INCH
UPDATE DESK
August
31, 2005
Walter
Leaves UMass Lowell for NHL Deal
 |
| Walter's
26 goals ranked third in the nation last season. |
UMass
Lowell’s Ben Walter, who would have been a senior this season,
signed a three-year deal with the Boston Bruins Wednesday afternoon.
Walter, a fifth round Bruins selection in the 2004 NHL draft,
will forego his final year of eligibility at UML and report to
training camp in September.
“I’m
really excited to become a part of the Bruins organization,”
Walter said. “I’ve had three great years at UMass
Lowell and I’m sad to be leaving, but I felt it was the
right step for me. I’m glad to be moving on in my hockey
career.”
Walter
played three seasons with the River Hawks, compiling 49 goals,
41 assists, 90 points and 62 penalty minutes in 107 games. He
was named second-team All-Hockey East last season, when he posted
26-13—39 in 36 games. He was among the NCAA Division I leaders
with 26 goals (third), 0.72 goals per game (fourth) and 13 power-play
goals (tied for fourth).
“We’re
extremely happy and proud for Ben and his entire family, and we’re
excited to watch him fulfill his dream,” River Hawk head
coach Blaise MacDonald said. “We were privileged that his
journey toward that end came through Lowell.”
Walter would
have been the cornerstone of a strong senior class at Lowell,
which lost just one regular from last season's 20-win team.
August
25, 2005
Canisius
Adds NHL Vet Ledyard to Staff
First-year
Canisius coach Dave Smith has added former NHL defenseman Grant
Ledyard as a volunteer assistant coach.
“We are thrilled to have Grant join our program,”
Smith said in a statement. “His interest in player development
and his enthusiasm for the Buffalo area are great additions to
our program and the community.”
Ledyard. a Winnipeg, Manitoba, native, spent 18 seasons in the
NHL, including four-plus years with the Buffalo Sabres.
August
25, 2005
Shawhan
Named LSSU Assistant
New
Lake Superior State head coach Jim Roque rounded out his staff
by hiring former Laker netminder Joe Shawhan as an assistant coach.
Shawhan, a Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., native, spent the last 10
seasons as coach and general manager of the North American Hockey
League's Soo Indians, where he guided the franchise to three league
titles and became the winningest coach in the NAHL's 30-year history.
The team folded after last season.
A LSSU goaltender from 1982-87, Shawhan's career goals against
average of 3.83 ranks 10th on the school's all-time list.
August
25, 2005
NMU's
Contois Wins NCAA Appeal
Northern
Michigan forward Andrew Contois has been granted an additional
year of eligibility by the NCAA.
A misinterpretation between school officials and the NCAA jeopardized
the Marquette native's status for the 2005-06 season. NMU believed
Contois had another year of eligibility remaining because he sat
out the second semester of his freshman season and the first semester
of his sophomore campaign after transferring to the school from
Lake Superior State. Contois played in nine contests with the
Lakers in 2001-02 before his transfer. He gained eligibility at
NMU in December 2002 and played in 23 games for the Wildcats that
season.
Last
season, Contois ranked among the top goal scorers in the CCHA
with a career-best 19 goals and 36 points in 39 games. As part
of his reinstatement, he'll sit out the team's regular-season
opener against St. Cloud State in Marquette.
August
23, 2005
Toffey
Leaves UMass for Pros
Massachusetts
forward John Toffey, who posted seven points in 40 games for the
Minutemen, has signed a contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning,
forgoing his senior season to play professional hockey.
"This
is a great opportunity for John," said UMass head coach Don
Cahoon. "We will miss his senior leadership, but wish him
nothing but the best."
Toffey came
to UMass in 2002 after spending his freshman season at Ohio State.
After sitting out the 2002-03 season due to NCAA transfer rules,
Toffey played two seasons for the Minutemen. In 40 games for Massachusetts,
Toffey scored two goals and added five assists. During his entire
collegiate career, the ninth-round pick of the Lightning in 2002
had four goals and eight assists in 64 games.
August
17, 2005
Holt
Bolts UNO for Rangers
Nebraska-Omaha
goaltender Chris Holt has decided to forego his final two seasons
of eligibility with the Mavericks to sign a professional contract
with the NHL's New York Rangers.
“We
are very excited for Chris,” UNO head coach Mike Kemp said.
“Having guys like Chris Holt mature and develop in our program
is very gratifying. We wish him the best.”
Holt, a sixth
round pick of the Rangers in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, leaves
UNO with a 24-31-6 career record over 64 games with a 3.04 goals-against
average and a .902 save percentage.
Holt played
more than 93 percent of the Mavericks' minutes in 2004-05, as
they improved eight spots in the CCHA standings over the year
before. Current sophomore Eric Aarnio was Holt's backup, appearing
in six games with a 0-2-0 record, a 5.97 GAA and a .797 save percentage.
Holt will
join a young corps of Ranger goaltenders including former Michigan
netminder Al Montoya, who signed with the Rangers July 27. The
former CCHA goalies could form a tandem with the Rangers' AHL
team, the Hartford Wolf Pack.
August
16, 2005
Patrick
Joins Wisconsin Staff
Bowling
Green assistant coach Kevin Patrick has left coach Scott Paluch's
staff to assume similar duties under coach Mike Eaves at Wisconsin.
He fills the vacancy created last month when Eaves fired associate
head coach Troy Ward.
A native of Schenectady, N.Y., Patrick spent three seasons at
BGSU. Prior to that, he was an assistant for four seasons under
Kevin Sneddon at Union. He also worked with current Badger assistant
Mark Osiecki with the Green Bay Gamblers of the United States
Hockey League for one season, serving as both assistant coach
and assistant general manager.
Patrick, who graduated from Notre Dame in 1992, was a four-year
letterwinner on defense for the Fighting Irish and also played
varsity lacrosse for two seasons.
August 12, 2005
Report:
Jonathan Sigalet Bolts for Bruins
Saturday's Bowling Green Sentinel-Tribune reports Falcon
defenseman Jonathan Sigalet will pass up his final two years of
eligibility and sign a contract with the Boston Bruins.
"We
had no indication this was coming,” coach Scott Paluch told
the Sentinel-Tribune's Kevin Gordon. “(Jonathan)
felt this was the right decision for him.”
Sigalet, who scored 31 points in 73 career games with Bowling
Green, was selected by Boston in the fourth round of last month's
NHL Draft. Jonathan's older brother, Jordan, who wrapped up a
successful four-year career in goal for the Falcons last spring,
agreed to a one-year contract with the Bruins earlier in the week.
In the story, Paluch said the Bruins offered the younger Sigalet
the “maximum bonus” to sign. Terms in the NHL’s
new collective bargaining agreement limit rookie contracts to
three years with a maximum salary of $850,000 per year and a top-end
signing bonus of 10 percent of the player's salary per season.
“The important thing is the Bruins feel this is the next
step in Jonathan’s development and they feel this is best
for him,” Paluch said. “He’s made a lot of progress
in his play and we wish him the best of luck in his professional
career.”
August 8, 2005
AIC
Adds Exter to Staff
Joe
Exter, a former goaltender at Merrimack who recovered from a serious
head injury to spend two seasons in the Pittsburgh Penguins organization,
has been named assistant coach at American International.
"We are
excited about having Joe on our staff," said head coach Gary
Wright. "He is passionate about the game and his career objective
is to be a hockey coach. Importantly, he has been a captain at
every level, including at Merrimack, where he had a stellar career.
Our expectation is that Joe will strengthen our hockey program."
Exter played
for the Warriors for three seasons, graduating in 2003. As a senior,
Exter was named All-Hockey East Second Team after posting a .915
save percentage and 2.91 goals against average while serving as
captain. Late in his senior year Exter suffered a serious head
injury as a result of an on-ice collision, but made a full recovery
and returned to the ice as a pro.
For the past
two seasons Exter player for the Wheeling Nailers, the Pittsburgh
Penguins' affiliate in the ECHL. With the Nailers, Exter appeared
in a total of 42 games over two years and recorded a .912 save
percentage and six shutouts.
In 2003-04,
Exter served as the goaltending coach at both Cushing Academy
in Asburnham, Mass. and for the Minuteman Flames of the Interstate
Junior Hockey League. Exter attended Cushing from 1993-97 and
was a member of the All-New England Prep team as a senior before
playing for the Waterloo Blackhawks of the United States Hockey
League and the Eastern Junior Hockey League's Great Northern Snow
Devils.
August
6, 2005
CC's
Greco Signs With Tampa Bay
Colorado
College defenseman Brady Greco signed a two-year contract with
the Tampa Bay Lightning, forgoing his final year of college eligibility.
Greco appeared
in 26 games with the Tigers last season, registering four goals,
two assists and 36 penalty minutes. As a sophomore in 2003-04,
the 6-foot-3, 195-pound native of Middleton, Wis., played in 28
games, scoring seven goals—all on the power play—and
five assists while compiling 58 penalty minutes.
Tampa Bay's eighth-round selection at the 2003 NHL Entry Draft,
Greco started his college career with Michigan Tech in 2001-02,
He scored 10 points in 24 games with the Huskies, but left Houghton
after his freshman campaign and landed with Chicago of the United
States Hockey League for the 2002-03 season.
Greco is the third underclassman to leave the Tigers during the
off-season. Defenseman Mark Stuart, the Boston Bruins' first-round
pick in 2003, agreed to a three-year deal with the franchise last
week. Just day's prior to Stuart's departure, forward Mike Sertich,
the brother of 2005 Hobey Baker Award winner Marty Sertich, announced
he wouldn't return due to lingering effects of two reconstructive
surgeries on his left shoulder.
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