UNH Recruits Update: Week 22

Player of the Week - Jason Kalinowski

For the second time this season, 16-year-old prep school hockey player Jason Kalinowski** has been named Player of the Week among all UNH Recruits. Kalinowski and the Salisbury School finished the regular season of New England Prep School hockey with a record of 23 wins and only 3 loses. They were ranked #1 in the final U.S. Hockey Report's Division I Prep Hockey Poll of the regular season. Kalinowski, a 6'0", 180 lbs. right-winger, scored 12 goals and 15 assists in 25 regular season games. He was the 2nd leading goal scorer on a very talented Salisbury squad and the 3rd leading point getter.

The Salisbury School earned the #1 Seed in the Elite Eight Tournament; the tourney which determines the New England Prep School Champion. In the opening round, Salisbury faced off against #8 Seed, Cushing Academy. 2014 UNH Recruit Shane Eiserman, a sophomore, is the leading goal scorer for the Cushing Penguins. Salisbury defeated Cushing by a score of 6-0. In one of the biggest games of his young career, Jason Kalinowski had a second period to remember. He scored Salisbury's second goal of the game on a power play midway through the second period. About a minute and a half later, he assisted on Salisbury's fifth goal, also on a power play. A little over a minute later, Kalinowski scored his 2nd goal of the game. In the span of 4 minutes, Kalinowski had scored 2 goals and an assist and Salisbury was ahead 6-0.

In the semifinal game on Saturday at the Ice Center in Salem, NH, Salisbury was defeated 3-2 in overtime by Lawrence Academy. Lawrence went on to win the New England Prep School Championship on Sunday by defeating Noble & Greenborough 3-2.

I had an opportunity to watch Jason Kalinowski play in an earlier game against Cushing held on the practice rink at UMass-Amherst on February 12th. Although he didn't score in that game, Kalinowski impressed me with his physical style and determination. In the offensive zone, Kalinowski frequently positioned himself in and around the front of the net and held his ground despite the pushing and shoving of Cushing's defensemen. The picture shown above captures one of these instances. Kalinowski also battled hard for puck possession along the boards.

Last September, when Jason Kalinowski committed to play at the University of New Hampshire, he was projected to enroll in the fall of 2015. Last season, as a sophomore at the Salisbury School, Kalinowski scored 4 goals and 10 assists. This season, he tripled his goal scoring and doubled his point production. If Kalinowski (DOB: 7/2/95) continues to progress on the ice at an accelerated rate, he might join fellow 1995-born recruits Shane Eiserman (10/10/95), Dylan Chanter (DOB: 9/17/1995), and Tyler Kelleher (1/2/95) who are projected to come to UNH for the 2014-15 season.
** Photo Credit: Kenny Fitzgerald

NOTE
The statistics for the recruits, presented in the table, are categorized by the projected year they will enroll in UNH. For example, the "2012 Recruits" are projected to begin playing for UNH in the Fall of 2012. I have based these projections on a number of factors including:
~ How old the player would be upon admission.
~ Number of years in junior hockey prior to admission.
~ Anticipated date of high school graduation.
~ Number of seniors leaving the team at the end of the previous season.
~ The player's performance in the current season.

Player	Team	League	GP	Goals	Asst	Pts	PIM
2012 Recruits
Dan Correale	Nanaimo Clippers	BCHL	25	9	13	22	14
Maxim Gaudreault	Sioux City	USHL	48	11	11	22	36
Jamie Hill	Waterloo	USHL	40	6	15	21	50
Collin MacDonald	Jersey Hitmen	EJHL	45	27	18	45	14
	Playoffs	EJHL	2	1	0	1	0
Brett Pesce	Jersey Hitmen	EJHL	17	1	5	6	18
Harry Quast	Bay State	EJHL	45	8	24	32	58
	Playoffs	EJHL	2	0	0	0	0
Jamie Regan	Philly Revs	EJHL	25	9W	16L	3.97	.903
Kyle Smith	Junior Bruins	EJHL	43	24	38	62	32
	Playoffs	EJHL	0	0	0	0	0
2013 Recruits
Jordan Masters	Muskegon	USHL	31	5	10	15	39
Matias Cleland	Waterloo	USHL	27	1	5	6	30
Dylan Maller	Tri-City	USHL	38	3	6	9	10
Andrew Poturalski	Buffalo Jr Sabres	OJHL	33	16	22	38	32
	Playoffs	OJHL	8	5	2	7	4
2013 or '14 Recruit
Michael McNicholas	Muskegon	USHL	33	4	4	8	10
2014 Recruits
Dylan Chanter	Merritt Cents	BCHL	53	2	11	13	47
Shane Eiserman	Cushing Academy	NEPSAC	29	18	26	44	-
	Playoffs	NEPSAC	1	0	0	0	-
Tyler Kelleher	USA U17 Team	USHL	27	11	9	20	16
2015 Recruits
Jason Kalinowski	Salisbury Prep	NEPSAC	25	12	15	27	-
	Playoffs	NEPSAC	2	2	1	3	-

News & Notes

British Columbia Hockey League:

~ 2012 Recruit Dan Correale and the Nanaimo Clippers have been battling for the 4th and final playoff spot in the Coastal Conference of the BCHL. Last week, Correale scored a goal and 3 assists in the Clippers' two games. However, Nanaimo was mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. Barring unforeseen circumstances, Correale will enroll at UNH next fall. He was originally scheduled to come to UNH in September, 2011 but the plan was postponed for one year due to Correale's shoulder surgery last summer.

Ontario Junior Hockey League:

~ 2013 Recruit Andrew Poturalski and the Buffalo Jr. Sabres were eliminated in the second round of the OJHL Playoffs by the Oakville Blades. In the Jr. Sabres playoff run, Poturalski scored 5 goals and 2 assists in 8 games. Poturalski finished tied for 4th in goal scoring over the first 2 rounds of the OJHL playoffs. Poturalski is scheduled to graduate from the Nichols School in June and has an excellent chance of making the active roster of the Cedar Rapids Rough Riders (USHL) next season.

Eastern Junior Hockey League:

~ 2012 Recruit Collin MacDonald and the Jersey Hitmen won their matchup against the Valley Junior Warriors in the quarterfinal round of the EJHL Playoffs. MacDonald scored a goal in the two-game series. The Hitmen will face the Junior Bruins in the semifinals next weekend at the New England Sports Center in Marlborough, MA.

~ 2012 Recruit Kyle Smith did not play in the Junior Bruins' quarterfinal series against the New England Huskies. It is not clear whether he will play against the Hitmen next weekend.

~ 2012 Recruit Harry Quast and the Bay State Breakers were defeated by the Rochester Stars in the "play in" series.