UNH Commits Update: December-22-2017

Angus Crookshank 2018 UNH Commit

Joey Cipollone 2018 UNH Commit

Jackson Pierson 2019 or '20 UNH Commit

Player Spotlight - Angus Crookshank

2018 Commit Angus Crookshank not only made Team Canada West, he lead them on the road to the gold medal in the 2017 World Junior A Challenge (WJAC). Canada West, which included the top players from the Junior A leagues in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, started off slowly losing to the Czech Republic 2-5. In Game 2, they battled the top players from the United States Hockey League in what turned out to be a preview of the Gold Medal game. Early in the second period, Team USA struck first but Canada West answered on the next shift when Crookshank made a pretty pass (see highlight video) to Ross Armour (Trail Smoke Eaters; Bemidji State commit). Crookshank, who plays center for the Langley Rivermen, primarily played left wing throughout the WJAC. Team USA scored the winning goal with 32 seconds left in regulation. Crookshank was named the Player of the Game for Canada West.

Canada West downed Canada East 4-3 in overtime in the do-or-die quarterfinal game. In the semifinals, they faced the undefeated Czech Republic and beat them convincingly 5-1. Angus Crookshank's game-winning goal came on a wrist shot from a nearly impossible angle (see video). The championship game featured a rematch between Team USA and Canada West. Once again, Crookshank scored the game-winning goal and also dished the primary assist on Canada West's 4th goal in the 5-1 victory.



Angus Crookshank tallied 2 goals and 3 assists in the 5 WJAC games. He was the second-leading scorer in the tournament. He also tied for 3rd in goals and tied for 2nd in assists. Crookshank returns to action with Langley in the BCHL on December 29th. Earlier this week, he was chosen to participate in the Canadian Junior Hockey League Prospects Game scheduled for January 23rd in Mississauga, Ontario. The NHL Central Scouting Service selected the players who are eligible for the 2018 NHL Draft next June in Dallas.

Player Spotlight - Joey Cipollone

In November and December, Joey Cipollone was a consistent and top scorer for the Boston Junior Bruins in the National Collegiate Development Conference (NCDC). He scored a goal in 10 out of 13 games and tallied a total of 11 goals and 7 assists. Two of the goals were game-winners including this one off a faceoff play in the 5-1 win over the P.A.L. Junior Islanders last Sunday:



Cipollone, who is the first-line, left winger for the Jr. Bruins, is currently the 3rd leading goal scorer in the NCDC. He's also tied for 4th in scoring and T-7 in assists. The Jr. Bruins are in second place in the NCDC, 4 points behind the Islanders Hockey Club. Cipollone signed a National Letter of Intent with UNH in November and will enroll at UNH next fall.

Player Spotlight - Jackson Pierson

2019 or '20 Commit Jackson Pierson (DOB: 9/10/1999) is the 5'9", 170 lbs., starting center for Culver Academy. The Eagles are ranked #2 in the nation among all Tier 1 18U Leagues. Through the first 13 games of Culver's 2017-18 season, Pierson was tied for the team lead in goal scoring. Here is his 14th goal of the season scored in a 5-3 victory over St. Andrews College - notice how Pierson (#18) begins the scoring play by body-checking an opposing player into the half-wall and causing a turnover:



Culver Military Academy is located in northern Indiana in the town of Culver. Last weekend, the Eagles traveled to the Groton Lawrence Tourney to play three New England Prep School teams. Culver (16-1-0) won the first three games against Groton School (9-1), Dexter Academy (3-1), and Proctor Academy (5-2). In the championship game, Culver fell to Cushing Academy 1-3. From January 28-30, Culver will compete in the 2017 Edward G. Watkins Invitational Tournament at Cushing Academy in Ashburnham, Massachusetts. Three UNH Commits - Jackson Pierson (Culver), Connor Sweeney (Lawrence Academy) and newest commit Nolan McElhaney (Cushing) - are scheduled to play.

2017-18 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 "2018 Commits" are projected to begin playing for UNH in the Fall of 2018. 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
2018 Commits
Joey Cipollone*  (F)	Junior Bruins	NCDC	30	15	19	34	16
Angus Crookshank*  (F)	Langley Rivermen	BCHL	22	14	11	25	16
	Team Canada West	WJAC	5	2	3	5	2
Eric Esposito*  (F)	Youngstown Phantoms	USHL	22	6	4	10	66
Corson Green  (D)	Central Illinois Flying Aces	USHL	-	-	-	-	-
	Sioux Falls Stampede	USHL	19	1	3	4	39
2018 or '19 Commits
Ryan Verrier*  (D)	Green Bay Gamblers	USHL	19	2	6	8	18
2019 Commits
Lucas Bahn  (D)	Sioux City Musketeers	USHL	21	1	4	5	2
Nolan McElhaney  (D)	Cushing Academy	NE Prep	10	7	10	17	-
Chase Stevenson  (F)	West Kelowna Warriors	BCHL	30	7	11	18	23
2019 or '20 Commits
Jackson Pierson*  (F)	Culver Academy	Prep	13	14	16	30	-
	Green Bay Gamblers	USHL	2	0	0	0	0
Connor Sweeney  (F)	Lawrence Academy	NE Prep	7	1	3	4	2
Marek Wazny  (F)	Burlington Cougars	OJHL	17	5	10	15	8
	Brookings Blizzard	NAHL	7	0	0	0	0
* = Signed National Letter of Intent

News & Notes

United States Hockey League:

~ 2018 Commit Corson Green was traded from the Sioux Falls Stampede to the Central Illinois Flying Aces. Last season, the 6'1", 210 lbs., left-shot defenseman scored 5 goals and 10 assists in 48 regular season games with the Chicago Steel. During Chicago's run to the USHL Championship/Clark Cup, Green tallied 3 assists. In 19 games with the South Dakota team, he scored a goal and 3 assists.

Prep School:

~ Nolan McElhaney, the 18-year-old captain of the Cushing Academy Penguins, committed to UNH earlier this week. The Neutral Zone scouting service provided this summary of the right-shot defenseman's strengths:
"3.75 Star prospect is a tall, thin, athletic, mobile & multi-purpose defenseman w/ a long reach, soft hands & a swift first pass. Is a high-ceiling prospect who earned A in the Lawrence-Groton Tournament and is ranked as a Top 10 prep hockey defenseman."
Look for a feature article on McElhaney, including an interview, coming soon on the blog.

UNH Plays of the Game: UNH 1 Providence 0

Rich Boyd
Game-Winning Goal

A week ago, UNH needed a win against the Yale Bulldogs. The Wildcats had lost 3 games in a row and had fallen from #9 to #13 in the USCHO.com Division I National Poll. Senior goalie and Alternate Captain Danny Tirone came up big in a 4-0 shutout down in New Haven. He was named the Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week and UNH held on to #13 in the nation.

Last night, UNH badly needed a win. Providence College, ranked #8 in the nation, handed UNH its fourth consecutive loss in Hockey East competition on Friday night at Schneider Arena. The 2-5 defeat dropped their HE record to 3-4-1 while PC improved to 6-3-1. Another loss on Saturday at the Whittemore Center would have been the fourth consecutive loss at home.

In the latest UNH Captain's Corner, Dylan Chanter mapped out the team's path a return to the NCAA Tournament:

"One of our team goals is to finish as a top-four team in Hockey East this year. By doing so, we would put ourselves in a good spot nationally and have a great shot at making the tournament."

If UNH lost to PC last night, they would have been 4 points behind 4th place Boston University, 7 behind Northeastern, 8 behind Providence, and 11 points behind first-place Boston College. The Wildcats have 15 games remaining against Hockey East teams. So the game against Providence wasn't a do-or-die situation, but it was important. In an exciting, fast-paced contest, UNH scored in the first period and kept PC off the board for a 1-0 victory.

Here's a video review of what I believe were the key plays.

Play, Goal, Assist, and Hit of the Game

Usually, I break down the key plays into distinct items - play of the game, goal of the game, save of the game, etc. But in the UNH shut out of Providence, I think the hit, assist, and goal all came in the same sequence and formed the "Play of the Game". It began with senior defenseman Rich Boyd preventing the puck from leaving the PC zone along the half-wall to the right of goalie Hayden Hawkey and sending it back around the boards. Fellow senior Shane Eiserman poked the puck along the boards behind the goal line.

PC freshman defenseman Jake Ryczek, who originally committed to UNH before changing his mind in favor of Providence, attempted to control the puck behind the net. At that moment, junior Marcus Vela leveled the "Hit of the Game" taking Ryczek into the boards and out of the play.

Ara Nazarian, playing on the first forward line with Eiserman and Vela, jumped on the loose puck and feathered a pass out to the top of the slot to Boyd - the "Assist of the Game".

Rich Boyd, who missed most of last season battling an internal health problem, slung a wrist shot past three players and over the glove of Hawkey. Time of the "Goal of the Game" was 7:12 of the first period. Here's the whole sequence in real time and slow motion:

Saves of the Game: Danny Tirone

En route to his 4th shutout of the 2017-18, Danny Tirone made 24 saves. Three of his best came in the 2nd period, two on the power play.

Defensive Play of the Game: Michael McNicholas & Anthony Wyse

With 1:47 left in regulation, PC head coach Nate Leaman pulled his goalie for an extra attacker. Their best scoring bid came with just under a minute to go. Brandon Duhaime got open in the top of the slot but as he received a pass and attempted a shot, both senior forward Michael McNicholas and sophomore defenseman Anthony Wyse surrounded him and deflected the shot up into the netting behind the goal. As the replay shows, this play was particularly important because Tirone was screened by a single PC player in front of the net.



The Wildcats return to nonconference action on Wednesday at RPI. Next weekend features home games against Army on Saturday and Merrimack College on Sunday.

UNH Commits Update: December-1-2017

Joey Cipollone 2018 UNH Commit

Liam Darcy 2018 Commit

Eric Esposito 2018 UNH Commit

Marek Wazny 2019 or '20 Commit

Player Spotlight - Joey Cipollone

In his third season of junior hockey, 2018 UNH Commit Joey Cipollone (DOB: 3/29/1997) is one of the top scorers in the newly formed National Collegiate Development Conference (NCDC). Over his last 5 games with the Boston Junior Bruins, the first-line left winger has been on a goal-scoring tear. He tallied a goal-a-game for 4 games and two goals in the 5th game. This video highlight shows his game-winning goal in the Jr. Bruins' 3-2 victory over the Syracuse Stars on November 12th:



Over the first 23 games of the 2017-18 season, Cipollone scored 10 goals and 16 asssists. He is the 5th leading scorer in the NCDC. He's also tied for 6th in goals and T-5 in assists. The Jr. Bruins have won 9 games in a row and are in second place in the NCDC. For a couple of decades, the Jr. Bruins organization has been a training ground for many UNH players. Current Wildcats Charlie Kelleher, Chris Miller, Danny Tirone, and Mike Robinson all played for the Jr.Bruins during their junior careers.

Joey Cipollone recently signed a National Letter of Intent with UNH during the early signing period. He will enroll at UNH next fall.

Player Spotlight - Liam Darcy

20-year-old Liam Darcy (DOB: 2/26/1997) is another 2018 UNH Commit competing in his third season of junior hockey. The 5'11", 190 lbs., left-shot defenseman from South Berwick, Maine is a starter for the Islanders Hockey Club (IHC) in the NCDC. IHC is currently in first place 4 points ahead of the Jr. Buins.

Over his last 7 games, Darcy has scored 4 goals including this game-winner against the Syracuse Stars on November 12th:



Darcy has tallied 4 goals and 10 assists in 23 games this season. He is the 4th leading scorer among all NCDC defensemen. Liam is on track to enroll at UNH next Fall. He follows current UNH sophomore Brendan van Riemsdyk who played 2 seasons under the tutelage of head coach Sean Tremblay with the Islanders Hockey Club.

Player Spotlight - Eric Esposito

Eric Esposito (DOB: 8/24/98) is the third UNH Commit for next season who is playing in his third year of junior hockey. The 5'11", 181 lbs., right-shot winger is the Alternate Captain with the Youngstown Phantoms in the United States Hockey League.

Esposito has scored 3 goals in the last 3 games and the Phantoms are on a 4-game win streak. Two of his goals came on the power play including this one in the 4-3 win over the Central Illinois Flying Aces:



Esposito posted 9 goals in 52 games last season. He already has 6 goals in the first 17 games of this season. Eric signed a National Letter of Intent with UNH a year ago during the early signing period. He, Joey Cipollone, and Liam Darcy are the final three players who verbally committed to UNH when former UNH associate head coach Scott Borek (now Associate HC at Providence College) was in charge of recruiting. They verbally committed before either Coach Mike Souza or Glenn Stewart had joined the UNH staff.

Player Spotlight - Marek Wazny

Last season, UNH Commit Marek Wazny was the second leading goal-scorer on the 5th-ranked 16U team in the nation - the North Jersey Avalanche. Wazny tallied 21 goals and 11 assists in 32 games. After a brief, unfulfilling stint in Brookings, South Dakato with a North America Hockey League team, Marek has returned to form. In late October, he joined the Burlington Cougars of the Ontario Junior Hockey League near his family's home in Mississauga. Since then, he's been scoring at over a point-a-game clip with 5 goals and 9 assists in 12 games.

Last Friday, Wazny notched the first hat trick of his junior hockey career. In the 5-2 win over the Lindsay Muskies, Wazny tipped in a teammate's shot for what turned out to be the game-winning goal. In the third period, he added these insurance goals:



At this point in his rookie season in the OJHL, the 6'1", 172 lbs., Wazny centers the Cougars' 2nd forward line and the 1st power play unit. He will turn 18 in February and is on a path to enroll at UNH in the Fall of either 2019 or 2020.

2017-18 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 "2018 Commits" are projected to begin playing for UNH in the Fall of 2018. 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
2018 Commits
Joey Cipollone*  (F)	Junior Bruins	NCDC	23	10	16	26	12
Angus Crookshank*  (F)	Langley Rivermen	BCHL	22	14	11	25	16
Liam Darcy  (D)	Islanders Hockey Club	NCDC	21	4	10	14	4
Eric Esposito*  (F)	Youngstown Phantoms	USHL	17	6	2	8	58
Corson Green  (D)	Sioux Falls Stampede	USHL	15	1	1	2	18
2018 or '19 Commits
Ryan Verrier*  (D)	Green Bay Gamblers	USHL	15	2	5	7	12
2019 Commits
Lucas Bahn  (D)	Sioux City Musketeers	USHL	15	1	4	5	2
Chase Stevenson  (F)	West Kelowna Warriors	BCHL	29	7	11	18	23
2019 or '20 Commits
Jackson Pierson*  (F)	Culver Academy	Prep	7	4	12	16	-
	Green Bay Gamblers	USHL	2	0	0	0	0
Connor Sweeney  (F)	Lawrence Academy	NE Prep	-	-	-	-	-
Marek Wazny  (F)	Burlington Cougars	OJHL	12	5	9	14	6
	Brookings Blizzard	NAHL	7	0	0	0	0
* = Signed National Letter of Intent

News & Notes

British Columbia Hockey League:

~ 2018 Commit Angus Crookshank has potted 14 goals in 22 games with the Langley Rivermen. He is tied for 6th in BCHL goal-scoring and 5th in goals per game (.636). Starting tomorrow, Crookshank will participate in the Team Canada West selection camp for the World Junior A Challenge. The camp runs from Dec. 2-5. If he makes the team, he will play in the WJAC scheduled for Dec. 10-16 in Truro, Nova Scotia. The NHL Central Scouting Service ranked Angus Crookshank as a 'C' prospect on their November "Players to Watch" List. He is a candidate to be drafted in the 4th, 5th, or 6th Round in the 2018 NHL Draft.

~ 2019 Commit Chase Stevenson will also participate in the Team Canada West selection camp for the World Junior A Challenge.

Prep School:

~ 2019 or '20 Commit Jackson Pierson is the second leading scorer for Culver Academy, the #2 18U Tier 1 in the nation. Pierson has scored 4 goals and 12 assists in 7 games. He signed a National Letter of Intent with UNH last month during the early signing period.

~ 2019 or '20 Commit Connor Sweeney and Lawrence Academy begin their season today. Like Angus Crookshank, Sweeney is identified as a 'C' Propsect on the NHL CSS November Players to Watch List.