| UMass Lowell Riverhawks 2006/2007 Recruiting Information (Stats through 03/14/06) |
| Coach Blaise MacDonald's fifth recruiting class at UMass Lowell will be a large one, consisting of around a dozen new River Hawks. The Hawks should graduate 14 players in the summer of 2006. The seniors are defensemen Kim Brandvold (Oslo, Norway), Matt Collar (Plano, TX) and Bobby McCabe (Somersworth, NH). There will also be a large cast of departing forwards: Brian Bova (N. Andover, MA) Elias Godoy (Vancouver, BC), Peter Hanlon (Winthrop, MA) Brad King (Calgary, AB), Andrew Martin (Brampton, ON), Danny O'Brien (South Boston, MA), Mark Pandolfo (N. Andover, MA), Bobby Robins (Peshtigo, WA) and Matt Walsh (Arlington, MA). This will be the largest class to come into Lowell since the 03/04 class. Players that have signed an NLI (National Letter of Intent) will be highlighted in red. Players in this class cannot sign an NLI till November of 2005. |
| Lowell received their first commitment early as F Kory Falite from the Boston Jr. Bruins (EJHL) will be coming to UML. Falite (born 7/18/86) will be joining fellow Jr. Bruins Jake Pence ('03), Adam Stanieich ('03) and Nevin Hamilton ('05) on the River Hawks roster. The youngster is also a local kid, originally from Billerica, MA. Falite joined the Jr. Bruins midget squad in 2002, and led them in scoring (45-26-71 in 66 games) on his way to becoming team MVP. Falite then moved up to the junior squad, putting up 25-22-47 in 64 games. Falite also played for the Mass Select 17 team that won gold in 2003. Chris Masters, the coach of the Jr. Bruins, was highly effusive in his comments about Falite, saying "Kory is one of the best pure goal scorers in the EJHL." Noting the coaching staff, the team, and the closeness to home, Masters went on to say "I think it's the perfect fit [for Falite.]" Falite had a 17-21-38 line in 53 games during the 04/05 season. He finished the 05/06 EJHL regular season at 21-34-55 in 44 games, which was good for eighth in the league, and was an EJHL All-Star. Lowell received its second commitment in defenseman Nick Schaus, from Orchard Park, NY (the home of the Buffalo Bills). The 5'11", 190 pound dman is finishing his third year in the USHL, and played for the Omaha Lancers. Schaus is described as a smooth skating defenseman, with good puck handling skills and a good shot. Born 7/3/86, Schaus was named to the USHL All-Star team for the 03/04 season,, finishing the year with a 1-12-13 line in 57 games, with 144 PIM. For the 04/05 season (another All-Star season for Schaus) Schaus had a 1-21-22 line in 58 games, with 141 PIM. So far in the 05/06 season, Schaus has an 9-41-50 line in 36 games, with just 40 PIM and is a +12 on the year. Schaus is a three-time USHL All-Star and is currently the second highest d-man in points. The River Hawks gained a recruit they were going after pretty hard in Ben Holmstrom, who currently plays in the USHL for the Sioux Falls Stampede. The 6'1", 171 pound forward from Colorado Springs, CO was on his official visit at a the perfect time for the River Hawks as he saw them play their best game of the season in a 7-0 win over UNH. Born 4/29/87, he had played in just 13 games this year with a 1-0-1 line before he was injured in a game in November. Holmstrom played played for the USA U-18 team in 2004, including the Junior World Cup in 08/04, and the USA U-17 team in 2003. He played for the Rocky Mountain Selects when he was 14, and has been on the US junior national team radar since. He's listed as a good skater, and is very good down low. His stats for the 05/06 season are 10-8-18 in 51 games, with 111 PIM. Centerman Jonathan Maniff committed to UML, making him the fourth commitment from the UML Class of 2010. Born May 6, 1987, the youngster currently plays for the Walpole Junior Stars (EJHL). Prior to that, he played at Tilton Academy. He participated in the QMJHL Showcase in NH in March of 2004, and was part of the HNIB All-Stars in 2003 as a sophomore. Originally from Revere, Mass., he reportedly has good hands around the net. He also participated in the Select 15 Festival in 2002. Maniff had a 22-18-40 line in 40 games in the 05/06 season. A good start to summer recruiting as on the first official day of the 2005 summer, UML picked up another commitment in winger Paul Worthington. Currently playing for the Green Mountain Glades (EJHL), Worthington is originally from Penndel, PA. Born 12/23/85, the 5'9" 165 pound forward led his team in scoring this past season with a 27-38-65 line in 52 games. He also seems to have a tendency to come up big in power play (8 goals) and shorthanded (4) situations, leading his team in both those categories as well. Worthington was an EJHL All-Star for the 04/05 season. He fiinished his most season 6th best in the EJHL with a 21-38-59 in 43 games and was named an EJHL All-Star. Yet another forward jumps into the 06 recruiting class, as LW Chris Auger of the Wellington Dukes (OPJHL) committed to UML. Auger, born 12/16/87, finished the 2004/2005 season as the third leading scorer for the Dukes, with a 25-30-55 line in 44 games, with just 16 PIM. He also played in the OPJAHL Future Prospects Game in January of 2004, as well as the CJAHL Prospects game in December of 2005. For the 05/06 season, Auger finished with a 41-51-92 line in 47 games (tied for third in the league), and added 8-14-22 in 12 playoff games.. Defenseman Barry Goers committed to UML in early September, becoming the second blue liner in the class of 2010. A teammate of Paul Worthington from the Green Mountain Glades (EJHL), Goers is only 5'8", 165. From Ivyland, PA, the defenseman was recently named to the Beantown Classic's All-Star team. Born 6/14/86, Goers had a 5-20-25 line in 46 games, with 32 PIM. Goers was also the Defenseman of the Year for the Glades for the 04/05 season. Goers was also a member of the EJHL All-Star team during the 04/05 season. He was a member of the Atlantic Select 17s in 2003. Goers had a 5-14-39 line in 45 games in the 05/06 season and was named an EJHL All Star. UMass Lowell gained another commitment in young center Jason Bergeron from the Milton Ice Hawks (OPJHL). The youngest commit of the 06/07 class, Bergeron was born 2/20/88. Born in Montreal, Quebec, and currently residing in Ancaster, Ontario, Bergeron joined the Capitals during the 04/05 season from the Toronto Red Wings Minor Midgets AAA team in the GTHL. According to the Brampton website, Bergeron was selected to the U-17 GTHL All-Star team that played the Russian National U-17 team. The scouting report on the team's site says that Bergeron is very coachable and a tremendous young talent. He plays well on both sides of the puck and has scored a few highlight reel goals. Bergeron had a 12-19-31 line in 34 games during the 04/05 season. Bergeron started off the season playing well for the Capitals before being traded to the Milton Merchants. He had a 15-34-49 line in 51 games but didn't add much in the playoffs with 2-2-4 in 11 games. And it continues. 2004 USA U-18 defenseman Jeremy Dehner will be helping shore up the blue line for the River Hawks in 2006. Currently playing for the Green Bay Gamblers (USHL), Dehner previously played for Culver Academy. He represented the US in the World Juniors in August of 2004. He was also a member of the Select 15s in 2002, and was a highly rated d-man back then as well. The youngster (born 4/25/87) is from Madison, Wisconsin and is 5'8", 197. He was described as being a smooth offensive dman and skater, who can change speeds pretty easily. He finished the 04/05 season with a 5-12-17 line in 55 games, with 55 PIM and a team worst -19. He was being looked at by Wisconsin early last year, but a scholarship never was offered. Dehner has a 8-29-37 line in 49 games. Walpole Junior Stars (EJHL) forward Chris MacInnis committed to UMass Lowell. The 5'8", 160 pound forward is playing his first year with the Stars, having played for and graduated from Waltham last year. He led his team to the Super 8, with a 23-24-47 line in just 23 games. Named a Globe All Scholastic during his senior season, the youngster (born 1/9/87) had a 12-20-3 line in 40 games. A late commitment was received by UML from C Ian Schaser of the Bridgewater Bandits (EJHL). Schaser will be the oldest incoming player in the class, born 1/25/85, over three years older than the youngest in this incoming class. Schaser finished 5th in EJHL scoring this year with a 33-27-60 line in 45 games. The center from Eden Prairie, MI, is 5'11, 180, and was one of now four UML recruits that particpated as part of a EJHL All Star Challenge vs the US U-18 squad, Falite, Goers and Manniff were the others. The guess here is that Schaser is a recruited walk-on. He was a MN Select 16 in 2001, and was also a EJHL All Star. Tommy Powers , a dman will be joining the program from the Cornwall Colts (COJHL). Born 4/4/85, he's 6'3", 200 and from Coral Gables, FL.. He also played for the Green Mountain Glades before heading to Cornwall and putting up a 3-2-5, 81PIM in 26 games. UML picked up a commit from 6'4", 225 center/winger Frankie Stegnar of the Brampton Capitals (OPJHL). Born 12/6/87, the youngster put up an impressive 39-21-60 line in 46 games in his first and only year at Brampton. He had 16 power play goals and 11 game winners. Lowell just picked up a late commit from G Carter Hutton, Fort Williams North Stars (SIJHL). The 6'1", 190 point goalie was born 12/19/85 and is from Thunder Bay, ONT. He led his league with a 33-1 record, a 1.84 GAA and a 92.6 save %. His team won the SIJHL Championship both of his years there, resulting in the chance to play at the Royal Bank Cup. At the RBC, he posted a 2.38 GAA and a 93.3% save rate. |