11/27/07
Maine Loaded for Bear
The University of Maine has just received commitments from three players.
Let’s start with the youngest, ’92-born LD Kevin Gagne, a native of Edmundston, New Brunswick and currently a sophomore at the Rothesay Netherwood School, a prep school on the banks of the Kennebacasis River, about ten minutes outside of Saint John, NB.
Gagne, who is around 5’7”, 160 lbs. and is a left shot, is a swift-skating, puck-moving, power-play type of defenseman. He’s due in Orono in ’10-11 at the earliest.
Word is that Rothesay Netherwood hopes to build up their hockey program, a la the Notre Dame Hounds of Wilcox, Saskatchewan. We don't know much about the school other than the fact that it is academically demanding. A large number of Irvings (of Irving Oil) can be counted among the school’s graduates
-- Coming to Orono much sooner – like next fall – is 5’11”, 170 lb. Swedish center Gustav Nyquist, an ’89 who plays for Malmo in the Swedish elite Under-20 league. A left shot, Nyquist can play center or wing, and has very good speed and skill. He’s on Central’s preliminary list of European prospects to watch for June’s NHL draft.
Nyquist was leading the league in scoring last week, but has just broken his collarbone and will be out for awhile.
A good student, Nyquist was also considering Princeton.
-- Also arriving in Orono next fall is 5’10”, 165 lb. Spencer Abbott of the Hamilton Red Wings (OPJHL). A right shot center who can also play wing, Abbott, with a 24-17-41 line in 26 games, is tied for 10th in the league in scoring.
Abbott has a connection to the Black Bears in freshman defenseman Josh Van Dyk, his teammate at Hamilton last season.
A 4/30/88 birthdate, Abbott is a native of Hamilton. Other schools recruiting him included Northeastern, Bowling Green, Bemidji State, Ferris State, and Niagara.
11/30/07
Pawlick’s Pick
Salisbury School 6’0”, 180 lb. junior forward Adam Pawlick has committed to Clarkson for the fall of ’09.
A 1/29/90 birthdate from Utica, NY, Pawlick is a smooth skater who is solid on both sides of the puck, and has very good hockey sense. He’s not flashy, or superb in any one area. He’s just a well-rounded player.
Other schools interested in Pawlick were ECAC schools such as Colgate and Quinnipiac. Pawlick’s father is a Clarkson grad (though not a hockey player).
-- Also committing to Clarkson is 6’0”, 185 lb. LD Mark Borowiecki of the Smith Falls Bears (COJHL). A 7/12/89 birthdate from Kanata, Ontario, Borowiecki, will join the Golden Knights next fall.
In 17 games this season with Smith Falls, Borowiecki has a 1-14-15 line. He’s a good skating d-man with offensive ability and a bit of a snarl to his game.
Princeton, Colgate, and Lake Superior State were among other interested schools.
11/29/07
Erlich Goes Major Junior
Northeastern ’09 recruit Daniel Erlich has signed with the London Knights (OHL).
A small – roughly 5’6”, 150 lbs. – high-skill forward, Erlich was sporting a 5-15-20 line in 21 games with the Toronto Junior Canadiens (OPJHL). He’s a 3/13/91 birthdate who last year was playing with the Toronto Marlies Midget minor team.
Erlich was also Waterloo’s first pick – sixth overall – in last spring’s USHL draft.
He’ll be in the lineup when the Knights host Sarnia tomorrow (Fri.) night.
11/29/07
ECHL Players OK After Bus Accident
The bus driver, 56-year-old Kenneth Nance, was seriously injured and is in the ICU at an Erie hospital.
Some players and staff suffered minor injuries as a result of being tossed around the bus, but none were sent to the hospital and all are on their way back to Elmira.
A number of former college players whose names will be familiar to USHR readers play for the Jackals. They are: Scott May (Ohio St), Brett Pilkington (Bowling Green), Kevin Ulanski (Denver), Bobby Robins (UMass-Lowell), Jim McKenzie (Michigan St.), Chris Busby (Brown/Miami), Jekabs Redlihs (BU), Joe Grimaldi (Nebraska-Omaha), Jon Landry (Holy Cross), and Dan Boeser (Wisconsin).
11/26/07
Rebuilding at Alaska-Fairbanks
The Alaska-Fairbanks Nanooks (CCHA) are 0-7-1 and, under new head coach Doc DelCastillo, in rebuilding mode.
Over the weekend DelCastillo got commitments from two members of the Sioux City Musketeers, who are flying high in the USHL with a 12-4-0 record.
DelCastillo will be adding Sioux City 6’1”, 195 lb. RD Cody Butcher, a 4/23/87 birthdate from Anchorage, Alaska who played for Merritt in the BCHL last season. Butcher is a puck-moving power play defensemen. In 16 games, he has an 0-9-9 line. Other schools in the mix were Northeastern, RIT, and Alaska – Anchorage.
Also heading north is 5’10”, 185 lb. right shot forward Justin Brossman who, with a 6-13-19 line in 16 games, is tied for 10th in the league in scoring. A 3/10/88 birthdate, Brossman played for Vernon (BCHL) last year. The year before that he was at Shattuck. Originally from Colorado, he now lives in West Linn, Oregon. Other schools in the mix were Mercyhurst, Western Michigan, Alaska-Anchorage, & UConn.
By the way, a tip of the hat to Musketeers head coach Dave Siciliano, who recently reached his 500th career USHL win.
11/27/07
Jets Peeved
The Fargo-Moorhead Jets (NAHL) are not thrilled that the Fargo Force, the USHL expansion team which Dean Blais will be coach/GM of, are moving into their territory.The Jets have hired Dudley and Smith, a St. Paul, Minn. law firm, to represent their interests. As a first shot in the battle, the firm has fired off a letter to USA Hockey with a number of objections, the chief one being the Jets’ claim that the USHL expansion team failed to notify USA Hockey of its intentions at the Annual Congress at least one full year in advance, a requirement.
Because of this, the Jets are claiming USA Hockey has failed to protect them by allowing another team to move into their territory. They are seeking a redress of their grievances, and there is a chance this could wind up in court or, hopefully, get settled out of court.
11/27/07
Energy on Ice
On the afternoon of Sun. Dec. 2, a charity game will be taking place at the Edge Sports Center in Bedford, Mass., the new facility that Hobey Baker-winning brothers Mark and Scott Fusco have driven to completion.
Admission to the event, dubbed “Energy on Ice”, is free and seating will be on a first-come first-served basis, but you must bring an unwrapped toy for the Toys for Tots campaign. The Stanley Cup will be on hand and autographs, photo-taking opportunities, and the like will be available starting at 3:00 pm.
Former Belmont Hill and Harvard player/coach/AD/Olympian Billy Cleary will be dropping the ceremonial puck to get the game underway at 5:30 pm.
The game will feature the AspenTech All-Stars vs. Gazprom. The former team is sponsored by AspenTech, Mark Fusco’s company; and the latter team is sponsored by Gazprom, a Russian company that is the world’s largest supplier of natural gas, a business so enormous that they almost constitute a government within the government.
In addition to Toys for Tots, the game will benefit youth hockey programs in Eastern Massachusetts, with the specific goal of funding hockey opportunities for young players needing financial assistance. Gazprom is making similar efforts in Russia.
Among the players skating in the game will be the Fusco brothers, ex-Cushing assistant coach Ray Bourque, Hollywood filmmaker (and former Andover backup goaltender) Bobby Farrelly, former St. Paul’s blueliner Don Sweeney, former Thayer forward Tony Amonte, former CM sniper Teddy Donato, former St. John’s Prep star Bobby Carpenter, former Acton-Boxboro forward Bob Sweeney, the St. Mark’s trio of Scott Young, Greg and Doug Brown, Milton Academy’s Marty McInnis, Cushing’s Jeff Norton, Lawrence Academy’s Ted Crowley, and another Hobey Baker winner in Lane MacDonald of the University School of Milwaukee.
The Gazprom team will include several Russian Olympians and NHL veterans such as Igor Larionov and Valeri Kamensky.
Former Groton School enforcer Paul Stewart will ref the game.
11/22/07
Turkey Chase
It’s Thanksgiving morning, and this typist, in the spirit of the holiday, is thinking of things to be thankful for. Penicillin… the cotton gin… the phonograph player… the songs of Bessie Smith. Once we start, where do we stop?
So this year, since we take nothing for granted, we’ve chosen to give thanks to artificial ice, while keeping firmly in mind the joys of skating on ponds and rivers. As you might imagine, there are excellent players out there – NHL players, Div. I college players – who have never skated on natural ice. They are thankful for artificial ice… like every time they draw their paycheck.
In the 21st century, with players skating year-round, it requires a leap of imagination to imagine how a college player early in the last century felt when, after roughly ten months off skates, he finally hit the ice.
We recently found a couple of articles in the New York Times archives which you may get a kick out of.
The first is under the headline “Hockey Season Here.” Following that less than dynamic headline was, as was customary in those days, a sub-head, which “Yale and St. Paul’s Will Chase the Puck at St. Nicholas Rink To-morrow.”
The date of the article is December 19, 1911. That’s right, hockey season arrived that year just in time for Christmas.
Here’s what the unnamed New York Times correspondent had to report:
A conspicuous event for the opening of the local hockey season will be the annual game between the Yale University seven and the representatives of St. Paul's of Concord, N.H., which will be played to-morrow night at the St. Nicholas Rink. The appearance of the lads from St. Paul's has always been one of the principal features of the local hockey season, for the reason that, although they are only junior players, they are experts, and readily oppose the strongest ‘Varsity teams, and generally defeat them. Harvard, Yale, and Princeton have been beaten in past seasons, and all have been compelled to acknowledge the superior playing qualities of their schoolboy rivals. This year’s team has been selected from over 200 candidates for hockey honors.
The Yale team had its final practice at the St. Nicholas Rink on Saturday evening in a game with one of the teams of the Amateur Hockey League, and made a creditable showing. Capt. Archer Harman has surrounded himself with a splendid lot of material with which to replace Swenson, Loutrel, and others of last year’s team who were lost through graduation. Several of the football stars, notably Scully and the great tackles, Paul and Philbin, are trying for places on the team, and will probably be selected for the line-up to-morrow night. Carhart, the new goal keeper, promises to be the sensational find of the year in college hockey. He has a marvelous capacity for stopping flying shots, and protects the net with greater facility than any other man in the game, except Dr. Mills. Clyde Martin, who is a brother of Sterling Martin, Captain of the champion Crescent Athletic Club team, is a splendid forward, and gives every indication of developing into quite as clever a hockey expert as his brother.
The second big game of the week will he played Thursday night, when Princeton end Williams 'Varsity teams will meet in their annual game.
--- We sure would have liked to see Carhart stop those flying shots, to say nothing of Dr. Mills. We also would have liked to have observed the unnamed St. Paul’s coach of the time (it was Malcolm Gordon) sort through 200 candidates for the team. We’re guessing that trying out for the hockey team was mandatory, or close to it. We do know that, at the time, every student at St. Paul’s was required to play hockey on one of the school’s numerous club teams.
Does anyone have any idea why the New York Times not only capitalized Varsity, but preceded it with an apostrophe? If so, let us know.
***
Here’s another article from the Times, from a year later – Dec. 8, 1912. Both this article and the one above followed lengthy articles on bicycle racing, which was huge in those days. Not surprising since, no matter what your country of origin may have been, the sport spoke your language. No delayed offside or touch icing to leave the multitudes scratching their heads. Anyway, the headline of this Times article reads “Yale Hockey Players Practice.”
Whoa, big news! Stop the presses! Tell us more! And the Times did. Here is the article, in its entirety:
Yale hockey players showed their form in practice last night at the St. Nicholas Rink. Capt. Harmon brought seventeen of the most eligible members of the squad here to qualify for places on the team that will play in the opening game against St. Paul's School Dec. 19. The squad included the entire freshman team of last year, in addition to Harmon, Chauncey, and Gano of last year’s senior team.
It was the first opportunity the players have had to practice on skates, because of the lack of ice at New Haven. Despite this they showed an aptitude for handling their sticks and shooting the puck that favorably impressed the hockey critics who sat on the side lines, and the opinion was pretty general that if the team was selected with any wisdom and the players properly placed Yale would win this year’s intercollegiate championship without much effort. Nearly all the players are St. Paul (sic) graduates and played together for several seasons before they went to Yale. The most conspicuous players on the ice were Tileny, Harmon, MacDonald, Chauncey, Billinger, Heron, Waingwright, Bangs, and Gano.
-- OK, so how did that Yale team do? Were the players selected with “wisdom” and were they “properly placed”? Did they win the season’s intercollegiate championship “without much effort”?
Well, we looked it up and, as it turns out, the hockey critics were having a bad day, as Yale went on to have an awful season. The Bulldogs lost that Dec. 19 game to St. Paul’s, 4-2, then went on to lose to McGill, Princeton (2x), Harvard (2x), and Dartmouth. The finished 3-7-0 and the only teams they managed to beat were Columbia University, Massachusetts Agricultural (now UMass), and, yes, the Yale freshman squad. The scores of the two losses to Princeton were 7-5 and 8-2. We do not know how many of those goals were scored by Hobey Baker.
By the way, the St. Nicholas Rink, which stood on the corner of Columbus Ave. and 66th Street in Manhattan, was home to the St. Nick’s team, which Hobey Baker, who played rover (hockey teams consisted of seven players back then), joined in time for the 1914-15 season. The rink was built with Vanderbilt money and was the kind of rink to which you’d wear a top hat. No “Potvin Sucks” chants there. But the very fact that Baker has been held up through the ages as a paragon of “clean hockey” indicates that there was a nasty underside to the sport back then. As they say in Longueuil, plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose. And that’s a story for another day, perhaps Christmas.
11/21/07
Goggin Surprises Coach
When Choate junior Mark Goggin left for his Glen Ellyn, Illinois home after classes last Friday, his coach, Patrick Dennehy, figured that within a matter of days his star forward would be calling to tell him what many had been assuming for quite some time.“I really thought he was going to Miami,” said Dennehy. “Everyone thought he was going to Miami.”
And why not? Miami is a strong academic school with a beautiful campus, a beautiful new arena, and the top-ranked college team in the country. Plus they were offering a full scholarship, not something that Dartmouth, the other school under consideration, could offer.
Last night, though, Goggin called Dennehy back in Connecticut to tell him he had decided to attend Dartmouth, where he will arrive in the fall of ’09. Goggin’s older brother, Connor, is a senior defenseman at Choate – and committed to Dartmouth in the late summer. Goggin’s father, Mark, played at Dartmouth in the early ‘80s. His mother played field hockey and lacrosse for the Big Green. When push came to shove, family won out. A nice Thanksgiving touch, eh?
As for the RedHawks, Dennehy said, “It was the first time I ever dealt with Miami and those coaches are awesome. I know they were disappointed but they were just great to Mark and his family. The way they handled the whole thing was first class. With the way that coaching staff is with kids, it’s no wonder why they’re the number one team in the country. They do things the right way -- and that actually made it an extremely tough decision for Mark.”
Dennehy said that Goggin has gotten a lot bigger and stronger. “Plus he has the softest hands of any kid I’ve coached in my 11 years. He has such poise. He brings the pace of the game to him.”
“Dartmouth is excited,” said Dennehy. “They couldn’t be more happy to have both kids. They're getting two winners."
(For more on the Goggin brothers – and their parents – please see USHR News of 8/30/07.)
11/20/07
George Frank!!
Here is some classic vide from YouTube. George Frank is the team manager at St. Lawrence, and this clip is from October 20, 2007, when the Saints were playing at Clarkson.
Why do we laugh at the misfortune of others?
I have no clue. Do you?
(It's reported that this was staged. The breaking of the stick may be a bit of a giveaway. If so, it's worthy acting -- slapstick is hard to do.)
Power Forward for Harvard
11/20/07
6'1", 191 lb. Edina HS forward Marshall Everson has committed to Harvard for the fall of '09.
Everson, a junior in high school this season, is a good-sized power forward -- a left shot wing -- with good speed and acceleration for his size. He's a smart player, with good hockey sense. In the Fall Elite League, he posted a 9-11-20 line in 11 games.
A 9/5/90 birthdate, Everson made the cutoff for June's NHL draft by just 10 days. Central has him ranked as a "B" prospect, i.e a mid-round prospect.
11/16/07
Ford Times
Syracuse Stars (EJHL) 6’0”, 180 lb. defenseman Dan Ford has committed to Harvard for the fall of ’09.
Ford, who logs a ton of ice time, is best described as an all-around defenseman. He has great mobility, moves and handles the puck well, and defends well. He’s the leading scoring defenseman on his team, with a 2-12-14 line in 21 games.
Ford, though still 16 – he turns 17 on Monday – is the captain of the Stars, currently sitting atop the EJHL’s Northern Division.
A native of Skaneateles, NY, Ford -- not to be confused with former major league ballplayer Disco Dan Ford-- is an 11/19/90 birthdate. He’s currently in the 11th grade. Look for him in the USHL next season. He’s on Sioux City’s affiliate list.
Other schools in the hunt for Ford included Clarkson, Yale, and UNH.
11/17/07 Governor's New Rink Sparkles
It's a new era at Governor’s Academy. The old rink, a frigid, dimly-lit affair in which visiting players had to climb a set of wooden stairs to reach the dressing room, is gone. Really, gone – like plowed under. Nothing but a patch of dirt remains.
The new arena, the $10 million dollar Whiston-Bragdon Arena, sits a hundred or so yards to the south, and this reporter was given a walk-through Thursday afternoon.
It’s impressive, and tastefully done. Spectators enter into a spacious lobby featuring a gas-fired fireplace and windows facing out over a pastoral view of fields and woods. The inside wall of the lobby is of floor-to-ceiling insulated glass, offering a full view of the 200’x 90’ ice surface. The interior is lightly accented with the school’s cardinal red colors, and the stands are, like most prep rinks, all on one side of the ice. There are scoreboards at both ends of the ice – a nice touch. From the ceiling hangs a sensor that registers ice and air temperature; another in the floor measures the temperature of the concrete pad. There’s a skate sharpening room with a new top-of-the-line sharpening machine, and a large team meeting room, in which workers were busily adding final touches. Each of the academy’s teams has their own locker room, and that even includes the school’s recreational hockey players. Each individual locker is built from oak, and each room boasts digital clocks connected to the scoreboard clock. Then there are the locker rooms for visiting teams – no oak, but nice nonetheless. The coaches’ rooms and officials’ rooms are both comfortable, with attached showers. There’s a trainer’s room. A lot of the details are well thought out. Governor’s head coach Peter Kravchuk says that, back when the rink was still in the planning stage, he’d bring a tape measure to other rinks in order to measure things that he wished to incorporate into the arena’s design – like the 35-foot long team benches with space in front and behind. There’s a crankin’ sound system but Kravchuk is old school so don’t expect ear-splitting music at each break in play. People can actually make conversation.
There are still details to be added, like vintage photos for the lobby and, for the inside of the arena, wooden plaques with the names of every player – both boys and girls – who ever suited up for GDA.
Kravchuk said he drew up a lot of the things he was interested in seeing in the rink on graph paper and, along with specific instructions, brought them to the arena’s architect, who lacked a hockey background. “He attended the University of Hawaii,” says Kravchuk, with a smile.
The rink is named in honor of Mark Whiston and Peter Bragdon.
Bragdon coached the Kent School from 1967-80 when that school was a perennial power, and then came to Governor Dummer as a headmaster in 1983. Since 1998, he’s served the school as Headmaster Emeritus and is a key player in the development office.
“Peter Bragdon single-handedly got this arena project going,” says Kravchuk.
Mark Whiston, the son of 1952 Olympic goaltender Don Whiston, grew up in Ipswich, was the co-captain of the last team that Bragdon coached at Kent (’79-80), and went on to Harvard. Whiston donated $4 million toward the rink.
The dedication ceremonies will be on Sat. Dec. 8 at 3:30, after the boys’ game vs. Milton Academy and before the girls game vs. St. Mark’s.
The ashes of the late Larry Piatelli are buried below center ice. Piatelli was the captain on Bragdon’s 1970-71 Kent team, went on to play at Harvard, and then returned to coach at Kent, taking over the varsity from Bragdon in 1980. Whiston was one of his players. In the mid-80’s, Bragdon persuaded Piatelli to come to Governor Dummer, which he did. In ’88, Piatelli coached the Governors to a Div. II championship, which paved the way for the school’s moved to Div. I the following year.
11/16/07
A New Era at Trinity
The NESCAC season begins tonight and, when Trinity faces off against Amherst, it will mark the first game in the program’s 37-year history without John Dunham behind the bench.Dunham, a popular figure in New England hockey circles, was a goalie at Brown, from where he graduated in 1965. In 1970, a year after finishing law school, he started hockey at Trinity as a club program.
The club gained varsity status in the ’74-75 season, but it was pretty bare bones. Until last year, the school never had it’s own rink, for years using the rink of a local private school. While the facilities were not up to what most other schools had, and Dunham had to practice law to make a living, he knew what he was looking for in players, and was able to attract them to Trinity.
In ’86-87, Trinity went 24-1 en route to the second of four conference titles. In the 90s, Dunham guided his program to the more competitive NESCAC conference. When he retired after last season, handing over the program to assistant Dave Cataruzolo, it was with a lifetime 441-306-34 record.
Dunham’s 441 wins place him fourth among all Div. III coaches.
The spotlight shines brightly on other coaches with similar tenure, guys like Jack Parker and Jerry York. Dunham’s profile is obviously lower than those men, but his contributions are just as great. All you have to do is ask any former player, prep coach, scout. Everyone who knows hockey in New England appreciates what John Dunham achieved.
Although retired from coaching, he’s remaining on at Trinity as a major gifts officer in the college’s development office. And we fully expect – and hope -- to see him out at the rinks, checking out prospects for Trinity.
11/14/07
Mid-Fairfield Dominates in Rhode Island
The New England Regional in Rhode Island over the weekend was dominated by the Mid-Fairfield 16-and-Under Team, which topped the RI Saints 7-2 in the title game and outscored their opponents 40-10 over five games.
The bulk of the team, coached by Chris Kiene, is made up of players who won the Under-14 Tier I Nationals last year.
Their top two lines were pretty dominant. We look for each of those six skaters in the Div. I college ranks – one is already committed. Ditto for the top pairing on D, the goaltender, and perhaps a few others.
One line consisted of LW KJ Tiefenwerth, center Quinn Smith, and RW Stefan Demopoulous. Tiefenwerth, a crafty ’92 who committed to BC – for ’10 or ’11 -- two weeks after the Select 15 Festival, will be playing this winter for St. Anthony’s High School (Long Island, NY). Smith, a scrappy, hard-nosed ’92 center, is at Avon Old Farms. Demopoulos, a ’91 with good hands who played at Shattuck-St. Mary’s last winter, is also at Avon.
The other line consisted of LW Tyler Bouchard, center Shane Sooth and RW Matt Nieto. Bouchard, a smallish ’92 with a strong sense of the game, will be playing at Glastonbury High this winter. Sooth and Nieto were teammates last season on the LA Hockey Club, and will be teammates again this season at Salisbury.
On the blue line, the top pairing consisted of Brandon Russo and Brendan Rempel. Russo, a strong, physical and skilled ’92, is at Salisbury. Rempel played last season at the Pomfret School but transferred and is now at Avon.
In net, ’92 Andy Iles, who played for Ithaca HS and the Syracuse Stars last season, had a strong showing. He’s at Salisbury now. We didn’t get to see Mid-Fairfield’s other goalie Michael Petchonka, who was at the Brunswick School last season, but is now at Taft.
Not all the good players were on Mid-Fairfield, however. Other notables from the Under-16’s at the New England Regionals were:
Ben Kaplan -- A ’92 D from Green Mountain who also plays at Burlington HS. An excellent student, Kaplan will likely be playing at a top academic prep school in ’08-09.
Andrew Bettencourt – Excellent skater, crafty, with good sense. Played for RI Saints '91s. 5’6” but plays big, with an edge.
Brian Dumoulin – A 6’3” ’91 D from the Seacoast Spartans who will be playing for Biddeford HS.
Casey DeSmith – Seacoast’s goalie, a ’91 who plays at Berwick Academy, was the best goaltender at the tournament.
(Note: The Midget Regionals were up at the Colisee in Lewiston, Maine, but we weren’t. Mid-Fairfield steamrolled through the competition up there as well, going 5-0 and outscoring opponents 53-11. The top line consisted of all Avon kids – Pat Mullane (BC), Cam Atkinson (BC), and Paul Lee (Dartmouth). Top blueliners were also Avon kids -- Lee Moffie and Danny New (Providence).)
***
And in the Bay State...
The Mass Regional, played in Foxboro, Mass., was won by the South Shore Dynamos (16-and-under) and the District 10 Bulldogs (18-and-under).
Players that caught our eye at the 16-and-under level included:
Michael Jamieson – A LW from the EMass Senators and Lawrence Academy. Small but smart. A smooth skater who sees the ice.
John Humphrey – A center from the EMass Senators and Arlington Catholic. A linemate of Jamieson; the two worked very well together.
James DiBlasi -- A big ’92 defenseman from the EMass Senators and Winchester High. Slightly choppy skater. On the raw side, but intriguing.
Sal Tecci – Goaltender from Neponset Valley who is at Thayer stood out from the pack.
Mike Sullivan – Defenseman from Neponset Valley and Newton North HS is a good skater who moves the puck well.
Mike Reardon – A 6’1” ’92 defenseman from the South Shore Dynamos and Nobles. Has good size, and can play physically.
***
Players that caught our eye at the 18-and-under level included:
Steven Whitney – ’91 forward from Neponset Valley and Lawrence Academy. What’s to say that we haven’t said before? He’s a player.
Antoine LaGaniere – ’90 forward from Quebec has size and goal scoring ability. Is at Deerfield Academy, where he could be formidable. Only weakness is skating – it’s on the choppy side. Was 5th round pick in Q draft a couple years ago, but opted for the NCAA route. Played for Neponset Valley here.
Adam Pawlick – ‘90 forward is a junior at Salisbury. Played on Neponset Valley here, on a line with Whitney. Showed speed, hands, and scoring ability.
Kyle Quick – ‘91 d-man is a junior at Salisbury. Played for Neponset Valley here. A good skater who sees the ice well.
Chris Kreider –– A ’91 center who played at Masconomet HS last season was the top forward here this weekend. Really stood out. Has size at 6’2”, 190 lbs and is an excellent skater with a nice burst of speed. Has good hands, is both aggressive and smart, has a quick release, and doesn’t overhandle the puck. Just an excellent high-end prospect. Has pro potential down the road. Played for the Valley Jr. Warriors here. Will be playing at Phillips Andover Academy this season.
Garrett Noonan –’91 defenseman from the EMass Senators and Catholic Memorial played a good, solid game. Was paired with Thomas Kader of Tabor, who also played well.
11/14/07
Motherwell Makes His Move
Former Boston College defenseman Brett Motherwell signed an Amateur Tryout Agreement (ATO) today with the Syracuse Crunch, the Columbus Blue Jackets’ AHL affiliate.
Motherwell is flying into Syracuse this afternoon from Omaha, Neb., where he has been staying in shape skating with the Lancers, for whom he played two seasons before matriculating at BC in the fall of ’05.
Asked when he might see his first pro game action, Peter Fish of Global Hockey Consultants, who represent Motherwell, said, “That’s the coach’s decision. He’ll practice tomorrow and skate again Friday. Then they’ll see how he looks for Friday night.”
Syracuse hosts the Toronto Marlies on Friday night.
Motherwell, the leading scorer among Hockey East defenseman last season, was, along with BC teammate Brian O’Hanley, indefinitely suspended from the Eagles for an unspecified violation of team rules after the season’s opening game, an Oct. 12 overtime loss to Michigan in the Ice Breaker Tournament in St. Paul, Minn.
O’Hanley, a senior, is still enrolled at Boston College, and attending classes.
11/13/07
USA Hockey: No Penalties on Game Sheet
USA Hockey Director of Hockey Operations Jim Johannson, reached by phone, claimed that the game sheet from the Under-17 Team’s 2-1 loss to Russia that concluded with a brawl contained no final list of penalties. That, he said, was the reason that USA Hockey was unable to include them with the box score they issued Sunday night.
“The actual game sheet didn’t have the penalties,” he said.
We expressed skepticism. After all, pee wee games have detailed box scores. This was the championship game of an international tournament.
“We’re dealing with Russia,” Johannson said. “Sometimes things are not up to the standard that they should be. It was hit-or-miss at a lot of events.”
“I’m still getting all the facts, Johannson added. “Everyone is just getting back. I’ve only seen the edited film (from Russian TV).”
Moving on, we asked Johannson if he foresaw any future problems arising out of the brawl. “It’s something I’ll get an update on,” he said. “I will have to talk to the Russian Federation. I don’t expect it to be a problem down the road.”
Johannson was asked if any players or coaches on the Under-17 Team could be facing disciplinary action as a result of the brawl.
“What we do with employees is none of your business,” Johannson said.
Hmmmm. We took another tack, rephrasing the question.
“I don’t expect any suspensions,” said Johannson, who stressed that he hadn’t gotten any feedback yet. “Until I get more from the staff I don’t know what to say to you.”
That’s what we have so far, friends. USA Hockey doesn’t really know what to say. Clearly, they are miffed at us for choosing to deviate from the party line and open up this can of worms. We have not heard from Under-17 coach Ron Rolston. The team is getting back today.
USA Hockey sounds quite willing to let this one die on the vine. If the past is prologue, we expect the game officials will get hammered (the US had two power plays to the Russians 12, which is not without precedent in overseas competition). And after that, we’ll likely never hear about it again, which is easy to do because the game was in the Moscow suburbs and hardly anyone was there to see it.
Most fights in hockey break out naturally, generally off a hard or dirty hit or a bunch of players coming together in a scrum. What happened at the end of the Russia-U.S. game was different, and appears premeditated. There were two discrete things happening. On the one hand, you had a U.S. skater coming a great distance across the ice to paste the Russian player against the far wall. At precisely the same moment, U.S. goalie Brandon Maxwell turns, shoves the net toward the end boards, and charges off in a totally different direction, looking to mix it up. The U.S. kids certainly got the fight they were looking for. They lost their composure, and, no matter what may have transpired during the game, that’s not how you want an international tournament to end.
11/11/07
U.S. Junior Selects Storm Back; Win Bronze
In a wild game in Trail, BC today, the U.S. Junior Select Team exploded for six goals in the third period to gain a come-from-behind 9-6 win over Russia. The win gave the U.S. third place at the 2007 World Junior A Challenge.“Our guys played extremely hard today,” said U.S. coach P.K. O’Handley. “This was a wild game, but the team persevered and handled themselves well. While we wanted first place, we have nothing to hang our heads about. We’re very proud of what we accomplished.”
The U.S. trailed 2-0 after one period, 5-3 after two, and didn’t gain their first lead of the game until Nick Dineen’s goal at the 17:00 mark of the third period.
BC recruit Barry Almeida, who scored consecutive overtime goals to give the U.S. wins in the first two games here, was suffering from a bad stomach flu and was unable to hold down food on Friday. He was held scoreless in Saturday’s 5-1 loss to Canada West, but came back with a vengeance today, notching five points and finishing up the tournament as the leading U.S. scorer with nine points (3g,6a). Defenseman Blake Kessel led U.S. blueliners with seven points (2g,5a).
Here’s a breakdown of the U.S. scoring in today’s game: Barry Almeida (1g,5a), Nico Sacchetti (2g,1a), Nick Dineen (2g,1a), Jimmy Hayes (1g,1a), Drew LeBlanc (1g,1a), Ben Blood (2a), Jack Connolly (2a), Tim Hall (1g), Nick Larson (1g), John Lee (1a), and Blake Kessel (1a).
Scoring by Period:
USA 0-3-6 = 9
Russia 2-3-1 = 6
First Period:
Scoring: RUS --Lazarev (Grachev, Kugryshev), 2:39; RUS -- Grachev (Chernov), 15:07. Penalties: USA, Kieffer (high sticking), 2:54; USA, Dineen (cross-checking), 8:02; RUS, Lukin (slashing), 17:34; RUS, Chudinov (high sticking), 17:53.
Second Period:
Scoring: USA -- Sacchetti (Almeida), 5:45; RUS -- Filatov (Kostromitin), 8:28; USA -- Hayes (Lee), 9:49; USA -- Sacchetti (Almeida, Dineen), 11:21; RUS -- Chernov (Petrov, Ostapchuk), 14:58; RUS -- Kugryshev (Chudinov, Loktionov), 19:52 (pp). Penalties: RUS, Chudinov (slashing), 3:34; USA, Nicastro (tripping), 18:41.
Third Period:
Scoring: USA -- Dineen (Blood, Almeida), 4:50 (pp); USA -- LeBlanc (Connolly), 6:14; RUS -- Voinov (Chudinov, Kugryshev), 7:32 (5x3 pp); USA -- Hall (Connolly, Kessel), 14:50; USA -- Dineen (Sacchetti, Almeida), 17:00; USA -- Larson (Hayes, LeBlanc), 18:38; USA -- Almeida (Blood), 19:04. Penalties: RUS, Filatov (slashing), :32; RUS, Filatov (holding), 3:41; USA, Blood (holding), 7:20; USA, Nicastro (checking from behind), 7:20; USA, Nicastro (misconduct), 7:20; RUS, Fisenko (hooking), 10:50.
Shots on Goal: USA 12-10-12 = 34 Russia 6-12-7 =25
Goaltenders:
USA -- Hjelle (60:00) 6/4, 12/9, 7/6 = 25/19
Russia – Alistratov (31:21) 12/11, 5/2, x/x = 17/13
Russia – Pechurskiy (28:39) x/x, 5/5, 12/6 = 17/11
11/12/07
An Ugly Ending
A brawl marred the end of Russia’s 2-1 win over the U.S. in the championship game of the Four Nations Tournament in Dmitrov, Russia yesterday.
In a move reminiscent of the Doug Palazzari era, USA Hockey has pulled down the veil of secrecy. The press release from the game, which contained no mention of anything unusual, concluded with this line: “The list of penalties for both teams was not available at the time of this release.”
And we’re going to fall for that?
This is 2007, the era of video file sharing, and, voila, from a Russian web site we have… video, not the best quality, but good enough, though hearing “We Are the Champions” for the two millionth time goes beyond merely annoying. Isn’t there a Russian version of the song?
Anyway, we’ll leave it to you to break it down. First off, from the snippets of action, it looked like a good, taut game. We see Russia go up on a power play goal in the first period, on a blast from the right point.
We see U.S. goaltender Brandon Maxwell stone a Russian on a second period penalty shot.
We see the U.S. tie it up with 3:13 left in the second on a great shot by Kyle Palmieri off a Sam Calabrese pass.
Finally we see Russia, on the power play, tally the game winner off a couple of nice passes with 13:03 left in the third period.
The next thing we see is time winding down with the puck in the U.S. end, along the far wall, and a U.S. player we can’t identify just creaming a Russian into the boards. Clean hit? Dirty hit? It was a 2-1 game, so you fully expect players to go hard to the game’s end, but the hit appeared to be right at the buzzer, and the puck was in the U.S. end. No scoring opportunity was going to emerge from that play.
Next we see Maxwell, in a petulant display of poor sportsmanship, turn and shove the net off the moorings. Seconds later, he’s tossing haymakers -- as is everybody.
There is context for everything, and we honestly don’t know how the rest of the game played out. For all we know, the Russians could have been major provocatuers here. It certainly wouldn't be the first time. But the fact that USA Hockey is choosing to pretend this brawl did not even happen shows poor decision-making by grownups who should know better. The NTDP is funded in part by the fees paid by every youth player in the country. They, their parents, and fans are all owed the truth. So give it to them! Don't insult their intelligence. Just say what happened, regardless as to the light it puts the Under-17 Team and its staff under. Brawls happen in hockey games -- and they certainly aren't worth telling lies over. Once the cover-up begins, people become suspicious of other things, like the trustworthiness of coaches and officials, or player selection at Select Festivals, and on and on. It's just not a path worth going down -- and kids know it.
Anyway, here’s the video:
US-Russia Under-17 Brawl Nov. 11, 2007
An attempt to reach U.S. head coach Ron Rolston was unsuccessful.
11/11/07
U.S. Junior Selects Defeated in Semis
Canada West scored four first period goals en route to a 5-1 win over the U.S. Junior Select Team last night in Nelson, BC
“Unfortunately, we didn’t play our best tonight,” said U.S. head coach P.K. O’Handley. “Now we’ll move forward and look to play better in the third-place game against Russia.”
Canada West scored four first period goals on just nine shots, chasing goaltender Josh Robinson. Brady Hjelle took over, stopping 26 of 27 the rest of the way.
For the game, Canada West outshot the U.S., 36-30.
Mike Cichy scored the only U.S. goal, a first-period tally assisted by Seth Helgeson, who was named U.S. player of the game. Denver recruit Joe Colborne, who had three points (1g,2a) was similarly honored for Canada West. Goaltender Bradley Eidsness, who kicked out 29 of 30 shots for the win, probably got some consideration as well.
The U.S. finishes up tournament play this afternoon, facing off against Russia in the third-place game at 2:00 pm PST.
Scoring By Period:
Canada West 4-1-0 = 5
United States 1-0-0 = 1
First Period:
Scoring: Can W. -- Ziegler (Brown, Seigo), 2:38; CAN W. -- Connolly (Seigo), 9:27; USA -- Cichy (Helgeson), 10:11; CAN W. -- Cherniwchan (Connolly, Colborne), 13:14 (pp); CAN W. -- Colborne (Connolly), 19:01 (pp).
Penalties: USA, Sacchetti (checking from behind), :38; USA, Saccheti (misconduct), :38; CAN W., Connolly (cross-checking), 3:03; CAN W., Cherniwchan (tripping), 6:30; CAN W., Goodman (tripping), 8:36; USA, Larson (hooking), 8:46; CAN W., MacWwilliam (holding), 14:43; USA, Dineen (roughing), 16:46; USA, Lee (tripping), 18:58.
Second Period:
Scoring: CAN W. -- Cherniwchan (Colborne), 10:00 (pp).
Penalties: USA, Almeida (check to head), 1:36; USA, Almeida (misconduct), 1:36; USA, Kieffer (holding), 5:20; CAN W., Goodman (checking from behind), 8:07; CAN W., Goodman (misconduct), 8:07; USA, LeBlanc (holding), 9:36; USA, Blood (elbowing), 11:53; USA, Lee (boarding), 13:15; CAN W. Ziegler (holding stick), 15:43.
Third Period:
Scoring: None.
Penalties: USA, Larson (hooking), 11:00; CAN W., Enders (roughing), 11:32; USA, Smith (holding), 15:47; USA, Helgeson (delay of game), 17:11; USA, Nicastro (check to head), 18:29; USA, Nicastro (misconduct), 18:29.
11/11/07 Across the Ocean
In a little sneak preview of April’s IIHF World Under-18 Championship, the U.S. competed in the Under-18 Four Nations Tournament in Huttwil, Switzerland over the weekend, going 1-2.
The U.S. lost to Sweden, 5-3, on Friday, though the BU recruits, Vinny Saponari and Dave Warsofsky, each notched a goal and an assist.
On Saturday, the U.S. edged Finland, 6-5, with Gopher recruit Jordan Schroeder coming up huge, figuring in five of his team’s six goals (3g,2a).
Today, the U.S. lost to host Switzerland, 2-1 in a shootout. UNH recruit Kevin McCarey scored the lone U.S. goal.
***
In the Under-17 Four Nations Cup in Dimitrov, Russia, the Under-17 Team went 2-1.
On Friday, the U.S. topped Switzerland 4-2, with Michigan State recruit Zach Golembiewski picking up a pair of goals.
On Saturday, the U.S. topped Slovakia, 6-3, scoring four times in the third period. UNH recruit Ryan Bourque had a pair of those goals while Golembiewski had three assists.
Today, host Russia edged the U.S., 2-1. However, BC recruit Brandon Maxwell came up big, kicking out 24 of 26 shots. Notre Dame recruit Kyle Palmieri scored the lone U.S. goal.
11/11/07
Heichman a Bobcat
5’6”, 155 lb. Sioux City Musketeers (USHL) RW Spencer Heichman has committed to Quinnipiac for next fall.
A 4/24/89 birthdate from Yorba Linda, Calif., Heichman played for California Wave before moving to Michigan to play for Honeybaked. This is his third year with the Musketeers.
Heichman, who made his final choice between Western Michigan and Q-pac, plays with a ton of energy, competes hard, and has excellent hockey sense. He’ll block shots at one end, and score at the other end. He kills penalties, and is simply a good all-around player.
He’s a vocal guy, and the team captain for the Musketeers, who aren’t loaded up with name players, but just have a lot of good solid types with junior experience.
Earlier today, the Musketeers were on the road, trailing the powerful Omaha Lancers 2-0 late in the first period, but wound up scoring the next five goals before bussing back to Sioux City with a 5-2 win. The Musketeers are 9-2-0 and have the league’s best winning percentage (.818).
***
The Green Bay Gamblers, sitting in the league basement, got some help this week when Owen Sound (OHL) cut Neil Conway, an ’88 from Concord, Ohio in his fourth year in the O.
In his first start for the Gamblers on Friday, Conway kicked out 37 of 38 shots in a 3-1 win over Des Moines.
Conway joins Aaron Crandall in the Gamblers’ goalie rotation. Crandall, a ’90 from Lakeville, Minn. who previously played for St. Thomas Academy, committed to the University of Wisconsin (for fall ’09) last week.
Green Bay released former Kent School and NY Apple Core goaltender Kyle Rank.
***
In other junior news, the Atlantic Junior Hockey League will be holding their third showcase of the season from Friday Nov. 23 – the day after Thanksgiving -- through Sun. Nov. 25 in Hudson, NH. All 11 of the league’s teams will be there.
11/10/07
On the Tube
Fox Sports Net – you can get it on cable in the Upper Midwest, or perhaps if you have a satellite dish – has announced its schedule of high school games for the 2007-08 season of Hockey Night in Minnesota. There will be 16 regular season high school games, featuring some of the top public and private high school programs in the state. For the second consecutive season, FSN will travel to Lake of the Woods to telecast the Baudette Bay Classic, played outdoors. On Sat. Feb. 9, Eveleth and Lake of the Woods will face off in the 10:00 am game, with Roseau and Blaine to follow at 1:00 pm. The remaining schedule is as follows:
Tues. Nov. 27 -- Eden Prairie vs Eagan, 7:30 pm
Thurs. Nov. 29 -- Rochester Century at Edina, 7:00 pm
Mon. Dec. 10 – Totino Grace at Benilde-St. Margaret’s School, 7:30 pm
Thurs. Dec. 13 -- Elk River at Centennial, 7:30 pm
Tues. Dec. 18 -- STA at Cretin (Highland Arena), 7:30 pm
Thurs. Dec. 20 -- Cloquet at Buffalo, 7:00 pm
Thurs. Jan. 3 -- White Bear Lake at Stillwater, 7:00 pm
Wed. Jan. 9 -- Warroad at Roseau, 7:00 pm
Thurs. Jan. 17 -- Maple Grove at Blaine, 7:30 pm
Thurs. Jan.31 -- Minnetonka vs Edina, 7:00 pm
Tues. Feb. 5 -- Burnsville at Eastview, 7:00 pm
Sat. Feb. 9 – Eveleth at Lake of the Woods, 10:00 am
Blaine vs Roseau, 1:30 pm
STA vs Hill Murray, 7:00 (Xcel) pm
Thurs. Feb. 14 -- Holy Angels at Stillwater, 7:00 pm
Fri. Feb. 15 -- Hill Murray at Moorhead, 6:00 pm
11/9/07
News from Around
6’1”, 190 lb. right-shot wing Štěpán Novotný has committed to the University of Denver for next season.
Novotný, a senior who came to Shattuck from Prague, Czech Republic as a 10th grader, is a strong skater with good size, good hands, and a competitive streak. In 22 games with the prep team at Shattuck he has an 8-21-29 line.
Novotný played this past summer for the Czech Republic in the Under-18 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka Tournament. The forward came to the U.S. because his parents, who are in business in Prague, wanted their son to be able to combine hockey with education. Novotný’s older brother also attended Shattuck and is now at Northeastern, in Boston, though not as a hockey player.
Novotný, a 9/21/90 birthdate, missed the cutoff for next June’s NHL draft by six days. He is eligible for the 2009 draft.
***
Speaking of Denver – and Shattuck – defenseman David Carle, the younger brother of former Pioneer and current San Jose Sharks blueliner Matt Carle could be following in his older brother’s footsteps. The senior from Anchorage, Alaska, an ’89 birthdate, has already visited Boston College and will be making visits to Boston University, Michigan State, St. Cloud State, and Denver.
Omaha Lancers defenseman Patrick Wiercioch just got back from a visit to Denver, and will shortly be visiting Wisconsin, UNH, and Michigan. BC appears to be in the mix as well.
***
Phillips Andover 5’11”, 175 lb. senior center Andrew Cox has committed to Holy Cross for next fall.
A smooth skater with good hands, Cox was Andover’s second –leading scorer last season (behind Joe Smith, now at Harvard). In 25 game, he posted a 14-11-25 line.
Cox, a 3/3/89 birthdate from Lombardy, Ontario, near Ottawa, will be matriculating at Holy Cross along with fellow Ottawa-area natives Matt Gordon, a center for Smith Falls and the leading scorer in the CJHL, and defenseman Kyle Atkins of Brockville.
***
6’1” RW Seth Soley is giving up his senior year with Eau Claire Memorial High School to join the Omaha Lancers (USHL).
Soley, who committed to Michigan Tech a couple of weeks ago, was the property of the Green Bay Gamblers but was traded to the Lancers for the rights to Edina HS d-man Joe Gleason, a North Dakota recruit for '09. Soley, who played for Team Wisconsin in the just-concluded Minnesota High School Elite League and was 1-2 in final overall league scoring with teammate and '09 Gopher recruit Nate Condon (Wausau HS), arrived in Omaha yesterday in time to practice with the Lancers. He will be thrown right into the fire as the Lancers play tonight in Cedar Rapids, a big tilt – and the first of three games in three days for Omaha. And then on Monday Soley will enroll at the local high school.
Soley, an "A" prospect for June's NHL draft, is a power forward who can shoot it and plays with an edge. By going to the Lancers he's foregoing the opportunity to add to his 150 total points at Eau Claire Memorial, where his is the all-time leading scorer for the Old Abes, named for a bald eagle that was the mascot for the 8th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment in the American Civil War.
Soley, a 12/21/89 birthdate, is not the only notable player to come out of Eau Claire Memorial. Jake Dowell, a Chicago Black Hawks draft pick who played for the Badgers and is now with Rockford (AHL), also played for the Old Abes before leaving for the NTDP.
Dowell and his family have been extremely active in the Eau Claire community over the past couple years raising money and awareness in the fight against Huntington’s Disease, a rare inherited neurological disease that the forward’s father is battling. The disease is also known as Huntington’s Chorea. Woody Guthrie, the legendary folksinger and songwriter who composed “This Land is Your Land” – among thousands of other titles – was the most famous of those who have suffered from the disease. In the wake of Guthrie’s death in 1967, the singer’s widow, Marjorie, helped found the group that became the Huntington’s Disease Society of America.
11/8/07
Almeida Strikes in OT – Again
At 2:30 of overtime, team captain Barry Almeida picked up a rebound, skated around Canada East goalie Bryan Gillis and tucked the puck into an open net to give the U.S. Junior Select Team a 3-2 win last night at the World Junior A Challenge in Nelson, BC.
The goal, assisted by defenseman Blake Kessel, was the second consecutive overtime game winner by Almeida, an Omaha Lancers forward and Boston College recruit. The win allowed the U.S. to clinch first place in Pool B. Next up is Saturday’s semifinals where, at 7:30 Pacific time, they will meet the winner of tonight’s Canada West-Belarus qualifying game.
Just seconds before scoring his game winner, Gillis made a pad save on a shot Almeida took off a rush from the left wing.
A key to the win for the U.S. was the play of goaltender Josh Robinson, who stopped 35 of 37 shots for the win. Robinson came up particularly huge in the second period, as the U.S. was outshot 18-5. In the first period, the U.S. was outshot 9-8 and in the third 9-6. In OT, the U.S. carried the play, outshooting Canada East, 4-1.
Robinson was named player of the game for the U.S. For Canada, defenseman Brandon Burlon was similarly honored.
The U.S. broke out to a 1-0 lead when Kessel scored from the slot on a powerplay 10:59 into the first period. The UNH recruit leads leads the tournament in scoring with a 2-4-6 line in two games.
Canada East came right back 1:28 later, tying the game up on a Jeremy Franklin goal. Just 47 seconds into the second, Canada East’s James McIntosh scored to put his team up 2-1.
The U.S. tied it up at 2-2 when Minnesota-Duluth recruit Jack Connolly fired a wrister over Gillis’ shoulder at the 6:46 mark of the second.
The next goal, nearly 34 minutes later, was Almeida’s game winner.
Game Summary:
First Period - Scoring: USA, Kessel (Sacchetti, Helgeson), 10:59 (pp); CAN E., Franklin (Zych, Budd), 12:27 (pp). Penalties: CAN E., Watts (slashing), 3:26; USA, Nicastro (interference), 6:04; CAN E., Watts (hooking), 11:08; USA, Blood (slashing), 11:24; USA, Almeida (unsportsmanlike conduct), 14:51; CAN E., Spivak (hooking), 14:51; CAN E., Spivak (holding), 17:26; USA, Festler (tripping), 19:29.
Second Period - Scoring: CAN E. McIntosh (Watts, Trivino), :47 (pp); USA, Connolly (Hayes, Kessel), 6:46 (pp). Penalties: USA, Dineen (hooking), 1:13; CAN E., Brace (boarding), 5:41; USA, Cichy (slashing), 8:25; CAN E., Consorti (high sticking), 10:02; USA, Kieffer (high sticking), 10:44; CAN E., Budd (holding), 13:48; USA, Lee (holding), 15:57; CAN E., Oakley (slashing), 19:12.
Third Period - Scoring: Penalties: None. USA, Hayes (interference), 6:25; USA, Almeida (hooking), 10:18; USA, Connolly (holding the stick), 14:02; CAN E., Watts (roughing), 14:46.
Overtime Period - Scoring: USA, Almeida (Kessel), 2:30. Penalties: None.
11/7/07
Almeida Completes U.S. Comeback in OT
A Barry Almeida goal with five seconds left in overtime lifted the U.S. to a 7-6 come-from-behind win over Belarus in their opening game at the World Junior A Challenge in Nelson, British Columbia Tuesday night.
The U.S. trailed 4-1 in the second period, and 5-3 early in the third.
On the winning goal, Almeida, a Boston College recruit from Springfield, Mass., chipped the puck past a Belarus defenseman and then shot it past charging 6’4” Belarus goalie Valeriy Pronin into the vacant net.
Almeida, the only ’88 and the oldest player for the U.S., was named the player of the game for his country. For purposes of comparison, Belarus skated 13 ‘88s.
The U.S. tied the game 5-5 when defenseman Ben Blood, a North Dakota recruit, scored on a shot from the right point at the 4:20 mark of the third. Exactly 10 minutes later – at 14:20 – the U.S. went ahead 6-5 when Minnesota-Duluth recruit Jack Connelly tipped home a goal mouth pass from Blood.
However, with 2:41 remaining in regulation, Belarus forward Andrei Kolosov knotted the game at 6-6 when he knocked his own rebound past U.S. goalie Brady Hjelle. Pavel Razvodovski notched a hat trick for Belarus and was named his country’s player of the game. Artem Demkov scored twice and Yuri Eliseenko had four assists for Belarus.
The U.S. outshot Belarus 45-35. Hjelle had 29 saves for the U.S. while Belarus’ Pronin had 38.
U.S. scoring: Barry Almeida (1g,2a), Blake Kessel (1g,2a), Nico Sachetti (1g,1a), Tim Hall (1g,1a), Nick Dineen (1g,1a), Ben Blood (1g,1a), Jack Connolly (1g), Jared Festler (1a), and Max Nicastro (1a).
The U.S. will play Canada East Wednesday (7:30 PST) in Nelson.
Before the game, Almeida was named team captain. Kessel and Seth Helgeson were named assistant captains.
2007 United States Junior Select Team:
Goaltenders (2): Brady Hjelle (Cedar Rapids, ’90); Josh Robinson (Sioux City, ’89).
Defensemen (7): Ben Blood (Des Moines, ’89); John Carlson (Indiana, ’90); Seth Helgeson (Sioux City, ’90); Tyler Kieffer (Lincoln, ’89); Blake Kessel (Waterloo, ’89); John Lee (Waterloo, ’89); Max Nicastro (Chicago, ’90’).
Forwards (12): Barry Almeida (Omaha, ’88); Mike Cichy (Tri-City, ’90); Jack Connolly (Sioux Falls, ’89); Nick Dineen (Sioux Falls, ’89); Jared Festler (Lincoln, ’89); Keegan Flaherty (Green Bay, ’90); Tim Hall (Ohio, ’90); Jimmy Hayes (US NTDP, ’89); Nick Larson (Waterloo, ’89); Drew LeBlanc (Chicago, ’89); Nico Sacchetti (Omaha, ’89); Craig Smith (Waterloo, ’89).
Head Coach: P.K. O’Handley (Waterloo). Assistant Coach: Regg Simon (Des Moines).
US Schedule/Results:
Tues. Nov. 6 – US 7, Belarus 6 (OT)
Wed. Nov. 7 – Canada East (Nelson, BC)
Thurs. Nov. 8 -- TBD
Sat. Nov. 10 -- TBD
US 7, Belarus 6 (OT)
Tues. Nov. 6, 2007 at Nelson, BC
Scoring by Period:
Belarus 2-2-2-0 – 6
USA 0-3-3-1 -- 7
First Period:
Scoring: BLR, Demkov (Korotkevich, Razvodovski), 2:49; BLR, Razvodovski (Eliseenko, Shumski), 13:02.
Penalties: BLR, Korotkevich (slashing), :25; BLR, Shumski (interference), 6:23; USA, Kieffer (roughing), 7:53; BLR, Voroshilov (hooking), 8:12; BLR, Voroshilov (hooking), 13:36; BLR, Golubev (slashing), 15:12; USA, Lee (interference), 17:23.
Second Period:
Scoring: USA, Sacchetti (Almeida, Kessel), :56; BLR, Demkov (Eliseenko, Golubev), 4:51; BLR, Razvodovski (Demkov, Eliseenko), 6:04 (pp); USA, Hall (Kessel), 8:42 (pp); USA, Kessel (Festler, Hall), 18:01 (4x3 pp).
Penalties: USA, Blood (hooking), 5:00; BLR, Korotkevich (hooking), 7:18; USA, Helgeson (high sticking), 11:45; BLR, Shumski (roughing), 16:22; USA, Lee (cross checking), 16:58; BLR, Mikhailov (slashing), 17:12.
Third Period:
Scoring: BLR, Razvodovski (Ladzik, Eliseenko), 2:15; USA, Dineen (Almeida, Nicastro), 4:20; USA, Blood (Sacchetti, Dineen), 4:44; USA, Connolly (Blood), 14:20; BLR, Kolosov (Komarov, Stas), 17:19.
Penalties: BLR, Demkov (unsportsmanlike conduct), 4:44; BLR, Pavlovich (hooking), 6:39; BLR, Demkov (roughing), 14:09; USA, Cichy (roughing), 14:09; BLR, Golubev (roughing), 17:46.
Overtime Period:
Scoring: USA, Almeida (unassisted), 4:55.
Penalties: None.
11/4/07
Twenty Schedules and Counting
At last count, 20 prep schools have uploaded their schedules to the USHR prep pages, and we thank the coaches for doing so.
Just so you don’t have to go looking for a schedule that isn’t there, here are the ones we have so far:
Bridgton
Brooks
Cushing
Harvey
Hebron
Holderness
Kent’s Hill
Middlesex
National Sports Academy
Northfield-Mt. Hermon
Proctor
Shady Side Academy
South Kent
St. Paul’s
Tabor
Upper Canada College
Vermont Academy
Williston-Northampton
Winchendon
Worcester Academy
We will update this list in a day or two – look for it on the prep pages.
You will notice that this year, if you click a school on the drop-down menu, you will be able to easily jump from schedule to roster to stats to game results – they’re all linked together now.
By scanning through the October and November Prep News, you will find the schedules to about 90 percent of the prep jamborees and holiday tournaments. We have a few more to post; they will go up this week.
Players at most schools will be hitting the ice in a week. It’s getting to be that time, and we’re looking forward to bringing you the news.
Note:
If there are any coaches who did not receive an email with information on how to upload their information, please let us know at information@ushr.com
