So this winter of hell has given me enough reprieve to write my first recruit update in nearly a month (though as I type this it is of course starting to snow outside AGAIN).  UMass did pick up another commitment during that time.  It came from Brian Scoville, a defenseman from Agawam currently playing for Cushing Academy.  We’ll have plenty of time to get to know Scoville since he is the coaching staff’s first 2018 recruit.  Let’s see how Scoville and the rest of the recruit have fared in February.

Brandon Egli – D – Vernon Vipers (BCHL) – 2015 (NLI signed)
45 P / 3 G / 17 A / 20 Pts /34 PIM
Egli has done quite well in the last few weeks, scoring 2 goals and grabbing 8 assists since my last update.  He’s second on his team for points by a defenseman.

Jake McCarthy – D – South Shore Kings (USPHL) – 2015 or 2016
10 GP / 0 G /2 A / 2 Pts / 11 PIM
McCarthy hasn’t played since January, likely due to injury.

Kurt Keats – C – Powell River Kings (BCHL) – 2015 (NLI signed)
50 GP / 30 G / 34 A / 64 Pts / 79 PIM
Keats is 8th in the BCHL in goals and 10th in total points.

Austin Plevy – C – Brooks Bandits (AJHL) – 2015 (NLI signed)
54 GP / 29 G / 59 A / 88 Pts / 93 PIM
With just a few regular season games left Plevy is currently 1st in the league in points and game winning goals and 3rd in total goals.  He likely would’ve been named league MVP if not for future teammate Nic Renyard.

Nic Renyard – G – Okotoks Oilers (AJHL) – 2015
30-7-3 / .925 save % / 2.12 GAA / 5 shutouts
Renyard was named both MVP and Top Goaltender for the AJHL today.  Obviously that’s a huge deal and gives confidence that UMass’ goaltending will improve with his addition next year.  For some context last year’s AJHL Top Goaltender was Tanner Jaillet who is playing at Denver this year with an 11-5-0 record and .919 save percentage.  The regular season for the AJHL wraps up this weekend.  Currently Renyard is 1st in save percentage and wins (his 30 is a team record), 2nd in shutouts, and third in goals against average.

Ivan Chukarov – D – Minnesota Wilderness (NAHL) – 2015
43 GP / 9 G / 26 A / 35 Pts / 43 PIM / +28
Chukarov is 5th among NAHL defensemen in points and 7th in goals.  He was an honorable mention for NAHL defenseman of the month for January.

William Lagesson – D – Dubuque Fighting Saints (USHL) – 2015
235 GP / 1 G / 12 A / 13 Pts / 75 PIM/ +11
Lagesson was recently featured in this piece by Hockey’s Future.

Joe Widmar – RW – Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL) – 2015
45 GP / 16 G / 20 A / 36 Pts / 40 PIM/ -2

Widmar is tied for 1st on Des Moines in total points.

Shane Bear – D – Brooks Bandits (AJHL) – 2016
58 GP / 6 G / 33 A / 39 Pts / 73 PIM
Bear is second on his team for defensive scoring.

Troy Conzo – RW – Wenatchee Wild (NAHL) – 2016 or 2017
3 GP / 0 G / 0 A /0 Pts / 0 PIM / –2  Des Moines (USHL)
34 P/ 4 G/ 4 A / 8 Pts / 10 PIM / 0 Wenatchee (NAHL)
Conzo had an assist this past weekend.

Kyler Nachtigall – LW – Brooks Bandits (AJHL) – 2016
58 GP / 13 G / 10 A / 23 Pts / 65 PIM
Nachtigall is in the middle of a tough stretch that has seen him score just one goal in 11 games.

Ty Pelton-Byce – C – Team Wisconsin U18 (Elite)/Madison Memorial (WI HS) – 2016 (NLI signed)
21 GP / 12 G / 12 A / 24 Pts / 8 PIM  Team Wisconsin U18
24 GP /35 G / 39 A /74 pts  Madison Memorial
The above is the final regular season stats for Pelton-Byce.  His team is playing in the State Sectional Semi-Finals as I type this.  They’re up 2-1 after the 1st with Pelton-Byce scoring the first goal.  Earlier in the month he took part in a NLI signing event at his school.  Here’s an interview from the event:

John Leonard – F – Springfield Rifles (Mass Selects)/Springfield Cathedral (MA HS) – 2017
14 GP / 21 G / 11 A / 32 Pts  Springfield Rifles
22 GP / 42 G / 27 A /69 Pts  Springfield Cathedral
Leonard’s regular season is done and his Cathedral team will play Woburn as the top seed in the Super Eight tournament on Sunday in Lowell.  He finished the year as the top DI scorer in the state.

Brian Scoville – D – Cushing Academy (NE Prep) – 2018
?? GP / ?? G / ?? A /?? Pts
Unfortunately prep stats are tough to come by, especially if you don’t want to pay for a subscription.  In the meantime, read this great article about the local kid Scoville committing to UMass.

▲

Frank Vatrano’s game winner from Saturday was the NCAA Hockey #3 play of the week as well as the UMass Athletics #1 play of the week.