A couple weeks ago I introduced FTT readers to the Massachusetts hockey freshmen, but now it’s time to see how their junior careers stack (no pun intended) up against current and former Minutemen.  It’s as simple as it sounds, so let’s get started in the EJHL.

K.J. Tiefenwerth – F – Junior Bruins (EJHL)
43GP 30G 47A 77pts 14PIM
Other EJHL forwards:
Peter DeAngelo 45GP 15G 15A 30Pts 10PIM
Patrick Kiley 44GP 14G 38A 52Pts 83PIM
Alex Berry ??GP 21G 31A 52Pts
Marc Concannon 20GP 2G 15A 17Pts
Scott Crowder 54GP 23G 30A 53Pts
Jordan Virtue 36GP 13G 30A 43Pts
Kevin Czepiel 43GP 18G 58A 76Pts
T.J Syner 45GP 29G 21A 50Pts 24PIM
Andrew Tegeler 44GP 19G 21A 40pts 38PIM
You can see that the player who best compares to Tiefenwerth is T.J. Syner.  That’s not a bad thing.  I would point out that after putting up those numbers Syner went on to play a year in the USHL.  If he had stayed in the EJHL, as Tiefenwerth did, he likely would’ve put up even higher stats.  Overall it’s clear that UMass has consistently gotten strong production from its Eastern Junior wingers.

Conor Doherty – D – Junior Bruins (EJHL)
35GP 4G 14A 18pts 66PIM

Other EJHL defensemen:
Kevin Kessler 44GP 6G 15A 21Pts 81PIM
Doug Kublin 34GP 3G 17A 20Pts 81PIM
Topher Bevis 55GP 9G 20A 29Pts 44PIM
Mike Donnellan 42GP 5G 21A 26Pts 51PIM
Colin Shea 44GP 6G 23A 29Pts 41PIM
Needless to say it’s very difficult to predict how a defenseman will fare based on a stats comparison, especially when none of those stats are the only slightly valuable plus/minus.  However I think the above list shows that EJHL defensemen have made solid contributions to Minuteman hockey over the years.  Only Donnellan had trouble cracking the lineup.  Topher Bevis and Doug Kublin are two of the most reliable defensemen in recent times and Colin Shea has done well in his first couple years.  Even Kevin Kessler played some key minutes during his time in Amherst.  It doesn’t look like Doherty will be counted on to score much, but his penalty minutes combined with his 6’2” frame should give the team some grit.

Evan Stack – F – Merritt Centennials (EJHL)
60GP 32G 29A 61pts 27PIM
Other BCHL forwards:
Eric Filiou 45GP 12G 15A 17pts
UMass hasn’t gotten a lot of forwards in recent years from British Columbia, mostly goaltenders (Kevin Boyle) and defensemen (Matt Irwin).  However, one team that does get its fair share of wingers from Canada’s West Coast is Merrimack.  One of their current players who was in the BCHL is soon to be junior Mike Collins.  Collins had similar numbers to Stack in juniors; 30 goals and 46 assists in 59 games.  He would score 14 goals to go with 16 assists in his freshman year in North Andover and followed it up with another 10 goals and 15 assists last year.  It’s unknown if we can expect similar production from Stack as I’m not sure if he’s the same type of player.

Shane Walsh – F – Dubuque Fighting Saints/South Shore Kings
South Shore (09-10):  45GP 22G 37A 59pts 24PIM
Dubuque (10-11):  38GP 8G 3A 11pts 10PIM
Dubuque (11-12):  23GP 5G 7A 12pts 0PIM
South Shore (11-12): 10GP 8G 7A 15pts 4PIM
Other EJHL forwards:
Peter DeAngelo 45GP 15G 15A 30Pts 10PIM
Patrick Kiley 44GP 14G 38A 52Pts 83PIM
Alex Berry ??GP 21G 31A 52Pts
Marc Concannon 20GP 2G 15A 17Pts
Scott Crowder 54GP 23G 30A 53Pts
Jordan Virtue 36GP 13G 30A 43Pts
Kevin Czepiel 43GP 18G 58A 76Pts
T.J Syner 45GP 29G 21A 50Pts 24PIM
Andrew Tegeler 44GP 19G 21A 40pts 38PIM
Other USHL Forwards:
Briane Keane 47GP 9G 6A 15Pts
James Marcou 58GP 24G 47A 71Pts
T.J. Syner 58GP 21G 14A 35Pts
Brett Watson 55GP 9G 14A 23Pts
Casey Wellman 59GP 22G 23A 45Pts
Cory Quirk 59GP 14G 26A 40Pts
Danny Hobbs 60GP 10G 11A 21Pts
Rocco Carzo 45 GP 20G 13A 33Pts
Eddie Olczyk 53GP 6G 15A 21Pts
Troy Power 57GP 28G 16A 44Pts
Walsh is a tough one to compare since due to injuries and other circumstances he hasn’t played a full season in one place since 2009-10.  You can see the 59pts he put up in the EJHL that season, as well as his 1.5 PPG at the tail end of this past season, compare favorably with the production put up by Syner and Kevin Czepiel.  In the USHL his numbers resembled those of Brian Keane, Brett Watson, or Danny Hobbs.  All of whom played a good amount of minutes in recent years.

So what does all this mean?  Who knows.  We won’t know what the freshmen will produce until the season actually starts.  After all, I don’t think anyone would’ve guessed this most recent first year class, not including redshirt Steven Guzzo, would produce just two goals and six assists.  That’s not entirely an indictment of them or their talent, but it just goes to show that factors like team depth and needed roles also play a lot into expectations.

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First off, congratulations to the UMass football team who made their FBS debut last week at UConn.  The 37-0 outcome was rough, but not entirely unexpected.  Those who went through the years as UMass hockey rebooted the program and entered Hockey East knows how challenging that type of transition is.  The important thing is to support the team in the meantime and help it get to the next level.

Some of those who made the trip to Hartford to cheer on the football team were a few hockey players; Conor Allen, Conor Sheary, and Colin Shea.  It was excellent to see members of the hockey team, and even some of their parents, there support the school and their fellow student athletes.  In speaking with the Conors they mentioned that they would love to be able to make it to more football games, but that the demanding schedule of school and DI hockey understandably makes it a challenge to do so.  Who knows, maybe Coach Micheletto could arrange for the players to go to this Saturday’s home opener in Foxboro as a team activity.

Don’t forget to visit my buddies over at Maroon Musket to keep track of UMass Football in this first season in FBS.

Speaking of Coach Mick, Matt Vautour had this update on how he’s transitioning to his new role.  A couple things stand out for me from the article.  First off it says a lot that the players had committed to returning to school early even before the coaching change occurred.  Secondly, it sounds like having assistant coach Len Quesnelle there to bridge the gap between regimes is paying off.

Micheletto was also featured on INCH’s A to Z Season Preview.

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Boston University released the findings of the task force that was formed after two hockey players were arrested for sexual assault this past season.  The report concludes that while there was “no clear systemic problems” the task force did find a “culture of sexual entitlement and abuse.”  Yikes, good luck with that.  Interestingly one of the recommendation is for Jack Parker to report directly to the Athletic Director.  Currently he serves as Executive Athletic Director for the school in addition to coach, reporting to the school President.  It’s unknown if Joe Bertagna would continue to report directly to Parker under this new arrangement.

College Hockey News has a Q & A with the new head of College Hockey, Inc.