St. Sebastian’s alum Liam Connors has flipped his commitment from Boston University to Holy Cross, the right wing announced Monday on Twitter.
The ’01 from Southboro, Mass., is now with the Connecticut Junior Rangers in the USPHL NCDC. In 11 games, he has two goals and four assists for six points. He spent the beginning of the season in the USHL with the Des Moines Buccaneers. He recorded one assist in seven games.
Connors played four seasons at St. Sebastian’s, serving as a captain as a senior in 2019-20. Last season with the Arrows, he had 16 goals and 25 assists for 41 points in 28 games. In addition to his prep career, he played split-season Midget hockey for the Boston Junior Eagles.
Connors initially had committed to Boston University in March 2017. He was coming off a freshman campaign in which he scored 15 goals and 13 assists in 29 games. Over the past year or so, it became clear that Connors wasn’t in BU’s future plans. It worked out well for both sides that Connors could find a home at Holy Cross. He’s expected to join the Crusaders for the start of the 2021-22 season.
Vermont adds three recruits
Vermont has received commitments from goaltender Cole Hudson, left wing Porter Schachle and right wing Ethan Begg.
The first two are junior hockey age-outs who will join the Catamounts for the start of the 2021-22 season. Hudson, an ’00 from Tonawanda, N.Y., has appeared in 17 games this season with the Shreveport Mudbugs in the NAHL. He has a .924 save percentage to go along with his 11-3-3 record. He’s bounced around the past several seasons with stops in the CCHL and NCDC. He played Midget hockey for the Buffalo Regals and spent a year playing prep hockey at Gilmour Academy.
Schachle is in his third season with the NAHL’s Kenai River Brown Bears. In 15 games this season, he has nine goals and six assists for 15 points in 15 games. He posted 37 points in 46 games during the 2019-20 season. The ’00 from Wasila, Alaska, previously has shown a tendency to play with a mean streak. He racked up 127 penalty minutes last season and has 60 so far this season.
While Hudson and Schachle are recruits for next season, Begg won’t arrive in Burlington for a year or more. The Golden, Colo., native is in his fourth season at Shattuck-St. Mary’s. The ’03 has eight goals and 10 assists in 19 games for the Faribault, Minn., prep school’s top team. He spent a year each at the 14-U, 15-U and 16-U teams.
Young Russian ‘D’ for UMass Lowell
It’s not often that UMass Lowell has waded into the young recruiting pool under head coach Norm Bazin. The River Hawks do not have an ’03 committed, but got into the ’04 birth year with a recent commit.
Daniil Dolzhenko of Omsk, Russia, announced his commitment to UMass Lowell. He’s in his third season playing for Athol Murray College of Notre Dame, one of the more widely respected prep programs in Canada. This season, Dolzhenko is on the school’s 18-U team. In six games, he has two goals and five assists.
UNH commits Huard
New Hampshire has received a commitment from Chicago Steel defenseman Colton Huard. The dual citizen is originally from Welland, Ontario. The ’00 already has played in 145 junior hockey games between the NAHL and USHL.
Huard has spent the past two seasons with the Steel after being traded from the Fargo Force. The big righty has two goals and 10 assists in 25 games so far this season with the Steel, the leaders in the USHL’s Eastern Conference.
NAHL veteran set to join Big Green
Shreveport Mudbugs right wing Braiden Dorfman recently announced his intention to play college hockey at Dartmouth. The ’00 from Nashville, Tenn., is in his first season with the Mudbugs after previously playing for the Chippewa Steel. Both organizations compete in the NAHL.
Dorfman is having a career year, already surpassing his point total from 2019-20 in just about half the amount of games. He has nine goals and 19 assists for 28 points in 25 games so far this season. Last year, he posted 13 goals and 13 assists for 26 points in 47 games. Dorfman played youth hockey for the TPH Thunder AAA.
Fantauzzi chooses Sacred Heart
Sioux Falls Stampede defenseman Dante Fantauzzi has committed to Sacred Heart. From Woodbridge, Ontario, he has a goal and 11 assists in 24 games this season with the USHL’s Stampede. He appeared in 11 games during the 2019-20 season as a freshman at Alaska Anchorage. The ’00 played Midget hockey for the Toronto Marlboros and junior hockey for the North York Rangers before heading to UAA. He’ll be eligible to compete for the Pioneers starting next fall.
Oravitz decommits from UMass
Cole Oravitz decommitted from UMass in favor of Mercyhurst, it was announced Monday. The ’02 from Pittsburgh didn’t want to spend more time in junior hockey. The Lakers’ coaching staff was willing to bring him in next fall, something the Minutemen weren’t as keen on.
Oravitz, who was a standout Midget player for the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite, is in his second season with the Minnesota Magicians in the NAHL. In 10 games this season, he has four assists. In addition to his time with the Magicians, Oravitz appeared in five games with the USHL’s Madison Capitols during the two previous seasons. Oravitz is a rugged, strong defensive defenseman who also has a hard shot.
Healey, Roukounakis enjoy NTDP call-up
Two more locals got to experience playing for USA Hockey’s NTDP. Boston University recruit Nick Roukounakis and Harvard commit Ryan Healey recently joined the Plymouth, Mich., based program for a weekend.
Roukounakis left Thayer to spend four games with the NTDP U-18 team. The ’03 from Pembroke, Mass., was held scoreless in four games. Roukounakis is on NHL Central Scouting as a first-year draft eligible player.
Healey, an ’04 from Hull, Mass., spent the weekend with the U-17 team. He appeared in two games, going scoreless. The Boston Advantage product is a mobile, puck-moving, offensive defenseman.
