UMass has picked up a late commitment from 6’2”, 195lb  forward Emerson Auvenshine for this coming semester.  Auvenshine has spent the past two seasons playing for the Bismarck Bobcats of the NAHL.  This past season he had 11 goals and 11 assists in 54 games and had 106 PIM for the Bobcats.  He’s originally from Easton Rapids, MI.

I wasn’t able to find too much information out there on him, but Paul Teeple, the Bobcats’ Director of Broadcasting, was nice enough to pass along a few things.  Auvenshine initially did not make the Bobcats roster when he arrived in Bismarck a couple years ago, but stayed and town, continued to practice and work hard and eventually made the squad when another player left the team.  Obviously he stuck ever since eventually becoming an assistant captain for the team this past season.  Teeple called him a high energy guy who has the ability to score some clutch goals as well, like this series clincher from this year’s playoffs.  Auvenshine scores the gamewinner at about 1:10 into the video:

While the NAHL is not at the level of other leagues like the USHL and arguably the EJHL, UMass has had success with players from that league, such as Anthony Raiola who put in some quality minutes towards the end of this past season.

I’ll post more on Auvenshine as I come across it.  I also have to take a closer look at the roster, because I thought pretty much all the slots had been taken at this point.  This could signal that there will be some roster turnover now that students are done with classes.

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Onto the regular recruit update.  Shane Walsh’s Dubuque Saints are currently tied 1-1 for the USHL championship against Sioux Falls.  Walsh got the assist on the game winning goal in game 2 of the best of five series.  Games 3 and 4 will take place this weekend.

Kevin Boyle – G – Westside Warriors (BCHL)
39 GP / 20-16-1 / 3.02 GAA / .902 sv%
Boyle’s team was eliminated in the second round of the BCHL playoffs after he got injured. He did pretty well in the playoffs going 6-6-0 with a 3.00 GAA and a .907 save percentage.

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)
49 GP / 13 G / 42 A / 55 Pts / 76 PIM
Gillespie’s season is over after Shattuck won the Tier-I Under 18 National Championship earlier this month in Simsbury, CT. Gillespie was the 12th leading scorer in the tournament, netting two goals and three assists in the six games.

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.

Joseph Manno – South Kent Cardinal (NE Prep)
24 GP / 16 G / 27 A / 43 Pts
South Kent was upset in the prep playoffs despite being the top seed.

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.

Andrew Tegeler – F – Junior Bruins (EJHL)
44 GP / 19 G / 21 A / 40 Pts / 38 PIM
Tegeler’s Bruins were eliminated in the EJHL playoffs.

Shane Walsh -LW – Dubuque Fighting Saints (USHL)
49 GP / 9 G / 7 A / 16 Pts / 14 PIM
Walsh picked up his first point of the playoffs, a key one, this past weekend.

Oleg Yevenko -D – Fargo Force (USHL)
52 GP / 4 G / 4 A / 8 Pts / 197 PIM
Yevenko had 4 PIM and no points in his three playoff games. His Force were eliminated in the USHL playoffs by Walsh’s Saints.

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A video tribute to the seniors is up at UMassAthletics.com.

Kind of odd that a kid from Danvers who played for the Junior Bruins will be rooting for the Lightning tonight.  But we’ll cut Alex Berry some slack since he does play for Tampa Bay’s affiliate in Norfolk.  Here’s a great recap of how Alex is faring in pro hockey from his local paper.  (By the way, brutal spelling of Amherst…)