UNH Recruits Update: Week 6

Player of the Week - Jordan Masters

In his second season with the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the USHL, 17-year-old Jordan Masters has begun to pick up the scoring pace. Over the last three games, Masters has scored 2 goals and an assist to bring his season total up to 5 points. The two recent goals came in the Lumberjacks' third and fourth victories of the season. Masters has also generated more shots on goal with 4-3-3 SOG over the last three games. He is on track to easily exceed the 4 goals and 7 assists he accumulated last season when, at the age of 16, he was one of the youngest players in the USHL. With the early departure of Casey Thrush to UNH, the Lumberjacks need Masters to emerge as a key player and he is doing just that. Masters has committed to play for UNH in either the 2012 or 2013 season.

Player	Team	League	GP	Goals	Asst	Pts	PIM
2012 Recruits
Dan Correale	Grande Prairie	AJHL	Injured	0	0	0	0
Maxim Gaudreault	Sioux City	USHL	10	2	2	4	6
Jamie Hill	Waterloo	USHL	11	2	2	4	12
Collin MacDonald	Jersey Hitmen	EJHL	15	12	6	18	6
Kyle Smith	Junior Bruins	EJHL	16	9	16	25	0
Mike Vecchione	Tri-City	USHL	10	3	3	6	4
2012 or '13 Recruit
Jordan Masters	Muskegon	USHL	10	2	3	5	16
2013 Recruits
Matias Cleland	Waterloo	USHL	6	0	0	0	11
Dylan Maller	Tri-City	USHL	2	0	1	1	0
Brett Pesce	Jersey Hitmen	EJHL	4	0	0	0	2
Andrew Poturalski	Buffalo Jr Sabres	OJHL	19	11	17	28	12
2013 or '14 Recruit
Michael McNicholas	Muskegon	USHL	3	0	0	0	0
2014 Recruits
Shane Eiserman	Cushing Academy	NEPSAC	0	0	0	0	0
Tyler Kelleher	USA U17 Team	USHL	7	4	2	6	4
2015 Recruits
Jason Kalinowski	Salisbury Prep	NEPSAC	0	0	0	0	0

News & Notes

~ Jason Kalinowski and the Mid Fairfield Midget Minor 1 team played over the weekend in the New England Yankee Hockey Conference's Regional Championship Tournament played at the Berkshire School. On Saturday, I took the picturesque drive out to the bucolic town of Sheffield, MA to catch their game against the New Hampshire Pro Ambition team from Nashua. The tournament was played on the NHL and Olympic rinks of the very impressive Jackman L. Stewart Athletic Center. The Mid Fairfield Blues won the game easily 9-0 and coasted into the Championship Game on Sunday. However, Mid Fairfield did not repeat as the New England District Midget Minor Champions losing to the Rhode Island Saints 4-3. Unfortunately, this means that Jason Kalinowski and the Mid Fairfield Midget Minor team will not represent the New England District in the USA Hockey U16 National Championship next spring.
In the opening-round game I saw, Jason Kalinowski scored a goal and was a strong physical presence on the ice. Watching him skate in open ice and banging in the corners, he reminds me of Paul Thompson. He skates with an upright posture with his head held high. Of particular note was how strong he was with the puck - on several occasions, players attempted to either knock him off the puck or steal the puck from him without success. Also, in the offensive zone, he readily went to the front of the net, with or without the puck, and stood his ground in front of the goalie. On his goal, Kalinowski was camped at the side of the net, picked up a loose puck, and stuffed it home.
Kalinowski now moves on to play with the Salisbury School in the New England Prep School League and their first regular season game is at home on December 3rd.

~ In his first ever USHL game, 2013 Recruit Dylan Maller scored a power play assist for the Tri-City Storm. Maller, a 6'2", 180-pound defenseman, missed the preseason and first 8 games of the regular season with a hip injury. He plays on the Storm with 2012 Recruit Mike Vecchione.

~ Tyler Kelleher and the US National Under 17 Team are headed to Balashikha, Russia for the 2011 U-17 Four Nations Cup. The NTDP team will play against teams from Russia, Switzerland and Slovakia from Nov. 9-13.