KID’S CLUB TIMES JANUARY 2010

COVER STORY on PAGE 3 First Half in Review

Hello Readers! I am Allyson Kummins, the manager of the Kid’s Club Times! Welcome back to another exiting edition of KCT. It’s almost New Year, so please enjoy the explosion of fireworks we have set throughout the paper. Hope you enjoyed your holiday and spent as much time as you could with family. We hope you enjoy this edition of both the Kid’s Club Times and your New Year celebration. Maybe your celebration will include the meeting of some hockey players. If it does be sure to ask a couple questions and e-mail us the answers. Even though we have fireworks exploding throughout our paper we are also exploding with tons of exiting stories and articles! Have fun on this holiday exploding with excitement that is just waiting to be celebrated. Enjoy your holiday. Have a fun New Years Day!

Allyson Kummins Manager

Contact Us: Mail: 58 Boylston Street, Suites 2 & 3 Malden, MA 02148 Phone: (781)-321-9710 E-Mail: [email protected] www.kidsclubtoppisports.wordpress.com www.twitter.com/hekidsclubtimes For more on our staff and this issue, including credits, see the back page! What’s Up in January?? By Kid’s Club Times Staff

• The New Year begins with half of participating in four holiday tournaments, which take place between January 1 and 3. UMASS-Lowell and Northeastern will travel to Dartmouth to play in the Ledyard National Bank Classic. UML will play Holy Cross, while Northeastern will play the host. College will travel to the Wells Fargo Denver Cup, where they will face St. Lawrence and Denver. Merrimack will face Wisconsin and either Ferris State or Yale in the Badger Hockey Showdown in Madison. Vermont will host the TD Bank , where they will face Alabama-Huntsville and either Mercyhurst or Minnesota-Duluth. • The highlight of the regular season comes on January 8, when and play continue their season series at in a NESN televised game. The game will be the second game of the Sunlife Financial ‘Frozen Fenway’ doubleheader, which features a Women’s Hockey East game between two women’s hockey pioneer schools, Northeastern and New Hampshire, prior to the Green Line Rivalry matchup. • The Battle of the Riverstone IX between New Hampshire and Dartmouth takes place on January 16 at Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester. • Maine hosts a pair of exhibition games at Alfond Arena in January. The Black Bears welcome New Brunswick on January 2 and the U.S. Under-18 Team on January 23.

Frosh File: Stephane Da Costa By Kid’s Club Times Staff

#24 Stephane Da Costa Merrimack Warriors Forward Height: 5’11” Weight: 180 lbs. Hometown: Paris, France Last Team: Sioux City (USHL)

• Leads Hockey East rookies in scoring; Eight goals and ten assists for 18 points • Finished fifth in scoring last season in the United States Hockey League; 31 goals (fourth best) and 36 assists for 67 points • Led Musketeers in goals, assists, and points • Scored at least three points in seven games last season • Born November 7, 1989…Undeclared arts major at MC Hockey East at Mid-Year By Joshua Kummins, Men’s Info Contact

As legendary BU radio voice Bernie Corbett always says, “the college hockey season is a marathon and not a sprint.” With three months of the 2009-10 season down, that race has hit its 13-mile . We are halfway to the finish, so let’s take a look back on the fall semester that has passed. The Hockey East season has been a very good one so far, as we have a tight race in the conference standings, although the conference has not enjoyed as much non-league success as it has in recent years. We have begun to see some separation in points, but it looks to be an exciting rest of the year. New Hampshire enters 2010 with an 8-6-3 overall record and an 8-2-2 record for 18 conference points. The Wildcats have had great success in conference, but are 0-4-1 in five of seven non-conference games so far this season. “Right now, we feeling good about ourselves,” said head coach …“Although we lost the [non-league] games, I think the competition that we had has made us a better team.” UNH is in the midst of a seven-game unbeaten streak and a four- game winning streak. Senior co-captain Bobby Butler leads the team in points (13-11=24), while sophomore Blake Kessel leads in assists (5-13=18). Kessel is tied with UMASS-Lowell senior Nick Schaus as Hockey East’s leading defensive scorer. Butler is tied with UMASS senior Casey Wellman for the league lead in goals, while having the sole lead in plus/minus with a whopping +13 rate. Senior Brian Foster has become the Cats’ go-to goaltender, as he has collected a 7-6-3 record, 3.44 goals against average, and a .892 save percentage over 11 starts. “He’s been real solid in net for us…I feel bad because his numbers do not reflect how good of a goaltender he is and what he’s done for us this year,” Umile added. Foster leads all Hockey East goaltenders in saves with 448 and a mark of 28 per game. Sophomore Matt DiGirolamo has appeared in three games and is 1-0-0. Boston College comes into the New Year with a 10-3-2 record and a 7-3-2 Hockey East mark for 16 points. BC has reached the double-digit win plateau before Christmas for the first time since the 2003-04 season, when they went 11-2-3 in 16 games. Head coach said that he would “like to get our goals against average lower…[although] we’re not giving up a lot of chances.” He adds that he would like to see his team improve upon some things to become a stronger defensive team. Junior Brian Gibbons (5-11=16) and sophomore Cam Atkinson (8-7=15) lead the Eagles’ offense, which is tied with UMASS for the Hockey East lead. Junior John Muse is still the Eagles’ top goaltender, despite having off-season shoulder surgery. Muse sports a 6-3-2 record, 2.70 GAA, and a .893 save percentage in 11 games. True freshman Parker Milner is undefeated in four starts, to go along with a 2.26 GAA and a .905 save percentage. Milner and Muse lead a defense that gives up a league-leading 39 goals and ranks second in the conference behind UMASS-Lowell. BC’s 85.9 kill rate leads the conference. Maine is one of the conference’s biggest surprises this season, as they have garnered a 9-7-1 record and a 7-4-1 HEA mark for 15 points. The Black Bears have matched last season’s conference win total at the halfway mark of the campaign. Head coach Tim Whitehead said that his team is improving, despite the slow start and that they are “chipping away at the win column.” The team’s slow start began right from the get-go, as they dropped three straight non-league games, including being swept at Union. Sophomore Gustav Nyquist ranks second in Hockey East scoring (11-14=25) and “has done a great job along with his fellow sophomores.” He was always a fierce competitor, but that extra strength [he added in the off-season] has helped him immensely.” One of those sophomores, Brian Flynn is second on the team in scoring (5-14=19), behind Nyquist. Maine’s 28.8 power play rate is tops in Hockey East and in the top three nationally. Fellow second-year Black Bear Scott Darling is the team’s leading goaltender, as he has posted a 9-3-1 record, 2.47 GAA, and a .912 save percentage in 15 appearances this season. Rookie Shawn Sirman and senior Dave Wilson have appeared in two and three games, respectively. Sirman and Wilson are each 0-2-0. Massachusetts has also surprised some people, as they enter 2010 in home ice position. The Minutemen have posted a 10-5-0 record and a 6-4-0-conference mark for 12 points. The team has overtaken the 2002-03 team for the fastest date to reach 10 wins in a season. “We’re happy that we’ve been able to execute enough to win a large majority of our games. If you told me we would be [10-5 after 15 games], I would have been ecstatic,” said coach Don “Toot” Cahoon. Junior James Marcou leads Hockey East in scoring (5-21=26), while leading the nation in points per game with 1.73 and assists per game with 1.40. Marcou also leads the HEA in power play points (2-12=14). Sophomore Casey Wellman is ranked second in team scoring (13-9=22). He is tied with UNH senior Bobby Butler for the league lead in goals, while his 0.87 goals per game mark ranks second in the nation. Wellman is also the league leader in power play goals with seven and game-winning goals with three. The Minutemen power play ranks second in the conference and third in the nation at 25.7 percent. The offense is tied with Boston College for the conference lead in goals per game with 3.67. Junior Paul Dainton has seen the majority of time in net, as he sports an 8-5-0 record, 2.61 GAA, and a .922 save percentage through 13 games. Dan Meyers has a 2-0-0 record, 3.34 GAA, and a .890 save percentage in three games. UMASS-Lowell enters 2010 in fifth place, with a 10-6-1 record and a 5-4-1 tally for 11 points. The Riverhawks are ahead of last season’s pace, as they held an 8-9-0 record over 17 games last season. “We’ve had some games where we’ve been fortunate to win,” said Lowell head coach Blaise McDonald. So far this season, UML has been in most games, as all of their losses were of a one or two- margin, including one in overtime. Senior Nick Schaus leads the Riverhawks in scoring (4-14=18) and is ranked second in Hockey East in assists. Schaus is also tied with UNH sophomore Blake Kessel as the conference’s leading defensive scorer. Seniors Carter Hutton and Nevin Hamilton make up Hockey East’s best goaltending tandem and what may be the best pair in the entire country. Hutton, who sports a 5-4-0 record, leads Hockey East with a 2.12 GAA and a .927 save percentage in nine games. He ranks ninth and eighth nationally in those categories, respectively. Hamilton is 5-2-1, with a 2.61 GAA and a .911 save percentage in eight games. Despite their conference and nation-leading numbers, coach McDonald said, “they’re similar to our team…they will continue to improve their play.” The duo leads Hockey East’s top defensive corps, which is ranked twelfth in the country. Vermont enters the New Year with an 8-6-2 record and a 4-5-2 Hockey East mark for 10 points. The Catamounts are an impressive 35-of-35 on the penalty kill in their eight wins this season. “[It’s been] a bit of a roller coaster ride for our team to date…we’ve just had a little bit of trouble getting off to a consistent start,” said Catamounts head coach . Senior Brayden Irwin leads the UVM attack (6-8=14), while junior Jack Downing is second (5-7=12). Sophomore Rob Madore and senior Mike Spillane have split time in goal for UVM this season. Madore has a 5-4-2 record, with a 3.02 GAA, and an even .900 save percentage in 12 games, while Spillane holds a 3-2-0 record, with a 3.13 GAA, and a .894 save percentage in six appearances. Madore and Spillane have combined for three shutouts so far this season. The Catamounts defense only held an opponent scoreless once through all of last season. Northeastern sports a 6-8-1 record and a 4-7-1 Hockey East clip for a mere nine points so far this season. “We’ve been disappointed,” said head coach …“We had expectations coming here that we were going to try and build on our momentum for last year. We had not been able to do that at this point.” Rookie Garrett Vermeersch (5-5=10) and senior Kyle Kraemer (4-6=10) are tied for the team lead in scoring. Vermeersch is Hockey East’s third-leading scorer. “[He] has stepped in and done an excellent job and being an instant impact here. I think he’s going to be a terrific player with a great career, said Cronin. Rookies Chris Rawlings and Bryan Mountain have looked to fill the void in goal this season for the departed Brad Thiessen. Rawlings leads the duo with a 5-7-1 record in 13 games, while Mountain is 1-1-0 in four games. Rawlings holds a 3.12 GAA and a .908 save percentage, while Mountain sports a 1.99 GAA and a .906 save percentage. Merrimack has a 7-8-0 record, with a 4-6-0-conference record for eight points. “We’re not too far off from where I thought we’d be, but we can be much better,” said head coach . The Warriors enter the break with 3.47 goals per game, which is good for fourth in Hockey East. MC has finished last in goals since the 2002-03 season and in the bottom two since 1998-99. Merrimack ranks fourth in the country in combined special teams, as they clip at a 25 percent rate on the man advantage and have killed at 84.6 percent. Stephane Da Costa leads the Warriors and all Hockey East rookies in scoring (9-10=19), which includes a five-goal performance against Army on October 17. Sophomore and senior Andrew Brathwaite have split time in between the pipes for the Warriors this season. “I feel like goaltending is one of our strengths and we’re very deep there,” said Dennehy. Cannata holds a 3-6-0 record, with a 3.38 GAA, and a .886 save percentage, while Brathwaite is 4-2-0, with a 3.01 GAA, and a .905 save percentage. Boston University has had an extremely tough season so far trying to defend their national championship. The Terriers hold a 4-9-3 record overall and a 2-7-2 Hockey East mark for just six points. Over the past 48 years, BU has only had two seasons in which they have won four of their first 16 contests: 1997-98 and 2007-08. “I think positional play [needs to be our biggest improvement],” said head coach …“We’ve been getting ourselves caught out of position at times, lately because of too much enthusiasm, too much physical play, and trying to do too much.” Junior captain Kevin Shattenkirk leads the team in scoring (3-11=14). Sophomore Kieran Millan is the team’s leading goaltender, as he has posted a 4-9-0 record, a 3.52 GAA, and a .862 save percentage. Sophomore Grant Rollheiser and junior Adam Kraus have respectively posted a 1-0-3 record in four games and no record in one game. Providence brings up the rear in Hockey East, with a 7-9-1 record and a 2-7-1-conference mark for five points. The Friars have played eight of their first 17 games against ranked opponents and have won three of those games. PC leads Hockey East in shots on goal with 578, which is good enough to out-shoot their opponent in 10 of their first 17 games. “We’ve played some good hockey, but we need to become more consistent,” said Friars coach Tim Army. Sophomore Matt Bergland leads the Friars offense (7-7=14). Sophomore Alex Beaudry has played in 14 games in goal for Providence, posting a 6-7-1 record. Beaudry ranks second in the conference in GAA with a 2.43 mark, while standing third with a .922 save percentage. Sophomore Justin Gates has posted a 1-2-0 record in three games. He has posted a 3.04 GAA and a .911 save percentage. “I’m very pleased with both guys, said Army…“Alex has played very well [and]…Gates has improved tremendously.” Well, there is a look at the fall semester. Let’s get ready for a great stretch run and New Year! Happy Holidays to all! Mountain backstops NU past MC By Joshua Kummins, Men’s Info Contact – December 5, 2009 at (Boston, MA)

BOSTON, Massachusetts – Northeastern salvaged a weekend split of a much-improved Merrimack team, as the Huskies stole a 2-1 win over the Warriors on Saturday, December 5, at Matthews Arena. The Warriors out-shot the home- standing Huskies, 9-6, in a scoreless first twenty minutes of play. Northeastern jumped out to a 1-0 lead, at 4:59, of the second stanza. Wade MacLeod (Burnaby, British Columbia) created a hole for Garrett Vermeersch (Macomb, MI) , who slid the puck past the far post into a virtually open net. Alex Tuckerman (Orleans, MA) notched the secondary assist on Vermeersch’s fourth tally and team-leading tenth point of the year. Merrimack tied the game at one, with 11 seconds left to go in the period, as Karl Stollery (Camrose, Alberta) netted a one-timer, from Joe Cucci (Melrose Park, IL) and Stephane Da Costa (Paris, France) . The tally was Stollery’s first of the season and sixth of his career. Shots were even, 7-7, in an evenly matched second stanza. The Huskies notched the game-winning tally, at 6:28, of the final period, as David Strathman (Tempe, AZ) netted his second goal of the season. Matt Lipinski (Faribault, MN) created the play from behind the net and passed out to Justin Daniels (Suffern, NY) . Daniels dished it off to Strathman, who unleashed a wrist shot, which beat Merrimack netminder Joe Cannata (Wakefield, MA) . Merrimack had good opportunities to tie the game in the waning moments of the contest, but could not take advantage of the power play opportunity. The Warriors still out-shot the Huskies in the final stanza, 9-4, and 25-17 overall. Merrimack’s ended the night 1-for-5 on the man advantage, while Northeastern was shutout, 0-for-4. Bryan Mountain (Bryn Mawr, PA) made 24 saves to earn his first career victory in just his second career start, while his counterpart, Cannata, made 15 stops for Merrimack. Mountain came to Northeastern from the Portage Terriers of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League, where he and fellow Husky Drew Ellement (Winnipeg, Manitoba) won the Turnbull Cup. The game took two hours and six minutes to play, after a short delay, due to Merrimack travel problems. 2,921 fans witnessed the game in Boston.

UML splits series with Princeton By Joshua Kummins, Men’s Info Contact – December 12, 2009 at Tsongas Arena (Lowell, MA)

LOWELL, Massachusetts – The #9 UMASS-Lowell Riverhawks fell to the Princeton Tigers, 3-2, on Saturday, December 12 at the Tsongas Arena. Eric Meland (Grand Forks, ND) scored his first two career goals early in the first period to give Princeton a 2-0 lead. The first came off of a Jody Pederson (Smithers, British Columbia) rebound, while the second came off of a turnover behind the goal. Kevin Kaiser (Pelham, NH) assisted on Meland’s first tally on the man advantage, while Tyler Beachell (Rosser, MN) notched the lone helper on the second tally. Princeton notched a 15-12 shots advantage in the first period. The teams skated to a scoreless second period, in which UMASS-Lowell held a 14-7 shots edge. At 2:59 of the third period, Riley Wetmore (Swanton, VT) notched his fourth goal of the season, to cut the PU lead to 2-1, as he potted a Chris Ickert (Abbotsford, British Columbia) rebound. Wetmore’s tally was a power play goal. Ickert cycled around the boards and fired the initial shot on net. Nick Schaus (Buffalo, NY) corralled the secondary assist. Kevin Lohry (Sioux City, IA) potted his first goal of the season, at 6:06 of the final stanza. Lohry’s initial shot found the back of the net for the unassisted tally. At 9:31, Kory Falite (Billerica, MA) netted his eighth goal of the season and 50 th of his career. Schaus set up Jeremy Dehner (Madison, WI) at the point for the initial shot. Falite redirected Dehner’s shot through a crowded slot and into the net past Tigers keeper Zane Kalemba (Saddle Brook, NJ) . The Riverhawks held a 21-8 shots lead in the final 20 minutes and a 40-37 overall edge in the contest. Each team notched one goal on the power play in the game. UMASS-Lowell had five chances, while Princeton had just a pair. Kalemba made 45 saves for the Tigers, while Nevin Hamilton (Ashland, MA) made 27 saves in the loss for the Riverhawks. The game lasted two hours and 11 minutes and was watched by 2,697 fans at the Tsongas Arena.

2009-10 Hockey East Kid’s Club Times Issue #4 – January 2010 Edition

Ø Welcome Note to Customers: Allyson Kummins, Manager Ø Editing, Design, and Layout: Joshua Kummins, Editor & Men’s Hockey Info Contact Ø Photograph Credits (all by KCT Staff, unless noted here): Logos/courtesy SportsLogos.net and Team Websites; Freshman File headshot/courtesy MusketeersHockey.com ; Game photos by KCT Staff Ø New Year Theme: IndianChessFed.org ; GesterlingFiles ; Sacremento365.com . Ø Information / Resource Credits: Hockey East Media Center , Frosh File: 2009-10 Merrimack Hockey Media Guide (p. 25), 2009-10 Hockey East Interactive Media Guide , Various Team Resources (Media Guides, Game Packages, Websites).

Contact the KCT:

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Ø The Kid’s Club Times publishes a weekly game notes release on Monday afternoons and a weekend update after all games. All releases will contain news and notes, up-to-date statistics, plus a schedule of the week to come. Check them out every week during the season at our official website .

Staff Directory:

Allyson Kummins – Manager; Theme Director Joshua Kummins – Editor; Men’s Hockey Info Contact; Lead WKCN Broadcaster Kassandra Toppi – Statistical Assistant; Women’s Hockey Info Contact Blake Larson – Photo Manager; Writer; WKCN Broadcaster Randy Kummins – Photographer Stephen Hirsch – General Writer Bernard Kummins – Statistical Manager Susan Kummins – Video Manager Grace Larson – Photo Choice Lawrence Michaelson – WKCN Director Mark Coddon – WKCN Booth Manager

Ø Please send your questions and comments to [email protected] . We would love to hear from you! (They will be directed to the appropriate person, including the manager).