| UMass Lowell Riverhawks 2004/2005 Recruiting Information (available stats updated as of 04/10/04) |
| Coach Blaise MacDonald's third recruiting class at UMass Lowell, will most likely consist of just 2-3 players. The Hawks should graduate 3 players in the following summer of 2005. The lone senior after the 2003/2004 season is defenseman Jerramie Domish (Pottstown, PA). Also departing from the program are junior Niklas Storm (Tumba, Sweden) and sophomore Erik Johansson (Stockholm, Sweden). The 2004/2005 season will be the last year for defenseman Peter Tormey (Buzzards Bay, MA), and goaltender Chris Davidson (Hudson, Quebec). As compared to the 2006/2007 class, this will be a much smaller class, as Lowell will have to do some heavy restocking the following year. Players that have signed an NLI (National Letter of Intent) will be highlighted in red. With the first signing period having passed, the second signing period doesn't take place till the spring of 2004.. |
| Lowell recieved it's first early commitment from goaltender Peter Vetri of the Williams Lake Timberwolves (BCHL). Vetri is a 5'10", 185 pounder from Windham, New Hampshire. He played last year for Lawrence Academy. Born May 21, 1985, Vetri has appeared in 45 games, with a 22-16-1 record and posted a 90.17% save rate, and a 3.90 GAA. Vetri was being recruited by several big name programs, including BU, Colorado College, Wisconsin and Michigan State. According to the Lowell Sun, Vetri is expected to be on campus for the 2004/2005 season. Vetri was named as a First Team All Star by the BCHL and the Interior Conference's goaltender of the year. Vetri had been phenomenal in the playoffs, helping his team win their first round series, 4-1. Vetri helped his team go further than ever in the playoffs, finishing with an 8-7 record, 3.69 GAA, and a 91.59% save rate. Right Defenseman Grant Farrell will be joining the River Hawks in the fall of 2004. Farrell, an AJHL All Star for the Calgary Royals (home of current River Hawk Brad King), is a native of Calgary. An offensive defenseman, born 10/11/83, Farrell had 32 points in 41 games last year. Farrell had apparently committed to Quinnipiac recently, but when he found out that Lowell was serious in its interest for him, he made the switch to the Hockey East program. The 6'1", 185 pounder is one of the older players on his team, and is third in scoring with a 25-38-63 line in 56 games. He has 60 PIM, and a league record 22 power play goals. The speculation in this corner is that Farrell will take the roster spot of the now-departed Justin Coutu. Farrell has added three assists in the first two games of the Royals first round matchup. Another piece of the puzzle was added as Lowell received a commitment from Kelly Sullivan, a defenseman from the Danville Wings (home of Matt Collar and Jason Tejchma). Sullivan, a 6'0", 185 pounder from Beverly Hills, Michigan, notched a 7-20-27 line in 45 games during the 02/03 season with 68 PIM. So far this season, Sullivan (born 4/28/83) has 5-7-12 in 53 games, with 110 PIM. Lowell will have two incoming transfers, one being forward Matt Walsh ('6'1", 195), from UMass Amherst. Walsh, a local kid from Arlington, MA, has been on campus all year, and should be eligible to play at the start of the upcoming year. The 22 year old (born 01/08/82) played two years at Amherst, and basically is regarded as a great kid, good leader, and just didn't get a lot of playing time at Amherst. In his two years at UMass, the Northfield Mount Herman product played in just 39 games, and registered a 3-2-5 in those two years. The second transfer could be a very good boost for the offense of this River Hawks program. Outrecruiting Michigan State and Ohio State, Lowell gained forward Jeremy Hall from Niagara. Hall, 5'11", 185, from Mays Landing, NJ played just one semester at Niagara last year, notching an 11-7-18 in 17 games, including 3 power play goals. Pretty good numbers for a freshman. Hall (born 05/03/83) was the sixth leading scorer on the Purple Eagles, even though he had only played in half the teams games. He will be eligible for the second semester of the upcoming season. Hall played for the Danville Wings prior to joining Niagara, where he notched a 40-17-57 line in just 55 games, playing alongside current River Hawk Jason Tejchma, his best friend. He set the single season record for goals scored with his 40 in the 2002/2003 season for the Wings. A little more about Hall, he apparently left Niagara due to his relationship with Tejchma, regretting his decision to go to a different school than his best friend. He did go back to Danville for the remainder of this past season, notching a 8-3-11 line in 28 games with 28 PIM. The latest Lowell recruit is forward Paul D'Agostino from the CD Selects. D'Agostino, a native of Walpole, is the only incoming recruit from the state of Massachusetts. The 6', 180 pounder put up a 7-23-30 line in 38 league games for the Selects. Born 6/6/84, D'Agostino is most likely a recruited walk-on. |