| UMass Lowell Riverhawks 2003/2004 Recruiting Information (available stats updated as of 04/09/03) |
| With a huge freshmen class representing Blaise MacDonald's first full recruiting year at UMass Lowell, the second class that the Coach had to put together will be more than half the size of his first one. The Hawks lost 6 players this year to graduation. The seniors are forwards Ed McGrane (Hamilton, Ontario), Stephen Slonina (Abington, MA), Geoff Schomogyi (Kitchener, Ontario) and Mark Concannon (Hull, MA), along with defensemen Darryl Green (Chatham, Ontario) and Josh Reed (Vernon, BC). Peter Hay and Baptiste Amar are also no longer eligible, and senior-to-be Anders Strome is going to leave early. As compared to the 2002/2003 class, this will not be as large, but needs to add talent to what was expected to be a very good freshmen class this year. This will be Coach MacDonald's second recruiting class. Players that have signed an NLI (National Letter of Intent) will be highlighted in red. |
| Lowell recieved it's first early commitment from defenseman Justin Coutu of the Trail Smoke Eaters (BCHL). Coutu played last year for the Cowichan Valley Capitals (also BCHL) and was traded during the offseason to Trail. Coutu, a 5'11", 185 pounder from Maple Ridge, BC was named the Most Defensive Defenseman for the Capitals, who allowed 34 less goals last year than any other team in the league. He was being looked at by BC, BU, Michigan and Michigan State, so this is another big get for UML. Bruno Campese, the head coach/GM of Trail said "One thing we were looking for was getting some scoring punch out of our back end. [Coutu] has a lot of offensive ability." Coutu finished last year with a 4-23-27 line with 42 PIM in 57 games. Coutu had a 4-14-18 line in 21 games, but didn't return from an injury in late October. The River Hawks gained another defenseman's commitment from Cleve Kinley, a LD from the Powell River Kings of the BCHL. Born 1/13/84, Kinley is a 6', 170 pound right shot who finished with a 2-30-32 line in 58 games for the River Kings, with a 104 PIM. Even though he was one of the youngest players on the team during the past season, he was named the co-winner of the Best Defenseman award. Kinley has a 10-46-56 line in 58 games with 112 PIM and a 1-2-3 line in 3 playoff games. Kinley accepted Lowell's offer over Maine, Ohio State and Northern Michigan. Kinley was named as a Coastal Conference 1st Team All-Star, and was also named the MVP of his River Kings team. Cushing Academy Senior Chris Fontas committed to UML in late August. He is the cousin of former UML player's Dan and Mark Fontas. Fontas is a 6'1", 190 pound forward from Nashua, NH. Fontas played at Bishop Guertin for a couple of years prior to heading to Cushing. He had a 4-18-22 line last year. Fontas is an excellent student, and picked the River Hawks over UMass, Brown, RPI, Yale and Dartmouth. Fontas, who has missed a number of games this year, has a 11-21-32 line for Cushing. Todd Fletcher, a forward from Chelmsford High School also picked UML. Fletcher, 5'10", 165, chose UML over Merrimack and D3 Norwich. A speedy forward with good passing ability, Fletcher put up 52 points his junior year for CHS, and plans on heading to Lowell directly from high school. Fletcher was one of the better players at the recent HNIB according to the Lowell Sun, and it is reported that the UML coaching staff is confident that he can play the D1 level. Fletcher was listed on the NHL's preliminary CSB list. To the best of my ability, research shows Fletcher has 23-35-58 in 26 games. He was named the 2002-2003 Dual County League/Merrimack Valley Conference Division I Player of the Year. Fletcher also helped his team make it to the final 6 of the Super 8. Already on campus is transfer Pete Hanlon, born 9/13/81. Hanlon, a redshirt sophomore, transferred in from Connecticut College (DIII) where he led the Camels with a 16-18-34 line in 24 games. Hanlon, 6'0", 207, originally had been expected to play at Niagara, but when Coach MacDonald moved to UML, Hanlon headed off to Conn College. Prior to Conn College, the Winthrop, MA native played at the National Sports Academy. Third year Danville Wings (NAHL) veteran Jason Tejchma verbally committed to UML on September 19. Tejchma (nicknamed 'Little Guy') is from Muskegon, MI and was born 05/13/83. The 5'10", 183 pound forward averaged more than a point per game while missing a few games last year due to a shoulder injury. In 5 games this year, Tejchma has a 3-1-4 line, with all 3 goals being power play goals. Tejchma participated in the 2001 USA Hockey Top Prospects tournament and was one of the younger players on his team. He has been described on one site as a "good get" for Lowell. Tejchma has notched 21-41-62 so far in 56 games this year, with 9 power play goals. For the second straight year, he participated in the Top Prospects Tournament, as his NAHL team took home the crown. Tejchma notched two goals during the tournament. Lowell won out over Providence and Western Michigan for this young man. A second commitment within a week, as Lowell added Boston Junior Bruins Defenseman Adam Stanieich committed to UML on 9/24/02. Stanieich, 5'10", 195, is from Stoneham, MA, and is the second Massachusetts player to commit for the 2003/2004 season, along with Todd Fletcher. Stanieich played for St. John's Prep for two years, and is now in his third year with the Junior Bruins. The co-captain is one of the strongest players on the team. He is quoted on the Jr. Bruins site as saying "I really like the coaching staff, education opportunities, and the facilities at Lowell. They made me a good offer and I'm excited about the opportunity." Stanieich (born 2/8/84) finished last year with a 10-31-41 line and was an EJHL All-Star game participant. In 36 league games this year, Stanieich has a 4-15-19 line. He participated in the 2002 USA Hockey Top Prospects Tournament for the EJHL team. Stanieich committed to UML over the Air Force Academy and West Point. Chicago Steel (USHL) forward Rene Gauthier became the third Lowell commit in a week, committing to UML on 9/27/02. Gauthier, 5'10", 175 led the Steel in goals last year with 23 in 58 games, and finished with 45 points. "Coach MacDonald seems like a great coach and the people that have played for him have really enjoyed it," said Gauthier about his commitment to UML. Born on 11/11/82, Gauthier is from Tecumseh, Ontario and chose Lowell over Bowling Green. The Steel have played in 60 games this year, and Gauthier has a 12-24-36 line in 51 games. Another local kid will be joining the River Hawks in the 2003/2004 season as left wing Josh Notini of the Boston Junior Bruins committed to UML. Notini, from Dracut, MA, was named the Tournament MVP for the Jr. Bruins Shootout in late September, a competition that involved a variety of D1 prospects. At 5'9", 150, Notini is not the biggest kid, but seems to still hit hard, and does have good speed. Notini (born 8/24/84) will be joining Adam Stanieich from the Jr. Bruins on the Lowell roster next year. Notini has a 6-5-11 line in 34 league games for the Jr. Bruins. Transfer goaltender John Yaros will be eligible to join the River Hawks in January of 2004. He will have 2.5 years of eligibility available to him. The Bayside, NY native (born 3/31/82) played for Army for one year before transferring to Lowell. In 15 games with the Cadets, he had a 2-8-5 record with a 3.04 GAA and a 91.0% save rate. The 6', 170 pound Yaros played for NY Apple Core in the EJHL prior to joining the Cadets. Newest recruit is LD Jake Pence, the third member of the Boston Junior Bruins to commit to UML. Pence, who originally commited to Army but never signed an NLI, will be joining Lowell in time for the upcoming season. He did receive interest from a variety of D1 programs, but chose Lowell as the Hawks did still have scholarship money available. A 6'1, 185 pound younster from Owatonna, MN Pence had a 7-20-27 line in 37 league games for the Jr. Bruins. He has an extremely strong shot, and is an excellent skater and passer. Pence was a Second Team All Star in the EJHL this year. |