UNH Commits Update: March-18-2017

2017 Commit James Miller 2 Goals, 3 Assists in 5 Games

2017 Commit Charlie Kelleher Game-Winning Goal

Player Spotlight - James Miller

6'2", 175 lbs., left-shot defenseman James Miller missed most of the Penticton Vees' games in December and January due to a an upper body injury. Since his return to the lineup on February 1st, Miller has been the Vees' starting right defenseman.

As the regular season wound down, Penticton was battling for the best record in the BCHL. James Miller stepped up over the final 4 games scoring 2 goals and 2 assists. On February 19th, Miller scored the game-winning goal against the Victoria Grizzlies in overtime. As the video highlights show, he carried the puck through all three zones, dangled it along the edge of the blue line, worked it down low, and finished off a pretty give-and-go with Ty Amonte (Boston University commit).

Two nights later, the Vees downed the West Kelowna Warriors 5-1 and Miller distributed the primary assists on the game-tying and game-winning goals. On the 23rd, Penticton trailed the Surrey Eagles by a goal in the third period. With under 4 minutes left in regulation, Miller started a rush out of the defensive zone, passed to the Vees' captain Nicholas Jones (North Dakota commit), then accelerated through the middle of the neutral zone. Miller received a return pass from Jones and wristed it home from the top of the slot. The Vees lost in overtime. Here are the video highlights of Miller's goals against Victoria and Surrey:



The Vees finished the regular season with the third best record in the BCHL. They were at the top of the Interior Division and received a bye in the opening round of the BCHL Playoffs. Last night, Penticton downed the Merritt Centennials 4-1 in Game 1 of the best-of-seven, quarterfinal series. Miller earned the primary assist on Penticton's final goal. James Miller signed a National Letter of Intent with UNH in November and is on track to enroll this Fall.

Player Spotlight - Charlie Kelleher

Like his brother Tyler, Charlie Kelleher is having a very productive 2016-17 season. As UNH fans know, Tyler Kelleher (22g, 37a, 59pts) finished the regular season as the co-leading scorer in NCAA Division I hockey. He also distributed the most assists in the nation.

Charlie Kelleher has scored 14 goals and 29 assists in his first season in the United States Hockey League. He played the first 40 games of the season with the Tri-City Storm and the last 13 with the Sioux City Musketeers. He is tied for 8th place in USHL scoring and tied for 6th in assists.

Since Kelleher's trade to Sioux City, the Musketeers have won 12 games and lost only 1. They currently have the best record (34-10-7) in the USHL. Kelleher has scored at least one point in 9 of his 13 games with Sioux City. Last Friday, Charlie scored the game-winning goal in a 4-2 victory over the Des Moines Buccaneers. As the video highlight shows, Kelleher and Kristian Pospisil entered the Bucs' zone on a 2-on-1 break. Pospisil connected with Kelleher streaking down the slot and he scooped it into the net. It was Kelleher's second game-winning goal of the season.

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
	Junior Bruins	USPHL	23	8	17	25	8
		Playoffs	7	1	5	6	2
Liam Darcy  (D)	Islanders Hockey Club	USPHL	44	5	18	23	17
		Playoffs	6	2	3	5	2
Max Gildon  (D)	USA NTDP U18	NCAA	16	0	6	6	6
		USHL	23	5	9	14	24
		NAHL	1	1	0	1	0
		Int'l.	8	1	3	4	14
Charlie Kelleher*  (F)	Tri-City Storm	USHL	40	11	22	33	10
	Sioux City Musketeers	USHL	12	3	7	10	2
Benton Maass  (D)	Fairbanks Ice Dogs	NAHL	19	2	7	9	10
	Elk River HS	Minn HS	25	6	23	29	6
		Playoffs	2	2	2	4	0
Eric MacAdams*  (F)	Sioux Falls Stampede	USHL	43	11	9	20	86
	Dubuque Fighting Saints	USHL	5	2	1	3	8
James Miller*  (D)	Penticton Vees	BCHL	37	6	12	18	47
		Playoffs	1	0	1	1	0
Mike Robinson*  (G)	Dubuque Fighting Saints	USHL	1	1W	0L	4.20	.854
	Springfield Jr Blues	NAHL	21	10W	8L	2.83	.919
2017 or '18 Commits
Eric Esposito*  (F)	Youngstown Phantoms	USHL	44	9	5	14	113
2018 Commits
Angus Crookshank*  (F)	Langley Rivermen	BCHL	31	9	12	21	14
		Playoffs	6	2	1	3	0
Corson Green  (D)	Chicago Steel	USHL	43	5	8	13	46
2018 or '19 Commits
Lucas Bahn  (D)	Skipjacks 18U	USPHL 18U	23	8	17	25	10
		Playoffs	2	3	1	4	2
	Johnstown Tomahawks	NAHL	2	0	0	0	0
Ryan Verrier  (D)	Salisbury School	NE Prep	29	7	18	25	-
		Playoffs	1	0	1	1	-
2019 Commits
Marek Wazny  (F)	NJ Avalanche 16U	Tier 1 Elite	32	21	11	32	26
		Playoffs	5	1	3	4	2
		AYHL	23	15	19	34	4
		Playoffs	2	1	3	4	4
2020 Commits
Drew Commesso  (G)	St. Sebastian's	NE Prep	8	3W	2L/1T	1.77	.932
* = Signed National Letter of Intent

News & Notes

British Columbia Hockey League:

~ After missing the first 28 games of the season with a broken collar bone, 2018 commit Angus Crookshank became a top scorer for the Langley Rivermen. In the final 31 games of the regular season, Crookshank tallied 9 goals and 12 assists. His .68 points per game was 16th best among all BCHL rookies. The Rivermen lost the first round of the BCHL Playoffs. Crookshank scored 2 goals and an assist in 6 playoff games.

United States Premiere Hockey League:

~ When 2017 UNH Commit Joseph Cipollone transferred from the Tri-City Storm (USHL) to the Boston Junior Bruins, he became their starting left wing and generated a point-per-game over the final 23 games of the regular season. The Jr. B's advanced to the USPHL Championship series but lost to the Islanders Hockey Club. Cipollone scored a goal and 5 assists in 7 Playoff games which tied him for 7th in USPHL scoring and T-4 in assists.

~ 2017 commit Liam Darcy was the starting left defenseman for the Islanders Hockey Club this season. In 6 USPHL Playoff games, Darcy scored 2 goals and 3 assists which tied him for 8th in scoring and 2nd among defensemen.

~ 2018 or '19 UNH Commit Lucas Bahn and the Skipjacks Hockey Club 18U team lost in the second game of the USPHL 18U Tournament of Champions. Bahn lead his team in scoring with 3 goals and an assist. At the completion of the USPHL season, Bahn joined the Johnstown Tomahawks of the North American Hockey League.

National 16U:

~ 2019 UNH Commit Marek Wazny and the North Jersey Avalanche 16U team advanced to the Championship Game of the Tier 1 Elite Hockey League but lost in an overtime thriller to the Colorado Thunderbirds. Wazny's 3 assists lead the team. Two weekends ago, Wazny and the NJ Avalanche won the Atlantic Youth Hockey League 16U Playoffs. Wazny scored a goal and 3 assists in the 2 playoff games.

New England Prep Hockey League:

~ 2020 UNH Commit Drew Commesso and the St. Sebastian's School qualified for the Elite 8 New England Prep Championship tournament but lost in the opening round. The freshman goalie did not play. Commesso finished the regular season with a record of 3-2-1 and the 6th best Save Percentage (.932) in the NE Prep League. From April 6-10, Commesso and the South Shore Kings 14U team will compete in the USA Hockey National Championships in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Minnesota High School Hockey:

~ 2017 UNH Commit Benton Maass and Elk River High School downed Forest Lake 10-1 in the second round of the Minnesota Boys Section 7AA Hockey Tournament. They lost to Grand Rapids in the semifinals. Maass scored 2 goals and 2 assists in the 2 tournament games. Maass has rejoined the Fairbanks Ice Dogs in the North American Hockey League for the remainder of their season.