Mon. 3/20/17
Seeing the Future
On the weekend of March 31st-April 2nd -- it's the dead weekend between the NCAA Regionals and the Frozen Four -- we'll once again be up at Merrimack College for the Total Pro Evaluation Spring Showcase.
There, the next generation -- the '03s, '04s, and '05s -- will be showcasing their skills.
The weekend, put together by Boston Bruins Assistant Director of Amateur Scouting Scott "Fitzy" Fitzgerald, will feature the elite up-and-comers. Fitzgerald knows this age group well -- he has a son who is an '03 -- and has put together a camp featuring many of the best. We've seen a number of them -- the '03s, to be specific -- and there are some excellent ones. Coaches who show up -- whether from the youth, prep, junior or college ranks -- will not be disappointed.
Players from the top Massachusetts youth programs will be represented, as well as players from organizations such as the Mid-Fairfield Junior Rangers, the NJ Junior Devils, the LI Gulls, Westchester Express, NJ Colonials, and others.
The tournament has expanded this year, with six teams in the '03 Division (up from four last year), five teams in the '04 Division (up from four) and five teams in the '05 Division (up from two). But there are also more players coming in from outside the Northeast, specifically Detroit, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Florida. Of the 272 players in the event, 115 are from outside New England, even including one from Sweden.
In addition to the games, some key panelists will be speaking to the kids and their parents at a seminar at the Andover Country Club Saturday from 11:30-2:30 pm. Games will not be played during the three hour break.
But that's fine. There will be plenty to learn from college coaches Paul Pearl (Harvard), Greg Brown (BC), Billy Powers (Michigan), and David Quinn (or one of has assistants from BU). Others speaking will be Jeremiah Crowe (NTDP Player Personnel Director), Dave Peters (Selects Academy), Jeremiah McCarthy (Belmont Hill), Paul Cannata (Milton Academy), Sean Tremblay (Islanders Hockey Club), and Kyle Czech (asst. athletic trainer at BU).
In addition, a couple of fathers of NHLers will take the podium. Bob Eichel will talk about why he chose the junior route for his son, Jack; and Kevin Hayes will dicuss why he chose prep school for his sons, Jimmy and Kevin.
The teams will be coached by New England prep coaches Shawn McEachern (Rivers), Tony Amonte (Thayer), Jeremiah McCarthy (Belmont Hill), Sean McCann (St. Sebastian's), Paul Cannata (Milton), Paul Tortorella (Andover), Dave Ries (Brooks), Brett Riley (Albany Academy), Bill Riley (Groton), Larry Cockerill (Governor's), and Steve Jacobs (Cushing).
Merrrimack has two sheets, Lawler (the main arena) and Gallant (the practice arena). Every player will get two skills sessions and three games. Skills will be on Friday and Saturday mornings, with Peter Russo running skills on one sheet and Dynamic Skating (John McLean, Tom Ford) running a session on the other sheet. Games will begin at 3:00 pm Friday and Saturday and at 8:00 am Sunday.
You'll find all you need to know here:
Total Pro Evaluation Spring Showcase
(There are links to the TPE team rosters and the TPE schedules. Click on one of the three tabs on the bottom to find the birth year you are looking for.)
There will be a lot of kids on hand with prep school aspirations, so any prep coaches who need more details should contact Scott Fitzgerald at scottfitzbruins@comcast.net
Mon. 3/27/17
Shriners' Game Rosters
On Sun. April 2, the 8th Annual Aleppo Shriners All-Star Game, held in conjunction with the Massachusetts State Hockey Coaches Association, will be held at the Canton Ice House (Canton, Mass.). Faceoff is at 4:00 pm.
This is a seniors-only game.
Eight former participants in this game went on to be drafted by NHL clubs. For the record, they are:
Max Willman (Barnstable HS) Buffalo Sabres, 5th round 2014, Brown
Liam Coughlin (Catholic Memorial) Edmonton Oilers, 5th round 2014, Vermont
Nolan Vesey (Austin Prep) Toronto Maple Leafs, 6th round, 2014, Maine
Brian Pinho (St. John's Prep) Washington Capitals, 6th round, 2013, Providence
Chris Leblanc (Winthrop HS) Ottawa Senators, 6th round, 2013, Merrimack
Sam Kurker (St. John's Prep) St. Louis Blues, 2nd round, 2012, Northeastern
Brendan Collier (Malden Catholic) Carolina Hurricanes, 7th round, 2012, Northeastern
Colin Blackwell (St. John's Prep) San Jose Sharks, 7th round, 2011, Harvard
Boys Rosters: 2017 Aleppo Shriners All-Star Game
The boys game will be preceded by the Shriners' Girls' Seniors All-Star Game, which is now in its fifth year. Faceoff for the girls' game will be at 2:00 pm.
Here are the rosters:
Girls rosters: 2017 Aleppo Shriners All-Star Game
Admission to the games is $11, with all proceeds going to the Shriners Childrens Hospital.
All press, college, junior, and prep coaches should sign in at the main gate.
Fri. 3/17/17
Eggleston Brings Back a Golden Era
Retired scout Gary Eggleston, a Wakefield, Mass. resident whose scouting career with the Detroit Red Wings and NHL's Central Scouting Services goes back to the early 1960s, has, in a newly-published 24-page monograph, reached back even further, to a series of games played annually between the GBI (Greater Boston Interscholastic League) All-Stars and Catholic High School of Montreal in the years 1932-1956.
The GBI was the oldest high school hockey league in Massachusetts, with teams such as Melrose, Stoneham, Medford, Arlington, Belmont, Cambridge Latin, Rindge Tech (Cambridge), and Newton. There were other strong leagues in the state, such as the Bay State, Eastern Mass., North Shore and Catholic Leagues. But this was the GBI's showcase and every year, almost always on Washington's Birthday, their best would face off against Montreal Catholic. For the first six years, the games were played at the Boston Garden, attracting crowds of up to 9,500, then later shifted to the Boston Arena (now Matthews Arena), where in both 1946 and 1947 crowds were announced at 7,200, with news accounts reporting large numbers of people being turned away.
This booklet was a labor of love for Eggleston, a 2013 Mass Hockey Hall of Fame inductee. Brought up in Melrose, Eggleston attended these games as a youth in the years 1945-1951. So he has his memories, and filled the rest with a deep dive into the archives, primarily the Boston Globe.
Besides providing a year-by-year account of the series, with photos where available, Eggleston provides several pages of footnotes on numerous players who played in the series and went on to become top college and National Team players. A small sample would include:
-- Ray Chaisson (Cambridge Latin), who went on to BC and led the NCAA East in scoring in both 1940 and '41. He's in the USA Hockey Hall of Fame.
Cliff Thompson (Stoneham HS), who went on to become an NHL linesman.
Charlie Holt (Melrose HS), who went on to coach UNH for 18 years.
The Riley Brothers (Medford HS), all three of whom went on to star at Dartmouth, and all three of whom are in the US Hockey Hall of Fame. Joe, the youngest, became a two-time All-American. Middle brother Bill led the NCAA in scoring in 1949, and his grandson now coaches at Groton. Jack, the oldest brother, played on the '48 US Olympic team, was a Navy fighter pilot in WW II, coached for 36 years at West Point, and is nationally known as the head coach of the gold-medal winning 1960 US Olympic Team. His sons, Brian (Army coach) and Rob (Columbus Blues Jackets scout and Regis College AD) and grandson Brett (Albany Academy coach) have all followed the family tradition.
Tony Frasca (Cambridge Latin), who was a two-time All-American at Colorado College.
Wendell Forbes (Melrose HS), who went on to coach hockey and baseball at Middlebury College.
Jack Kelly (Belmont HS), who went on to play and coach numerous NCAA Championship Teams at BU. In U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.
Jack Garrity (Medford HS), who went on to BU and led the NCAA East in scoring, a two-time All-American and member of 1948 US Olympic Team.
Ray Picard (Rindge Tech), who was considered the top high school goalie of the era. Picard went on to become a two-time All-American at Northeastern.
Don Rigazio (Cambridge Latin) played for the US in several world championships won a silver medal with the 1956 U.S. Olympic Team.
Art Chisholm (Arlington HS) was a two time All-American ('60 and '61) at Northeastern. Northeastern's all-time leading scorer.
There was a preliminary game each year featuring the GBI "Seconds." A lot of fine players appeared in these games too, like Bruce Mather (Belmont HS) who went on to Dartmouth, was the NCAA leading scorer in 1947 and a member of the 1948 US Olympic Team.
Ed Burns (Arlington HS) played in the 1940 seconds game and went on to coach football and hockey at Arlington High for 50 years, retiring in 1997. Among his many players at Arlington was John Messuri, the current coach of the Spy Ponders, who will be facing off for a Super 8 Championship Sunday night at the Garden. Expect to hear the name of Ed Burns, who died in 2014 at the age of 93, frequently evoked this weekend.
Copies are available for $10 ($5 of which is donated to the Mass Hockey Hall of Fame), or for $5.
Please send to:
Gary Eggleston
PO Box 414
Wakefield, MA 01880
Thurs. 3/16/17--updated Sun. 3/19 at 11:30 pm
Championship Sunday Results from TD Garden
Sunday March 19th at TD Garden; Boston, Mass.
Arlington Wins Super 8 in OT, 2-1
Spy Ponders join Reading and Hingham as Third Public to Win Super 8
Boys’
Super 8 (Div. I-A) -- Arlington 2, Central Catholic 1 (OT) -- Mic Curran scores both goals for Arlington
Div. I -- St. Mary’s 4, Framingham 2
Div. II -- Lowell Catholic 5, Scituate 4
Div. III -- Shrewsbury 3, Old Rochester/Fairhaven 1
Girls’
Sunday March 19th at TD Garden
Div. I -- Woburn 3, Needham 1
Div. II -- Notre Dame (Hingham) 5, Canton 2
Sun. 3/12/17-- update Thurs. 3/16/17
Mass. Super 8 Schedule & Scoreboard
Play-in Games:
Mon. Feb. 27 (Chelmford Forum)
Marshfield 4, Austin Prep 3
Walpole 2, Catholic Memorial 1
Quarterfinals:
Sun. March 5 (Tsongas Arena; Lowell, Mass.)
(First games of best-of-three series)
Walpole 1, BC High 0
Central Catholic 5, Pope Francis 0
Arlington 4, Hingham 1
Malden Catholic 3, Marshfield 0
Tues. March 7 (Chelmsford Forum)
Central Catholic 5, Pope Francis 1 -- CC wins series, 2-0
BC High 2, Walpole 0 -- series tied at 1-1
Wed. March 8 (Chelmsford Forum)
Malden Catholic 7, Marshfield 1 -- MC wins series, 2-0
Arlington 4, Hingham 1 -- Arlington wins series, 2-0
Sat. March 11 (Chelmsford Forum)
BC High 3, Walpole 2 (SO) -- BC High wins series, 2-1
Semifinals:
Wed. March 15 (Tsongas Arena; Lowell, Mass.)
Central Catholic 1, BC High 0 (OT)
Arlington 2, Malden Catholic 1 (2-OT)
Finals:
Sun. March 19 (TD Garden; Boston, Mass.)
Central Catholic vs. Arlington, 7:45 pm
Seeds:
1. Malden Catholic
2. BC High
3. Pope Francis
4. Arlington
5. Hingham
6. Central Catholic
7. Walpole
8. Marshfield
9. Austin Prep
10. Catholic Memorial
Wed. 3/8/17
Beantown Rosters
Here are the rosters for the 2017 Beantown Spring Classic.
Beantown Spring Classic -- Rosters
Tues. 3/7/17
Beantown Spring Schedule
The Beantown Spring Classic gets underway tomorrow (Wed. 3/8) at the New England Sports Center in Marlborough, Mass., but Thursday, as usual, will feature the heaviest schedule.
Here is the final schedule:
2017 Beantown Spring Classic Schedule
Sun. 3/5/17
Sunday's Prep Championships Results
Sun. Mar. 5, 2017
Finals
@ Saint Anselm College; Manchester, NH
Stuart/Corkery (Elite 8) Championship, 5:00 pm
Kimball Union 6, Rivers 2
Martin/Earl (Large School) Championship, 2:30 pm
Avon Old Farms 8, Albany Academy 1
Piatelli/Simmons (Small School) Championship, 12:00 pm
Pomfret 3, Cushing 2 (OT)
Sat. 3/4/17
Prep Semifinals Schedule
Sat. March 4, 2017
Semifinals
Elite 8:
#8 Exeter @ #4 Rivers, 3:30 pm -- Rivers 5, Exeter 2
#3 KUA @ #2 Dexter, 4:30 pm -- KUA 2, Dexter 1
Large School:
#8 St. Sebastian's @ #5 Albany Academy, 1:00 pm -- Albany 1, St. Seb's 0
#3 Avon Old Farms @ #2 Brunswick, 2:30 pm -- Avon 7, Brunswick 2
Small School:
#5 Cushing @ #1 Gunnery, 2:00 pm -- Cushing 4, Gunnery 3
#6 Pomfret @ #2 New Hampton, 4:00 pm -- Pomfret 4, New Hampton 2
Sun. Mar. 5, 2017
Finals
@ Saint Anselm College; Manchester, NH
All three games live on NEPSAC.tv
Piatelli/Simmons (Small School) Championship, 12:00 pm
Martin/Earl (Large School) Championship, 2:30 pm
Stuart/Corkery (Elite 8) Championship, 5:00 pm
