Seven New England natives made the roster for the U.S. National Junior Team that will compete at the 2021 World Junior Championship that begins later this month. Michigan center Matt Beniers (Hingham, Mass.), Providence left wing Brett Berard (East Greenwich, R.I.), Boston College left wing Matthew Boldy (Millis, Mass.), Northeastern right wing Sam Colangelo (Stoneham,...
Seven New England natives made the roster for the U.S. National Junior Team that will compete at the 2021 World Junior Championship that begins later this month.
Michigan center Matt Beniers (Hingham, Mass.), Providence left wing Brett Berard (East Greenwich, R.I.), Boston College left wing Matthew Boldy (Millis, Mass.), Northeastern right wing Sam Colangelo (Stoneham, Mass.), Boston College goaltender Spencer Knight, Providence right wing Patrick Moynihan (Millis, Mass.) and Harvard defenseman Henry Thrun (Southboro, Mass.) will represent New England and their country at the marquee event in junior hockey that kicks off Dec. 25 in Edmonton.
In addition to the seven locals, three players with ties to the region made the final cut. Harvard center John Farinacci, Boston College defenseman Drew Helleson and former Boston University center Trevor Zegras are on the roster as the U.S. looks to get back to the medal stand after missing it last year for the first time since 2015.
The coronavirus cost four other players with ties to New England from making the team. Boston University goaltender Drew Commesso (Norwell, Mass.) would have been the third goaltender but was ruled out due to COVID-19 protocols. Also in the same boat were Commesso’s BU teammates, left wing Robert Mastrosimone and defenseman Alex Vlasic. Boston Bruins first round pick and Michigan center John Beecher won’t be back with USA Hockey after getting caught up in protocols from the virus.
The Americans, coached by Providence bench boss Nate Leaman, open the tournament with a Christmas Day matchup with Russia. On Leaman’s staff are Harvard head coach Ted Donato, former Providence assistants Kris Mayotte and Steve Miller, and Providence director of hockey operations Theresa Feaster.
