Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Hockey East in the AHL

With no NHL so far this season, many former Hockey East players have taken their talents to the American Hockey League. Some are going to be career AHL journeymen while others will take their talents to the next level when the NHL returns. A total of 70 former Hockey East players have suited up or are currently on an AHL roster this season.

Below is a school by school breakdown of players in the AHL.

Boston College (15)

Krys Kolanos, Abbotsford Heat
Joe Whitney, Albany Devils
Chris Kreider, Connecticut Whale
Barry Almeida, Hershey Bears
Paul Carey, Lake Erie Monsters
Ben Smith, Rockford IceHogs
Jimmy Hayes, Rockford IceHogop
Brian O'Hanley, San Antonio Rampage
Cam Atkinson, Springfield Falcons
Brian Gibbons, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
Benn Ferriero, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
Carl Sneep, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
Philip Samuelsson, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
Brian Dumoulin, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
Nick Petrecki, Worcester Sharks

Boston University (12)
Matt Gilroy, Connecticut Whale
Max Nicastro, Grand Rapids Griffins
Charlie Coyle, Houston Aeros
David van der Gulik, Lake Erie Monsters
Sean Sullivan, Lake Erie Monsters
Colby Cohen, Providence Bruins
David Warsofsky, Providence Bruins
Chris Bourque, Providence Bruins
Adam Clendening, Rockford IceHogs
Alex Chiasson, Texas Stars
Brian Strait, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
John McCarthy, Worcester Sharks

Maine (10)
Jeff Dimmen, Adirondack Phantoms
Matt Mangene, Adirondack Phantoms
Ben Bishop, Binghamton Senators
Gustav Nyquist, Grand Rapids Griffins
Brian Flynn, Rochester Americans
Travis Ramsey, St. John's IceCaps
Will O'Neill, St. John's IceCaps
Spencer Abbott, Toronto Marlies
Zach Sill, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
Tanner House, Oklahoma City Oil Barons

Merrimack (3)
Stephane Da Costa, Binghamton Senators
Karl Stollery, Lake Erie Monsters
Ryan Flanigan, Connecticut Whale

New Hampshire (6)
Bobby Butler, Albany Devils
Mike Sislo, Albany Devils
Phil DeSimone, Albany Devils
Garrett Stafford, Hershey Bears
Trevor Smith, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
Paul Thompson, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

Northeastern (4)
Steve Quailer, Hamilton Bulldogs
Wade MacLeod, Springfield Falcons
Jamie Oleksiak, Texas Stars
Brad Theissen, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

Providence (6)
Jay Leach, Albany Devils
Colin McDonald, Bridgeport Sound Tigers
Jon DiSalvitore, Hershey Bears
Kyle MacKinnon, Providence Bruins
Joe Lavin, Rockford IceHogs
Jon Rheault, San Antonio Rampage

UMass-Amherst (7)
Matt Anderson, Albany Devils
T.J. Syner, Hershey Bears
Thomas Pock, Lake Erie Monsters
Casey Wellman, San Antonio Rampage
Paul Dainton, Springfield Falcons
Mike Kostka, Toronto Marlies
Matt Irwin, Worcester Sharks

UMass-Lowell (5)
Ben Walter, Abbotsford Heat
Ben Holmstrom, Adirondack Phantoms
Barry Goers, Lake Erie Monsters
Bobby Robbins, Providence Bruins
Carter Hutton, Rockford IceHogs

Vermont (2)
Dean Strong, Lake Erie Monsters
Sebastian Stalberg, Worcester Sharks

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Hockey East Top Performers for October

CHRR's Hockey East Player of the Month

Johnny Gaudreau (Boston College): The sophomore forward from Carneys Point, NJ registered three goals and four assists on the month, including two game winning goals. The undersized, yet dynamic, left wing has been a catalyst for the BC offense, along with linemate Pat Mullane. The Calgary Flames draft pick is one of the early favorites for the Hobey Baker Award.

Runners-up: Pat Mullane (BC), Josh Myers (MC), Cason Hohmann (BU)


CHRR's Hockey East Defensive Player of the Month

Trevor van Riemsdyk (New Hampshire): The sophomore defenseman from Middletown, NJ had three goals and one assist on the month, to go along with a +4 plus/minus. The brother of NHL superstar James, Trevor has been smooth on the power player and his coach, Dick Umile, insists he is one of the best blue liners in the league.

Runners-up: Connor Hardawa (UNH), Dan Kolomatis (MC), Myles Harvard (PC)


CHRR's Hockey East Goaltender of the Month

Casey DeSmith (New Hampshire): The sophomore goaltender from nearby Rochester, NH is the only goaltender in the league to lead his team to an undefeated October. This was a tough one, but the nod goes to DeSmith with a 4-0-1 record, a 1.77 GAA and a .931 save percentage on the month.

Runners-up: Parker Milner (BC), Matt O'Connor (BU), Jon Gillies (PC)


CHRR's Co-Hockey East Rookie of the Month

Jon Gillies (Providence): The freshman goaltender and Calgary Flames draft pick has been stellar in net for the Friars, playing all but mop up duty in a non-conference blowout victory over Sacred Heart. The South Portland, Maine native has a 3-2-1 record with a 1.72 GAA and .938 save percentage. Gillies, who spent last season playing for the Indiana Ice of the USHL, ranks 1st in the conference in goals against and 2nd in save percentage.

Matt O'Connor (Boston University): The Toronto, Ontario native spent last season honing his skills with the Youngstown Phantoms of the USHL. He has started between the pipes for the Terriers in all three of their wins. His record is 3-0-0 with a 1.75 GAA and a .945 save percentage, which ranks 2nd and 1st in the conference, respectively.

Runners-up: Brady Hoffman (UVM), Michael Matheson (BC), Danny O'Regan (BU)

Hockey East Power Rankings, Week of October 29, 2012

1. Boston College: The Eagles only setback came at Northeastern. Coach Jerry York's squad has looked vulnerable at times, needing a huge comeback to beat UMass-Amherst. The top two lines have played really well and provided all the scoring. The third and fourth lines have been held scoreless through five games. Freshman defenseman Michael Matheson has looked polished for a rookie. Until proven otherwise, the Eagles are the kings of Hockey East.

2. New Hampshire: Dick Umile's squad has looked solid in the early going, after a down year in 2011-2012. Casey DeSmith has continued his strong play from the second half of last season between the pipes and the Wildcats have gotten scoring from several contributors. John Henrion and Grayson Downing should eventually take the lead in the scoring charts, but there will be some depth in Durham this year.

3. Boston University: The Terriers will rely on a youth movement this year, with two freshman goalies and a crop of talented underclassmen. So far, the only blemish was against UNH on the road. BU certainly has more talent than any other team in the league besides BC, but playing a solid 60 minutes of hockey has been a problem in recent years for Jack Parker's squad.

4. Providence: The upstart Friars have started off strong, with the only two losses coming against nationally ranked Miami and BU on the road. Nate Leaman's team still has some question marks, but freshman goaltender Jon Gillies has been superb with a .938 save percentage. Leaman did great things with the Union program, and there is no reason to doubt that better days are ahead on Huxley Avenue.

5. UMass-Lowell: The River Hawks have gotten off to a less than desired start. Top three forwards Riley Wetmore, Scott Wilson and Derek Arnold have been quiet. Once they get on track along with goaltender Doug Carr, Norm Bazin's squad will get things going in the right direction. UML should eventually be a home ice team, but early season struggles prevent them from being in that spot yet.

6. Northeastern: The Huskies have been inconsistent in almost every aspect this year. The Huskies have more talent than any other team in the bottom half of the league, but goaltending is still a huge question mark. Chris Rawlings looks either real good or real bad and let's in way too many soft goals.

7. Merrimack: The Warriors seem to have found some offensive pop in the early going and Mike Collins got on track with a five point weekend against Vermont. The defense should be steady, but some costly turnovers and failed clearing attempts have come back to bite Mark Dennehy's squad in the first few games. Goaltending was a question mark after the graduation of Joe Cannata, and still is in my mind, despite a solid outing each from Tirronen and Marotta.

8. Vermont: The Catamounts have yet to play a regular season home game. After three road conference games, Kevin Sneddon's squad has two ties and a loss. UVM has some speed up front and always tries to employ a lockdown defense. If freshman goaltender Brady Hoffman can continue to play well in net, the Catamounts will have an edge up on some of their competition for the last playoff spot.

9. UMass-Amherst: First year coach John Micheletto has some solid forwards to work with, but the defense and goaltending will be the weakness in Amherst. Michael Periera has been held scoreless through four games and Conor Sheary has only registered three assists. Their production will need to be better. The Minutemen have blown two leads to BC and BU, which would have been nice wins for a new coach. Kevin Boyle will ultimately win the number one goaltending job, but not sure he can carry the team far enough.

10. Maine: So far it has been an utter disaster in Orono, after losing four of the top five scorers from a year ago. The Black Bears had to rally from two down to beat Army, the only win so far on the season.  Coach Tim Whitehead's squad has been playing with an injury depleted lineup, but the horses just aren't there in Orono. The offense should eventually get on track, but doesn't have the explosiveness to win games by itself. Mark Nemec is steady on defense, but there are some serious holes on the blueline. The goaltending has taken a step back from a year ago.