Thanks (as always) to Chris Heisenberg the mystery of the 6’7″ recruit has been solved.  He is reporting that defenseman Oleg Yevenko has committed to UMass for this fall.  The Minsk, Belarus native is playing currently for the Fargo Force in the USHL.  He has four goals and four assists and is -1 in 47 games.  He was +13 last year for them.  Judging from youtube, he’s no stranger to dropping the gloves (there’s even one of him fighting former UMass recruit Luke Curadi).

Here’s a piece that Tim How, a good resource for Fargo Force hockey, wrote on him over the summer.  He won USHL Defenseman of the Week a few times last season, including this instance I found where Jeff Teglia was also honored as well.  Yevenko represented his country and was seen as a player to watch in the World Junior Championships First Division, which essentially plays a level below the one we’re used to seeing.  More on Yevenko as I can find it.

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While the current Minutemen have extended their season the future Minutemen are already in playoff mode, approaching the postseason, or sadly have had their seasons ended.  Let’s take a look at how they’re doing:

Kevin Boyle – G – Westside Warriors (BCHL)
39 GP / 20-16-1 / 3.02 GAA / .902 sv%
Boyle played a key role in his team making it to the second round of the BCHL playoffs with a Game 7 shutout of the Trail Smoke Eaters, stopping all 33 shots he faced.  So far in the playoffs he’s 4-3-0 with a GAA of 2.81 and .902 save percentage.  His Warriors will face the Vernon Vipers in Game 1 tonight.

Mike Busillo – D – Hartford Jr Wolfpack (AtlJHL)
41 GP / 8 G / 19 A /  27 Pts / 97 PIM
Busillo’s season is over as his Wolfpack were eliminated by Walpole in the first round of the AtlJHL playoffs.  He had a goal in three playoff games.

Kenny Gillespie – RW – Shattuck St Mary’s (MN)
39 GP / 11 G / 37 A /  48 Pts / 50 PIM
Gillespie’s stats haven’t been updated (or he’s injured).

Zack LaRue – C/F – Markham Waxers (OPJHL)
50 GP / 33 G / 36 A / 69 Pts / 26 PIM
LaRue’s season has come to a close as his Waxers lost in the first round of the playoffs.  He had a goal and four assists in five playoff games, including a game winner and a shorthanded goal.

Steve Mastalerz – G – Kimball Union Wildcats (NE Prep)
35 GP / 24-7-4 / 1.63 GAA / .923 sv%
Mastalerz’s season is over after KUA lost in the first playoff game 4-3 in overtime.  He will be playing next week in the Beantown Classic next week.

Shane Walsh -LW – Dubuque Fighting Saints (USHL)
36 GP / 6 G / 6 A / 12 Pts / 12 PIM
Walsh didn’t have any points on the weekend .  His Saints are playing the USA Hockey Program tonight.

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The Boston Hockey Blog has Mike Pereira as one of their top rookies in Hockey East.