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.