Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Commit Cycle: April 3 (Men)

It's that horrible time of year again, when the primary hockey season winds down and we start to remove players from the Commit Cycle posts, before pausing the series for the summer once they're all gone. Playing hockey at a high level is a year-round commitment of course, but information from all of the camps, showcases and leagues during the "offseason" isn't gained steadily enough to maintain a regular post (in cases where it is available, it will still be passed along, of course).

Here are the removed players and how their seasons concluded. As always, check M Current Commitments for full stats.
  • A.J. Greer (Kimball Union Academy) enjoyed a highly-successful first year in New Hampshire after coming to the states from his native Quebec. The power forward finished sixth in scoring, with 16 goals on a 19 assists, on a stacked team that had ten Division I commitments and went 27-2-0 in the regular season - earning a second-team all-scholastic underclass team nod from Over The Boards. The season, however, ended in disappointment when the top-seeded Wildcats were stunned 4-1 by Gunnery in the opening round of the Stuart/Corkery Tournament, the New England prep championship tournament.
  • James Robinson (Langley Rivermen), despite a quick ouster from the playoffs at the hands of the Surrey Eagles, had a fantastic rookie season in the BCHL. He helped the Rivermen to a 24-26-6 regular season record with 42 points, good for third on the team in scoring, with his 33 assists rating second best among all first-year players in the league.

Chase Berger

Forward
St. Louis AAA Blues (Midget Major 18U)
6'0", 190 pounds
St. Louis, MO
Entering 2015
DOB 11/14/1994



USA Hockey's Tier I 18U boys championships open on Wednesday in Moon Township, PA, with Berger and his team taking on the Cleveland Barons at 6:00 p.m... they'll then face Honeybaked on Thursday at 1:00 p.m. and Kevin Kerr's Team Comcast on Friday at 7:45 p.m. with the hope of doing well enough in those games to advance to the weekend's playoff rounds.


Ricky DeRosa

Forward
Port Huron Fighting Falcons (NAHL)
6'1", 189 pounds
Aston, PA
Entering 2013
DOB 2/9/1992



Date
Opponent
ScoreGAPts.PIM 
3/22
at Janesville
W 4-1
0
0
0
0
3/23
at Janesville
W 4-3
1
0
1
0
3/28
vs. Janesville
W 5-0
0
0
0
0
3/29
vs. Michigan
W 4-0
1
0
1
0
3/30
vs. Michigan
W 7-4
1
3
4
0

Thanks largely to an incredible late-season surge that saw the Falcons win their last eight regular season games (and 13 of the last 16), Port Huron clinched an NAHL playoff spot at the fourth-place team in the North Division... their quest for the Robertson Cup opens Thursday, with a best-of-three play-in series against the Johnstown Tomahawks (incidentally, Johnstown will host the if-necessary game three on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. if you're in the area), and will hopefully continue with a best-of-five division semifinal series against either Soo or Jamestown... DeRosa ended the regular season as the Falcons' leading scorer, with 42 points in 59 games.


David Goodwin

Center
Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (USHL)
5'9", 170 pounds
St. Louis, MO
Entering 2013
DOB 2/27/1992



Date
Opponent
ScoreGAPts.PIM 
3/22
vs. Dubuque
L 2-4
0
0
0
0
3/23
vs. Green Bay
W 6-5
1
0
1
0
3/28
at Team USA
W 5-1
0
0
0
2
3/29
at Youngstown
W 6-3
2
2
4
0
3/30
at Youngstown
W 5-2
0
1
1
0

Cedar Rapids was eliminated from the USHL playoffs shortly after the last update, then - perhaps due to the pressure shutting off - got hot with three wins over playoff-bound Green Bay and Youngstown, as well as a decisive 5-1 count against the national development program... Goodwin's 42 points (split between the Riders and Sioux City, his home at the beginning of the year) are good for second on the team... as part of his explosion against the Phantoms, he assisted now-and-future teammate Alec Marsh on the 4-2 goal that wound up as the winner.


Kevin Kerr

Defenseman
Team Comcast (Midget Major 18U)
5'11", 162 pounds
Bensalem, PA
Entering 2015
DOB 2/9/1996



Kerr and Team Comcast, as mentioned, will face Berger's Blues on Friday at 7:45 p.m. in the pool round of the USA Hockey Tier I 18U national championships at Moon Township, PA's Island Sports Complex... prior to that, Comcast will play the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday at 7:45 p.m. and the Buffalo Regals on Thursday at 5:45 p.m. as they will also seek to play deep into the weekend.


Patrick Koudys

Defenseman
Muskegon Lumberjacks (USHL)
6'3", 198 pounds
Smithville, ON
Entering 2013
DOB 11/15/1992



Date
Opponent
ScoreGAPts.PIM 
3/22
vs. Chicago
W 4-1
0
0
0
0
3/23
vs. Team USA
W 4-3
0
0
0
2
3/29
vs. Chicago
L 3-4
0
0
0
0

With just three games over the two weeks, the Lumberjacks watched as Green Bay made up games in hand and passed them for second place in the Eastern Conference... still, at 30-20-10, Muskegon has clinched a playoff spot and will spend the last four games of the regular season jostling for seeding with the Gamblers and Youngstown... the Jacks' 161 goals against this season (2.68 per game) remains the second-best total in the league, thanks in no small part to Koudys.


Alec Marsh

Forward
Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (USHL)
5'10", 175 pounds
Bridgewater, NJ
Entering 2015
DOB 11/28/1995



Date
Opponent
ScoreGAPts.PIM 
3/22
vs. Dubuque
L 2-4
0
1
1
0
3/23
vs. Green Bay
W 6-5
0
1
1
0
3/28
at Team USA
W 5-1
0
1
1
0
3/29
at Youngstown
W 6-3
1
0
1
0
3/30
at Youngstown
W 5-2
0
0
0
2

As Cedar Rapids plays out the string, Marsh and other youngsters have received more opportunities, and the USHL rookie has made his count with probably his best stretch of the season... as mentioned, the goal against Youngstown, assisted by Goodwin, held up as the winner... overall, Marsh added 57 percent to his season scoring total, which now sits at 11 points, over the last two weeks.


Eamon McAdam

Goaltender
Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL)
6'2", 185 pounds
Perkasie, PA
Entering 2013
DOB 9/24/1994



Date
Opponent
ScoreSAGASv%GAA 
3/22
vs. Fargo
L 4-5
--
-
---
---
3/23
vs. Dubuque
L 1-4
23
3
0.870
4.50
3/29
vs. Tri-City
W 7-0
--
-
---
---
3/30
vs. Fargo
W 2-1
--
-
---
---
4/2
at Green Bay
W 7-4
--
-
---
---

Suffice it to say that McAdam has had and will have better Commit Cycle periods - he was pulled from his one start over the last two weeks after two periods, then promptly lost his spot in the Black Hawks' goalie rotation to Cal Petersen, who allowed five goals in the next three games... Waterloo is 34-21-4 and in the driver's seat for the final spot in the Western Conference playoffs, five points with ahead of pursuing Omaha with five games remaining (and notably, just four for the Lancers).


Bo Pellah

Defenseman
Alberni Valley Bulldogs (BCHL)
5'11", 150 pounds
New Westminster, BC
Entering 2014
DOB 5/25/1995



Date
Opponent
ScoreGAPts.PIM 
3/19
vs. Nanaimo
W 3-2
0
1
1
2
3/20
at Nanaimo
W 2-1
0
0
0
4
3/22
at Victoria
L 2-3
0
0
0
0
3/23
vs. Victoria
W 2-0
0
0
0
0
3/25
at Victoria
L 1-4
0
0
0
2
3/26
vs. Victoria
W 4-3
0
0
0
0
3/27
at Victoria
W 3-2
0
1
1
2
3/29
at Surrey
L 0-1
0
0
0
0
3/30
at Surrey
L 2-3
0
1
1
0
4/1
vs. Surrey
L 2-3
0
0
0
0
4/2
vs. Surrey
L 2-4
0
0
0
0

Alberni Valley was swept out of the Coastal Conference finals by Surrey (a common nemesis for PSU-committed BCHLers, as we'll see), but not before the Bulldogs put together quite a thrilling playoff run... in the first round, they fell behind Nanaimo 0-2 in a best-of-five series before pulling off the reverse sweep with three straight wins to advance... the deficit wasn't quite as great against Victoria, but still required consecutive overtime wins on March 26th and 27th to clinch the series... the team then ran out of gas, understandable considering the emotional elements combined with a grueling 14 games/19 days playoff schedule.


Dylan Richard

Forward
Spruce Grove Saints (AJHL)
6'0", 185 pounds
Sherwood Park, AB
Entering 2013
DOB 2/5/1993



Date
Opponent
ScoreGAPts.PIM 
3/20
vs. Sherwood Park
L 1-2
0
0
0
2
3/22
at Sherwood Park
W 4-0
1
0
1
0
3/28
vs. Whitecourt
W 2-1
1
0
1
2
3/30
vs. Whitecourt
W 5-1
0
0
0
0
4/1
at Whitecourt
L 3-4
0
0
0
0

After carrying over a 3-1 best-of-seven series lead over Sherwood Park from the last Commit Cycle, the Saints polished off the Crusaders in six to advance to the North Division finals (the league semifinals), where they jumped out to a 2-1 series lead on Whitecourt, with the final four games of the series (the last two if necessary, of course) scheduled over the next six days... Richard's unassisted shorthanded goal with just 3:20 remaining in the third period forced overtime in the eventual game one win over the Wolverines.


Zach Saar

Right Wing
Muskegon Lumberjacks (USHL)
6'4", 210 pounds
Plainwell, MI
Entering 2013
DOB 6/22/1993



Date
Opponent
ScoreGAPts.PIM 
3/22
vs. Chicago
W 4-1
0
1
1
4
3/23
vs. Team USA
W 4-3
0
0
0
2
3/29
vs. Chicago
L 3-4
1
1
2
2

Saar burned the Steel, his team for his first 55 USHL games, for three points in two games, although Chicago won the second meeting... the power forward's goal on March 29th was his first since joining the Lumberjacks, and he now has four points in 17 games with the team - all in his last four games.


Eric Scheid

Forward
Lincoln Stars (USHL)
5'9", 163 pounds
Coon Rapids, MN
Entering 2013
DOB 5/5/1992



Date
Opponent
ScoreGAPts.PIM 
3/22
vs. Sioux Falls
L 1-2
0
0
0
0
3/23
vs. Omaha
W 3-2
0
1
1
0
3/29
at Sioux City
W 3-2
0
0
0
0
3/30
at Sioux Falls
W 4-1
0
0
0
0

It was a quiet two weeks from Scheid but Lincoln, at 36-21-3, is about as close to a team can get to clinching the playoffs without actually doing it... the Stars are eight points ahead of fifth-place Omaha, with each team still having four games to go - in theory, the Stars could be knocked out with four consecutive losses and four consecutive wins by the Lancers, as well as two more wins by the Waterloo Black Hawks, as unlikely as that scenario may be... the archrival Stars and Lancers meet for games on Friday and Saturday, which will give a pretty good indication of how things might progress.


David Thompson

Defenseman
Chilliwack Chiefs (BCHL)
6'2", 187 pounds
Glen Mills, PA
Entering 2013
DOB 5/19/1992



Date
Opponent
ScoreGAPts.PIM 
3/19
at Prince George
L 2-5
0
1
1
2
3/20
vs. Prince George
W 5-2
0
1
1
2
3/22
at Surrey
L 0-4
0
0
0
2
3/23
at Surrey
L 4-5
0
1
1
0
3/25
vs. Surrey
L 2-3
0
0
0
0

Thompson had a solid playoff run to close his BCHL career before bringing his power play acumen and physicality to Penn State for next season, but Chilliwack was dumped out of the playoffs by Surrey (which went on to sweep Pellah's Alberni Valley in the next round, of course) via a best-of-five sweep in the Coastal Conference semifinals... prior to that, the Chiefs closed out Prince George in a first-round series that went the full five games.


Mike Williamson

Defenseman
Spruce Grove Saints (AJHL)
6'3", 210 pounds
Leduc, AB
Entering 2013
DOB 9/5/1993



Date
Opponent
ScoreGAPts.PIM 
3/20
vs. Sherwood Park
L 1-2
0
0
0
0
3/22
at Sherwood Park
W 4-0
0
0
0
4
3/28
vs. Whitecourt
W 2-1
0
0
0
0
3/30
vs. Whitecourt
W 5-1
0
0
0
2
4/1
at Whitecourt
L 3-4
0
0
0
0

Despite a point-free two weeks, Williamson and the Saints' defense gave up next to nothing the other way, surrendering 18 times in the team's nine playoff games, including just seven over the most recent five... Spruce Grove will face the winner of the South Division series between Okotoks and Brooks in the AJHL finals.
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