INCH
UPDATE DESK
UPDATED:
June 19, 2007
Axtell
Dismissed From Michigan Tech, May Land at Northern
Forward
Phil Axtell will not return for a second season at Michigan
Tech after being dismissed from the team at the end of his
freshman season. INCH has learned that the native of New
Windsor, Md., was suspended prior to the Huskies' appearance
in the WCHA playoffs and later was dismissed from the team
for violations of team rules.
"It's unfortunate, but we wish him the
best of luck," Huskies coach Jamie Russell told INCH.
Russell declined to elaborate on Axtell’s actions,
citing student privacy concerns.
Northern Michigan coach Walt Kyle confirmed
he has spoken to Axtell about a transfer, and said that
while papers have not yet been signed, if Axtell agrees
to
meet some expectations, Kyle anticipates that the forward
will be in school in
Marquette in the fall.
Listed at 6-5, 240, Axtell was one of the
WCHA's bigger players last season, and notched a pair of
goals and seven assists in his 27 collegiate games.
June
13, 2007
Cornell's
Tony Romano Opts for OHL
The
London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League announced that
they have reached a contract agreement with former Cornell
forward Tony Romano, who finished his freshman campaign
in Ithaca with 19 points to rank tied for fifth on the team
in scoring.
Romano,
a native of Smithtown, N.Y., had nine goals and 10 assists
in 29 games for Cornell, but 13 of his 19 points on the
year came prior to Jan. 1.
In
a statement on the London Knights' official Web site, Romano
cited the limited number of games played in college as a
reason for the switch.
"I know what I'm leaving but you only
play 30 games at Cornell and it takes more than that to
get to the next level," Romano said at londonknights.com.
"I was used to playing 60, 70 games a season so it
was a big change for me. I love hockey and I want to play
as many games as I can."
Romano was a sixth-round pick of the New Jersey
Devils in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.
June
9, 2007
Alaska
Hires Doc DelCastillo as Head Coach
Doc
DelCastillo will be the seventh head coach in the history
of the Alaska Nanooks. He was announced as the program's
new head coach on Friday after having served the last five
years as an assistant coach and lead recruiter at Nebraska-Omaha.
DelCastillo
is familiar with the demands of the program in Fairbanks.
UNO was the Mavericks' travel partner in the CCHA. DelCastillo
also played and coached at St. Cloud State University. Alaska,
UNO, and St. Cloud State all compete in Division I ice hockey
while the rest of the university's athletic programs play
at the Division II level.
"I have spoken with hundreds of people
during the search process," said UAF Director of Athletics
Forrest Karr. "Everyone has different opinions, but
everyone that knows hockey agrees on one thing - Doc DelCastillo
is an excellent role model and an outstanding hockey coach.
Doc will not get outworked and he will make everyone in
the department of athletics better."
A proven recruiter, DelCastillo successfully
elicited a core group of skaters in his time at UNO, including
Mavericks' All-American forward Scott Parse CCHA Player
of the year 2006, Hobey Baker Finalist 2006 and 2007 and
Bill Thomas CCHA Rookie of the Year 2005, who helped re-shape
the hockey program and earn the Mavericks a trip to the
NCAA tournament in 2006.
"Several D-I athletic directors advised
hiring a proven recruiter, as successful recruiters usually
end up winning head coaches," Karr said. "Doc's
recruiting history speaks for itself. His efforts have helped
elevate two D-I programs, both within D-II athletic departments."
The 37-year old started coaching at his alma
mater in 1998 and spent four seasons with the Huskies. While
he was there, SCSU had the second-highest winning percentage
in college hockey, finishing just behind Michigan State
with a record of 83-34-6.
June
7, 2007
USA
Hockey Announces Junior Evaluation Camp Roster
USA
Hockey released its list of 45 players invited to the U.S.
National Junior Evaluation Camp. The camp takes place Aug.
3-11 in Lake Placid, N.Y.
As
usual, the majority of the invitees have ties to college
hockey. Six of them — Colorado College forward Bill
Sweatt, incoming New Hampshire forward James vanRiemsdyk,
Minnesota forwards Mike Carman and Kyle Okposo, and Wisconsin
forward Blake Geoffrion defenseman Jamie McBain, —
were members of the 2007 U.S. team that won the bronze medal
at the World Junior Championship in Sweden in January. The
2008 World Junior Championship takes place from Dec. 26-Jan.
5 in Pardubice and Liberec, Czech Republic.
The
complete U.S. National Junior Evaluation Camp roster:
| Name |
Pos. |
Hometown |
2007-08
Team |
| Mark
Arcobello |
F |
Milford,
Conn. |
Yale |
| Jonathon
Blum |
D |
Rancho
Santa Margarita, Calif. |
Vancouver
(WHL) |
| T.J.
Brennan |
D |
Willingbord,
N.J. |
St.
John's (QMJHL) |
| Mike
Carman |
F |
Apple
Valley, Minn. |
Minnesota |
| Ian
Cole |
D |
Ann
Arbor, Mich. |
Notre
Dame |
| Brian
Day |
F |
Boston,
Mass. |
Colgate |
| Cade
Fairchild |
D |
Duluth,
Minn. |
Minnesota |
| David
Fischer |
D |
Apple
Valley, Minn. |
Minnesota |
| Ryan
Flynn |
F |
Lino
Lakes, Minn. |
Minnesota |
| T.J.
Galiardi |
F |
Calgary,
Alberta |
TBA |
| Blake
Geoffrion |
F |
Brentwood,
Tenn. |
Wisconsin |
| Patrick
Kane |
F |
Buffalo,
N.Y. |
London
(OHL) |
| Jamie
McBain |
D |
Faribault,
Minn. |
Wisconsin |
| Thomas
McCollum |
G |
Sanborn,
N.Y. |
Guelph
(OHL) |
| Ryan
McDonagh |
D |
Arden
Hills, Minn. |
Wisconsin |
| Kevin
Montgomery |
D |
Rochester,
N.Y. |
London
(OHL) |
| Peter
Mueller |
F |
Bloomington,
Minn. |
Everett
(WHL) |
| Kyle
Okposo |
F |
St.
Paul, Minn. |
Minnesota |
| Max
Pacioretty |
F |
New
Canaan, Conn. |
Michigan |
| Trent
Palm |
D |
Edina,
Minn. |
Minnesota
Duluth |
| Joe
Palmer |
G |
Yorkville,
N.Y. |
Ohio
State |
| Kent
Patterson |
G |
Plymouth,
Minn. |
Cedar
Rapids (USHL) |
| Luke
Popko |
F |
Skillman,
N.J. |
Boston
University |
| Kevin
Quick |
D |
Tonawanda,
N.Y. |
Michigan |
| Rhett
Rakhshani |
F |
Huntington
Beach, Calif. |
Denver |
| Mike
Ratchuk |
D |
Buffalo,
N.Y. |
Michigan
State |
| Doug
Rogers |
F |
Watertown,
Mass. |
Harvard |
| Tony
Romano |
F |
Smithtown,
N.Y. |
Cornell |
| Tyler
Ruegsegger |
F |
Lakewood,
Colo. |
Denver |
| Ted
Ruth |
D |
Naperville,
Ill. |
Notre
Dame |
| Matt
Rust |
F |
Bloomfield
Hills, Mich. |
Michigan |
| Ben
Ryan |
F |
Brighton,
Mich. |
Notre
Dame |
| Bob
Sanguinetti |
D |
Lumberton,
N.J. |
Owen
Sound (OHL) |
| Jordan
Schroeder |
F |
Lakeville,
Minn. |
U.S.
NTDP |
| Kevin
Shattenkirk |
D |
New
Rochelle, N.Y. |
Boston
University |
| Ben
Smith |
F |
Avon,
Conn. |
Boston
College |
| Jeremy
Smith |
G |
Brownstown,
Mich. |
Plymouth
(OHL) |
| Brian
Strait |
D |
Waltham,
Mass. |
Boston
University |
| Chris
Summers |
D |
Milan,
Mich. |
Michigan |
| Bill
Sweatt |
F |
Elburn,
Ill. |
Colorado
College |
| Eric
Tangradi |
F |
Philadelphia,
Pa. |
Belleville
(OHL) |
| Josh
Unice |
G |
Toledo,
Ohio |
Bowling
Green |
| J.
vanRiemsdyk |
F |
Middletown,
N.J. |
New
Hampshire |
| Patrick
White |
F |
Grand
Rapids, Minn. |
Minnesota |
| Colin
Wilson |
F |
Greenwich,
Conn. |
Boston
University |
June
7, 2007
Piotrowski
Named CCHA Director of Officials
Veteran
CCHA referee Steve Piotrowski has been named the league's
director of officials, commissioner Tom Anastos announced.
The
move ends Piotrowski's tenure as one of the nation's top
referees. An on-ice official for 26 years, Piotrowski officiated
in 14 NCAA tournaments and six national championship games,
and also worked the IIHF World Championship and World Junior
Championship.
His
new responsibilities include overseeing the CCHA's cadre
of nearly 70 referees, assistant referees, and game supervisors.
Piotrowski replaces Brian Hart, who resigned last month
after nine years in the position.
June
6, 2007
Okposo:
I'm Coming Back to Minnesota
Minnesota
forward Kyle Okposo announced Wednesday that he is returning
to the Gophers for the 2007-08 season rather than signing
with the New York Islanders, the team that chose him with
the seventh overall pick in last year's NHL Entry Draft.
"After meeting with the Islanders to
discuss my future, I felt it was in my best interest to
return for my sophomore year,” Okposo said in a statement.
“This is where I want to be to develop into a better
player.”
Despite struggling down the stretch —
Okposo managed just two goals and seven points in Minnesota's
last 12 games — the St. Paul, Minn. native scored
19 goals and added 21 assists for 40 points, second only
to fellow freshman Jay Barriball among Gopher skaters. Okposo
was named to both the WCHA's all-rookie team and the all-league
second team. He was also a member of the U.S. team that
competed in the 2007 World Junior Championship in Leksand
and Mora, Sweden.
June
6, 2007
Alabama-Huntsville,
Holy Cross Hire Aides
Two
schools announced additions to their coaching staffs Wednesday.
New Alabama-Huntsville coach Danton Cole has hired former
Neumann head coach Dennis Williams, while Holy Cross coach
Paul Pearl tabbed ex-Babson aide Jason Smith as assistant
coach and recruiting coordinator.
Williams,
a four-year letterwinner at Bowling Green, compiled a 35-32-8
record in three seasons behind the bench at Neumann, an
NCAA Division III school located just outside Philadelphia
in Aston, Pa. Last season, he guided the Knights to a school
record 17-5-5 mark and a second-place finish in the ECAC
West.
Smith
comes to Holy Cross after four seasons at Babson. In 2007,
he helped the Beavers to their first ECAC East playoff championship
and the school's first berth in the NCAA Division III tournament
since 1993. Prior to his stint at Babson, Smith spent four
years as an assistant at Salem State, another Massachusetts-based
ECAC East member.
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