| UMass Lowell Riverhawks 2002/2003 Recruiting Information (available stats updated as of 02/19/02) |
| The UMass Lowell Riverhawks are bringing in a lot of freshmen next year for Blaise MacDonald's first full recruiting class at Lowell. The Hawks will lose ten players this year to graduation, as well as current sophomore Laurent Meunier (out of eligibility) and freshman Brian Boike (no longer on the team). The seniors are forwards Yorick Treille (Echirolles, France), Dan Fontas (Acton, MA), Ken Farrell (Fort McMurray, Alberta) and Tom Rouleau (Milwaukee, WI), defensemen Chris Gustafson (Elrose, Sask), Josh Allison (Blairsville, PA) RJ Tolan (Waltham, MA) and Kevin Kotyluk (Golden, BC), and goalies Jimi St. John (Windsor, Ont) and Cam McCormick (Kamloops, BC). For the first time since 1998, a Lowell recruting class will be rather large. It will be interesting to see what MacDonald's first class looks like. With the Hawks having signed 6 players to a NLI, Coach MacDonald is rumored to be interested in still signing five more players. Of the actual recruits listed below, starting with Bova, those highlighted in red have signed an NLI. |
| The list starts with two transfers who must sit out the 2001/2002 season and will be this year for the River Hawks.
The first is LW Jeremy Wilson, who played for BC two years ago but was kicked off the team for disciplinary reasons. Wilson (born 4/9/80) was a teammate of Hickey's with the Cedar Rapid Rough Riders, and also has a reputation for spending time in the penalty box. Wilson, 5'10", 185, is from Shrewsbury, MA, and had a line of 53 games, 10 goals, 15 assists and 205 penalty minutes. **No longer a part of the UML program** Another forward, Jeremy Garrison is the second transfer. Garrison, 6'2", 195, from Wallingford, CT, played at Quinnipiac College during the 2000/2001 season. He scored 11 points (2 goals) in 23 games for the Braves. Playing time seemed to be an issue for Garrison, as he was one of 15 freshmen on the roster last year. **No longer a part of the UML program** Goaltender David Rathjen (Okanagan Falls, BC) also must sit out the 2001/2002 season as well as a few games in the 2002/2003 season. The reason for this is that Rathjen (5'9", 181, born 5/11/80) played major junior hockey, and so must skip at least four games. "There's a lot of people that rave about him," according to MacDonald. Rathjen played for Cowichan Valley and Vernon last year, going 4-9 at Cowichan Valley with a 4.91 GAA and an 87.1% save rate. At Vernon, he was 6-12 with a 3.73 GAA and an 89.1% rate.**No longer a part of the UML program** Chris Davidson, who played for UML during the 2000/2001 season will be returning to the team after his one year playing for the Compuware Ambassadors of the NAHL. Davidson was 21-3-4 for the Ambassadors with a league leading 2.32 GAA and a 91.5% save rate. Davidson, 6'0", 163, is from Hudson, Quebec and has three years of eligibility remaining. Davidson was named to the NAHL All-League First Team thanks to his very impressive year. Lowell's first actual commitment is Northfield Mount Hermon Prep senior Brian Bova who verballed to the Riverhawks, which at that point made Lowell the last Hockey East team to pick up a recruit for the 2002 season. Bova, a North Andover native, looked like he could be the first sniper the Hawks have brought in since Ed McGrane three years ago, before some of the other recruits started making commitments. With a 23-26-49 line in just 26 games, Bova could have a great chance to be an immediate presence at Lowell in two years if he continues to improve his game. Bova is an 82 birthdate and is 6'1" and 190 pounds. Stats are unreliable for NMH, but as far as I can tell, Bova is averaging close to 2 points a game. Another North Andover native, 5'11", 186 Mark Pandolfo also commited to the Hawks. Pandolfo is a senior at Lawrence Academy but is playing for the Valley Junior Warriors. He posted a 16-10-26 line in 28 games last year. Both Pandolfo and Bova were part of the 2001 summer HNIB. Pandolfo has a 11-12-23 line in 22 games playing for the Warriors. Andrew Martin, a 5'11", 180 pound left wing from Brampton, Ontario. Martin, born 1/18/83, played last year for the Bramalea Blues of the OHL, and finished with an 18-31-49 line in just 42 games. The Lowell Sun had a quote from his coach at Bramalea, Mike Yacynuk, saying "[Martin's] probably one of the fastest players in our league. He works hard all the time, both on and off the ice." Martin chose Lowell over Union, RPI, Michigan Tech and Dartmouth. In 37 games, he has a 24-26-50 line, with 21 PIM. Matt Collar, a quick, gritty, highly mobile defenseman from Plano, Texas, plays for the Danville Wings (NAHL) and is the fourth commit for Lowell. At 5'11", 175, Collar isn't as big as most of the current Lowell defenseman. Collar, born on 1/18/82, is the first defenseman to commit to the River Hawks. In 24 games, Collar has a 0-2-2 line with 35 PIM. Collar separated his shoulder recently, so his next game action will be at UML. Lowell picked up another player who is native to Massachusetts, getting a commitment from South Boston's Danny O'Brien. O'Brien, 5'9", 175, currently plays for the Cedar Rapids Rough Riders of the USHL. A tenacious, two-way player who graduated from BC High in 2000, O'Brien (born June 1982) put up a 14-24-38 line in 58 games for the Rough Riders last year. In 43 games this year, he has an 11-16-27 line. Touted by one site as the most complete D-Man in the EJHL, Bobby McCabe is another commit for the Hawks. McCabe, 5'11", 185, is a left-shot from Somersworth, NH. He's an excellent skater, mobile d-man who hits hard and has no problem jumping into the rush, which will help him fit well in Coach MacDonald's system. In 28 games this year for the New Hampshire Junior Monarchs, McCabe (12/12/81) had 5 goals and 14 assists. Morten Ask played for Norway's National Team in their unsuccessful run at the 2002 Olympic qualification. In the three game set against Germany, Belarus and the Ukraine, Ask led Norway with a 2-2-4 line. Ask (born 5/14/80) is currently playing for Valeranga IF Oslo in Norway's Eliteserein. The 6'1", 174 lb right winger had a 13-22-35 line in 30 games during the 2000/2001 season with 94 PIM. He has a 6-7-13 line in 22 games this year. **Did not qualify to join UML** Joining O'Brien from Cedar Rapids is LD Stephen Burgess. Burgess (born 2/2/81) is from Allen Park, MI. He played last year for the at-large team in the USA Hockey Top Prospects Tournament, as well as last seasons NAHL All-Star Game. Burgess has a 3-7-10 line in 40 games, with 74 PIM. **Did not qualify to join UML** Described as one of the top players in the BCHL, RW Elias Godoy committed to Lowell recently. Godoy, born 11/3/81 from W. Vancouver, BC, plays for the Trail Smoke Eaters. and led the team in scoring this year with a 25-35-60 line in 39 games (17-18-35 in 53 games the year before). He led the team even though he had played 20 games less than the rest of the players on the team, due to a shoulder injury. Godoy, 5'11", 160, could be a player to watch next year along with Andrew Martin. One of the biggest recruits in the BCHL committed to Lowell, very possibly making himself the headliner for this large UML class. Ben Walter, a very highly regarded center for the Langley Hornets is a 6'1", 195 pound youngster who most likely will be the jewel of the incoming class. Walter had been scouted by many schools, including UNH and BC last year. Walter will be the youngest player on the team next year, as he is a 5/11/84 birthdate. Walter, from Beaconsfield, PQ, was a member of Team Pacific at the World Under 17s that gained a silver medal. In 52 games for the Hornets, he had a 29-47-76 line with 29 PIM. Walter was named MVP of the Hornets this year. Bobby Robins of the Tri-City Storm (USHL), a 6'2", 200 pound forward from Peshtigo, WI also will be joining the River Hawks next year. Robins, born 10/17/81, was named the Most Inspirational Player for the Storm this year, and finished with a 17-14-31 line with 180 PIM, which set a team record for most penalty minutes in a season. The third goalie for next year was added as well, as Dominic Smart of the Capital District Selects (EJHL) committed to Lowell. Smart, a 7/20/82 birthdate, was on the EJHL All Star team this year, and finished with a 4.41 GAA, 87.96% save rate for the year. Kim Brandvold and Erik Johansson were late additions to this class. Brandvold, a forward, has played for the Norwegian National Team, is 6'2", 210 and born on 4/13/82. Blue liner Johansson is 5'10", 196, and is from Sweden, having played last year for Oskarshamn, in the Swedish Elite League. He was born 6/29/80. |