Congratulations to UMass recruit Shane Walsh who helped his Dubuque Fighting Saints win the Clark Cup, given to the USHL champions.  Walsh played a big role in the clinching game, assisting on the game winning goal and putting the icing on the cake with the 6th and final goal of the 6-1 win.  Lots of coverage of the Saints championship run can be found on their website.

Some news on Walsh, confirming something I had heard earlier in the year, is this report that Walsh will be spending another year in Dubuque to work on his game.  This really stems back to when he broke his leg last Spring in the EJHL playoffs.  It hindered his offseason workouts and as a result he got off to a slow start in the USHL.  Getting traded mid-season didn’t help that adjustment either, although it did give him a chance to be a champion.  I think with a USHL season under his belt and the ability to have a normal off-season of conditioning and development should pay dividends in the long run.

Here’s the last recruit update of the season:

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 had a goal and two assists in 10 playoff games as his Saints won the USHL championship.

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 cup is not in Justin Braun’s future as his San Jose Sharks were eliminated by the Canucks last night on one of the flukiest goals you’ll ever see.  Braun played just one game in the playoffs, coming in the first round when he took on the Kings and Jon Quick.

Casey Wellman is still playing however after his Houston Aeros find themselves in the AHL’s Calder Cup Finals.  Wellman has picked up his play of a late, including two goals in their Game 7 with Hamilton.  The finals start on Friday.

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Blake Kessel is leaving UNH early to play for the Islanders.  Probably a good thing for UMass but a bad thing overall for college hockey.

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With the recruits done with hockey for the season and UMass alumni wrapping things up look for some more in depth coverage in the coming weeks on FTT as I begin to focus on the 2011-12 season.

I’ll also pass along any information I get at this year’s Pond Club Golf Outing next month.  There’s still time to for you hackers to sign up, just click on the logo to the right.