UNH Recruits Update: Dec-17-2013

2015 UNH Recruit Rich Boyd Directs
Traffic on Cushing Academy Penalty Kill

Player of the Week - Rich Boyd

Last season, in his junior year at Cushing Academy, co-captain Rich Boyd helped lead the Penguins to the New England Prep Large School Championship. Boyd was the top-scoring defenseman on the Cushing squad and his 9 goals were the 5th highest among all New England Prep defenders.

Although Boyd was drafted by the Omaha Lancers of the USHL last April, he chose to return to Cushing for his senior year. So far, both Boyd and the Penguins are off to fast starts. Cushing's overall record is 6-1-0 and they were ranked #3 in the most recent U.S. Hockey Report Prep Hockey Poll. Boyd is scoring at a point-a-game pace with 2 goals and 5 assists in 7 games.

On Wednesday, I had an opportunity to watch Cushing play at Williston-Northampton. As a senior captain, Rich Boyd is a key player for Coach Rob Gagnon's team. Boyd is a starting defenseman and plays on Cushing's first power play and penalty kill units. About 7 minutes into the first period with the scored tied 1-1, Boyd carried the puck, with speed, through the neutral zone. As he crossed the blueline, he unloaded a slap shop, cleanly beating the Williston-Northampton goalie. He also added an assist on Cushing's 5th goal on a power play in the third period. Cushing pulled away with a 7-3 victory.

As an 18-year-old (DOB: 6/7/1995), the 6'3", 185 lb. Boyd is a talented, mobile defensemen. A number of skills were on display in the Cushing win over Williston-Northampton including:
~ Skating and stickwork - On two occasions, Boyd was the only defender backchecking on a 2-on-1 break. While skating backward, he stayed in front of the rushing forwards and managed to poke the puck away.
~ Bomb of a shot - Boyd's slap shot is booming and his wrist shot is quick. Both are accurate and tend to travel just inches off the ice (not rising and missing the net high or wide).
~ On breakouts, Boyd sees the ice extremely well, finds the open man, and makes accurate passes.
~ Piloting the power play - Cushing utilizes a umbrella set up on the power play with Boyd the sole player positioned near the middle of the blueline. From this position, Boyd moves the puck smartly to the wings and players advancing to the net. His accurate shot comes into play when he sees an open seam.

In an interview with the blog when he committed to UNH, Boyd indicated he is likely to play a year in the USHL after graduating from Cushing and before he enrolls at UNH. It will be interesting to follow his progress as Cushing makes another bid for a New England Prep crown.

NOTE
The statistics for the recruits, presented in the table, are categorized by the year the player and UNH coaches have targeted for enrollment in UNH. For example, the "2014 Recruits" have a target of the Fall of 2014 to begin playing for UNH.

Player	Team	League	GP	Goals	Asst	Pts	PIM
2014 Recruits
Dylan Chanter  (D)	Dubuque Fighting Saints	USHL	14	1	1	2	21
Adam Clark  (G)	Salmon Arm SilverBacks	BCHL	23	11W	10L	2.92	.909
Shane Eiserman  (F)	Dubuque Fighting Saints	USHL	18	6	7	13	36
John Furgele  (D)	Jersey Hitmen	USPHL	23	6	16	22	8
Cameron Marks  (D)	Coquitlam Express	BCHL	33	2	14	16	6
Michael McNicholas  (F)	Vernon Vipers	BCHL	35	18	30	48	14
Andrew Poturalski  (F)	Cedar Rapids RoughRiders	USHL	23	9	16	25	10
Jason Salvaggio  (F)	Indiana Ice	USHL	20	6	6	12	12
2015 Recruits
Rich Boyd  (D)	Cushing Academy	NEPSHC	7	2	5	7	-
Warren Foegele  (F)	St. Andrews College	CISAA	4	3	1	4	7
	St. Andrews College	MPHL	9	6	15	21	12
Jason Kalinowski  (F)	Cedar Rapids RoughRiders	USHL	23	4	14	18	40
Charlie Kelleher  (F)	Junior Bruins 18U	USPHL 18U	14	3	6	9	2
Joseph Masonius  (D)	USA U17 Team	USHL	12	0	0	0	20
Chris Miller  (F)	Junior Bruins	USPHL	22	5	5	10	8
Danny Tirone  (G)	Cedar Rapids RoughRiders	USHL	12	8W	4L	2.55	.918
2015 or '16 Recruits
Liam Darcy  (D)	Berwick Academy	NEPSHC	5	1	3	4	-
Patrick Grasso  (F)	Des Moines Bucs	USHL	24	5	3	8	4
Aaron O'Neill  (F)	Green Bay Gamblers	USHL	15	0	1	1	0
Ara Nazarian  (F)	Malden Catholic	Mass HS	-	-	-	-	-
Nick Nonis  (D)	Governor's Academy	NEPSHC	5	1	0	1	-
Marcus Vela  (F)	Langley Rivermen	BCHL	36	8	6	14	27
2016 or '17 Recruits
Brendan van Riemsdyk   (F)	Jersey Hitmen 18U	USPHL 18U	7	5	8	13	2
	Christian Brothers	Jersey Prep	2	5	3	8	-

News & Notes

British Columbia Hockey League:

~ 18-year-old defenseman Cameron Marks is in his second season with the Coquitlam Express. He has already increased his number of assists from 4 last year to 14 so far this season. On Sunday night, the Express battled the Surrey Eagles to a 4-4 tie in regulation. Marks was a standout on special teams scoring a power play goal and a short-handed assist. Cameron is on target to enroll at UNH next fall.

~ 2014 UNH Recruit Michael McNicholas added another goal and 2 assists to his scoring totals in two games last week. He is now tied for second in scoring in the BCHL.

United States Premiere Hockey League:

~ The Junior Bruins 18U team returned to USPHL action last week. 2015 UNH recruit Charlie Kelleher scored the game-winning goal in a 3-0 victory over the Rochester Junior Americans on Saturday. He added an assist in the Junior Bruins' 6-1 drubbing of the Bay State Breakers on Sunday.