only about 30 happened, and those were mostly matchups between ISL teams. Does the ISL skew things by playing schedules that feature few games outside of the league? We think so. If, in any given year, the ISL is strong top-to-bottom, they can effectively cancel each other out to the point where it’s possible that none would make it. If, in a given year, it’s particularly weak at the bottom – this year, for example – three teams can make the tournament.

Here are the records of playoff-bound Div. II teams vs. the seven other playoff bound teams during the regular season.

#1 Worcester Academy: 1-1
#2 Vermont Academy: 1-1-1
#3 Brunswick: 4-1-1
#4 St. George’s: 2-2-1
#5 Brooks: 3-1-2
#6 St. Mark’s: 1-3
#7 Hoosac: 1-3
#8 Kent’s Hill: 0-4-1

3/1/05

Calling All Blackberries

We’re going to do things a little differently for the quarterfinals this year. We’re going to attempt to post updates at the end of every period of every game, both Div. I and Div. II, and both boys and girls.

We’re looking for volunteers, most especially volunteers with Blackberries who would be willing, when each period ends, to send a short e-mail to us with the score at the end of each period and, if known, goal scorers. It’s fine, if something seems newsworthy, to add additional info. The important thing, however, is to get the basic info in, so people can get scores in what will be pretty close to real-time.

If anyone has a Blackberry and would be willing to help out, please email cwarner@ushr.com and let us know which game you will be attending. Also, if you do NOT have a Blackberry, but would be willing to phone in scores at the end of periods, please email us and let us know because we may be able to use you, too, either as a principle reporter or as a backup. After all, not everyone has a Blackberry, but virtually everyone has a cell phone.

The goal is to keep the whole hockey community up to date, and give those who can’t be at the games timely information. With your help we can pull this project off. It should be fun.