Ben Barr has picked up his first three commitments as head coach at the University of Maine. The former UMass associate head coach, appointed to lead the Black Bears back in May, has landed a trio of defensemen that he hopes will restore Maine to where it once was at the top of the college hockey landscape.
David Breazeale is the only player of the three who will join the Black Bears for the upcoming season. The `00 Jenison, Mich. native, has spent the past three years playing for the Shreveport Mudbugs in the NAHL. In 2020-21, Breazeale scored six goals and 20 assists in 64 games. His strong play on the blue line helped Shreveport win the Robertson Cup as NAHL playoff champions.
The other two new recruits are defensemen from north of the border. `04 Ryan Hopkins and `03 Bodie Nobes, both products of Stanstead College, will head to Orono down the road.
Hopkins, from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, is a highly touted prospect. He was drafted in the second round of the 2020 QMJHL draft by Moncton. After scoring eight goals and 23 assists in 58 games during the 2019-20 season, he was scheduled to serve as captain this year, but the campaign was halted due to Coronavirus.
Similarly, Nobes was supposed to play 2020-21 in the CCHL with the Ottawa Junior Senators, but that didn’t go off as planned. In 2019-20, he scored eight goals and 24 assists in 58 games. He was a fourth round pick of Cape Breton in the 2019 QMJHL draft.
Another European goaltender for Huskies
Under head coach Mike Cavanaugh, UConn has done a good job of recruiting well on the other side of the pond. That trend continued recently with the commitment of goaltender Arsenii Sergeyev.
The `02 was a teammate of Breazeale’s with Shreveport in 2020-21. The Yaroslavl, Russia, native posted a 14-4-2 record and .936 save percentage during 20 regular season appearances. The big and athletic Sergeyev was drafted by the Tri-City Storm fourth overall in the 2021 USHL Phase II draft. He’ll spend this upcoming season in Kearney before matriculating to UConn for 2022-23.
Dartmouth adds Mount Saint Charles center
Dartmouth has landed a commitment from Mount Saint Charles 16-U first line center Jason Stefanek. The `04 from Yorba Linda, Calif., grew up playing for the Anaheim Junior Ducks, but spent 2020-21 in Woonsocket. He scored 16 goals and 31 assists while centering left wing Tomas Trunda and right wing Cam O’Neill, two other well regarded players.
Another Eagle in transfer portal
Center Harrison Roy will leave Boston College after it was announced that he had entered the NCAA Transfer Portal. The `00 from Lakeville, Mass., is a seasoned veteran of junior hockey and appeared in 23 games for the Eagles as a freshman in 2020-21. He scored two goals and one assist. The Boston Bandits product played prep hockey for Loomis Chaffee before skating for Cedar Rapids, Omaha, Muskegon and Des Moines in the USHL.
