Sacred Heart left wing Matt Tugnutt will use his final year of collegiate eligibility at Providence College, he announced Friday on Twitter. The Peterborough, Ontario, native had a breakout season as a junior for the Pioneers. He had 13 goals and 16 assists in 31 games while serving as an alternate captain. He had 16...
Sacred Heart left wing Matt Tugnutt will use his final year of collegiate eligibility at Providence College, he announced Friday on Twitter.
The Peterborough, Ontario, native had a breakout season as a junior for the Pioneers. He had 13 goals and 16 assists in 31 games while serving as an alternate captain. He had 16 goals and 26 assists over his first two seasons at SHU.
Tugnutt was also considering signing an AHL deal before committing to the Friars for the 2020-21 season. Boston College, UMass, St. Cloud, Michigan and a few other programs had inquired about possibly landing Tugnutt, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.
Providence assistant coach Joel Beal recruited and coached Tugnutt while he was at Sacred Heart, prior to spending one season on Rico Blasi's staff at Miami.
Tugnutt's father, Ron Tugnutt, played 538 NHL games as a goaltender with the Quebec Nordiques, Montreal Canadiens, Edmonton Oilers, Anaheim Ducks, Ottawa Senators, Pittsburgh Penguins, Dallas Stars and Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Friars are no strangers to the grad transfer game, a relatively new phenomenon in college hockey. Tugnutt will be joining Anton Martinson, a goaltender who played three seasons at Alaska-Fairbanks. In 2019-20, goaltender Michael Lackey was a grad transfer from Harvard, and in 2017-18, defenseman Tommy Davis played his final season for Providence after spending his first three at Princeton.
UMass Lowell’s Wall inks with Rangers
UMass Lowell senior goaltender Tyler Wall has signed an entry-level contract with the New York Rangers, the organization that selected him in the sixth round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.
Wall had a stellar career for the River Hawks, appearing in 103 games. His best season was as a senior when he posted a .931 save percentage in 32 games. His freshman campaign also was notable, as he helped the River Hawks to an appearance in the NCAA quarterfinals before bowing out to Notre Dame in overtime.
Wall came to Lowell as somewhat of a sleeper out of the GOJHL, where he played for his hometown Leamington Flyers.
There was speculation that Wall would wait for Aug. 15 and become a free agent, but he opted to sign with the Rangers. He’ll join a crowded crease in the organization that includes star Henrik Lundqvist at the parent club and UConn alum Adam Huska in Hartford in the AHL.
