UNH Commits Update: November-28-2016

2016 Commit Eric MacAdams 2 USHL OT GWG

2016 Commit Charlie Kelleher 1 USHL GWG

Player Spotlight - Eric MacAdams

Eric MacAdams has a knack for scoring game-winning goals. In his first season with the Sioux Falls Stampede last year, the 6'0", 180 lbs., right-winger scored 4 game-winners which tied him for 4th in the USHL. This month, MacAdams upped the excitement by scoring 2 game-winning goals, in overtime.

Sioux Falls won 31 games last season, finished 4th in the Western Conference, and qualified for the USHL Playoffs. So far this season, victories have been hard to come by. Entering this month, the Stampede had won only 4 games. That made MacAdams overtime winners all the more important.

On November 5th, Sioux Falls and the Lincoln Stars were tied 4-4 at the end of regulation. Just over a minute into overtime, MacAdams carried the puck end-to-end and snapped a wrister over the Stars' goalies blocker. The hometown fans went wild. Last Friday, the Tri-City Storm visited Sioux Falls and the teams ended regulation in a 3-3 tie. This time, it took MacAdams only 39 seconds to score the OT winner. He received a nice pass from Stampede defenseman Alex Stevens at the blueline, accelerated around the Storm defenseman, and lifted a backhander over the goalies blocker. Here are the video highlights of Eric MacAdams' overtime game-winners:



MacAdams boosted his goal scoring to 8 and assists to 6 in 16 games. He and Denver commit Jack Doremus lead the Stampede in goals. MacAdams is tied for 7th in USHL goal scoring and tied for 3rd in game-winning goals. MacAdams signed a National Letter of Intent (NLI) with UNH earlier this month, during the early signing period, and is on track to enroll next fall.

Player Spotlight - Charlie Kelleher

It didn't take long for Charlie Kelleher to become an impact player in his first season in the USHL. In his second game with the Tri-City Storm, he registered 6 shots on goal. His first assist came in the next game and his first USHL goal came in Game 4 against the Lincoln Stars. Over the last 6 games, Kelleher has scored 4 goals and 2 assists.

On November 4th, Kelleher scored his first game-winning goal. Tri-City dominated the Omaha Lancers in the 4-1 victory and Kelleher scored the game-winner in the waning seconds of Period 1. Swedish player Linus Weissbach and Kelleher broke through center ice on a 2-on-1 break and Weissbach fed a cross-slot pass to Kelleher who buried it:



Charlie Kelleher usually plays right wing on a top line with Cornell commit Alex Limoges at center and Western Michigan commit Paul Washe. Kelleher (6 goals, 9 assists) is tied with Washe for second leading scorer on the Storm's roster. Limoges leads the team with 20 points. Kelleher is tied for 9th in USHL assists and tied for 10th in USHL scoring. Kelleher signed his NLI with UNH last spring and will enroll next fall.

2016-17 Statistics

NOTE
The statistics for the commits, presented in the following table, are categorized by the projected year they will enroll in UNH. For example, the "2017 Commits" are projected to begin playing for UNH in the Fall of 2017. I have based these projections on a number of factors including:
~ If a National Letter of Intent has been signed.
~ The year the commit and UNH coaches originally targeted for enrollment in UNH. ~ How old the commit would be upon admission.
~ Number of years in junior hockey prior to admission.
~ The commit's performance in recent seasons as well as injuries.
~ Anticipated date of high school graduation.
~ Number of UNH players leaving the team at the end of the previous season and the position they played.

Player	Team	League	GP	Goals	Asst	Pts	PIM
2017 Commits
Joseph Cipollone  (F)	Tri-City Storm	USHL	16	2	0	2	4
Liam Darcy  (D)	Islanders Hockey Club	USPHL	24	1	6	6	4
Charlie Kelleher*  (F)	Tri-City Storm	USHL	19	6	9	15	4
Eric MacAdams*  (F)	Sioux Falls Stampede	USHL	17	8	6	14	32
James Miller*  (D)	Penticton Vees	BCHL	20	2	8	10	24
Mike Robinson*  (G)	Dubuque Fighting Saints	USHL	1	1W	0L	4.20	.854
	Springfield Jr Blues	NAHL	2	2W	0L	2.00	.948
2017 or '18 Commits
Eric Esposito*  (F)	Youngstown Phantoms	USHL	16	3	1	4	63
2018 Commits
Angus Crookshank*  (F)	Langley Rivermen	BCHL	1	0	1	1	0
Corson Green  (D)	Chicago Steel	USHL	15	2	1	3	12
2018 or '19 Commits
Lucas Bahn  (D)	Skipjacks 18U	USPHL	14	6	10	16	2
Ryan Verrier  (D)	Salisbury School	NE Prep	-	-	-	-	-
* = Signed National Letter of Intent

News & Notes

United States Hockey League:

~ Eric Esposito has scored 3 goals in the last 3 games with the Youngstown Phantoms. He signed a National Letter of Intent with UNH earlier this month and is on track to enroll in either the Fall of 2017 or 2018.

~ 2018 UNH Commit Corson Green remained on the latest NHL Central Scouting Service "Players to Watch" list for the 2017 NHL Draft. The 6'1", 206 lbs left-shot defenseman maintained a "C" rating which indicates he has the potential to be drafted in the 4th, 5th, or 6th round of the 2017 Draft. Green has posted 2 goals and an assist so far in his rookie season with the Chicago Steel in the USHL.

North American Hockey League:

~ 2017 UNH Commit Mike Robinson was traded from the USHL's Dubuque Fight Saints to the North American Hockey League's Springfield Junior Blues on November 22nd. Robinson had been the backup goalie to the Saints' Jaxon Castor, an Arizona State commit. Castor currently has a 1.93 Goals Against Average and a .914 Save Percentage. Robinson only got 2 starts with the Fighting Saints. He won his first start on October 14th in a 5-3 decision over the Sioux Falls Stampede. In Robinson's second start two weeks later against Waterloo, the Saints surrendered 4 goals in the first 2 periods and Castor replaced him in the final period. The Saints lost in overtime. Robinson has won his first 2 starts with the Springfield Jr Blues and has made a total of 73 saves against 77 shots on goal. Robinson is a 3rd round draft pick of the San Jose Sharks.

British Columbia Hockey League:

~ 6'2", 175 lbs. defenseman James Miller, a 2017 UNH commit, has scored 2 goals and 3 assists in his last 5 games with the Penticton Vees. Miller signed his NLI with UNH earlier this month during the early signing period. Look for an upcoming, feature article on Miller coming soon on the Blog.

~ 2018 UNH commit Angus Crookshank also signed his NLI with UNH this month. He broke his collar bone in the first period of the first game of the Langley Rivermen's season and has missed the last 27 games. Crookshank is on track to return to the lineup very soon.

New England Prep Hockey League:

~ 2018 or '19 commit Ryan Verrier and the Salisbury School are set to open their 2016-17 season this Wednesday against the Taft School.