Tuesday, May 9, 2017

Prospects to Play for NAHL Title

35 commits among those headed to Duluth to compete for Robertson Cup.


Prospects to Play for NAHL Title
Lone Star’s Austin Kamer committed to Michigan State this week.

Future NCAA stars are converging on Duluth, Minn., this weekend to compete for the NAHL’s Robertson Cup playoff championship. The four teams – Aberdeen, Aston, Janesville and Lone Star – feature 35 players who have already committed to Division I programs, including at least seven commits on each team.

NAHL.com Robertson Cup Hub | NCAA Commitments

Nearly half of all Division I schools (25 of 60) have a commit in the event, which will be played at the Essentia Duluth Heritage Center. Arizona State (four) and Colorado College (three) boast the most commits at the Robertson Cup, with multiple players committed to all six Division I conferences.

Games are set for Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with the championship game facing off at 1 p.m. CT (2 p.m. ET) on Sunday, May 14. All games can be seen live on HockeyTV.


Aston Rebels

The Aston Rebels won the NAHL regular season and are 6-1-1 through eight playoff games. Lake Superior State commit Mareks Mitens had a .925 save percentage in the regular season and led the league with a 1.63 goals-against average.

Aston’s top four playoff scorers are all uncommitted, including its regular-season scoring leader, Andrew Bellant. Arizona State commits Dominic Garcia and Gvido Jansons ranked second and third on the team in points in the regular season.


Lone Star Brahmas

The Lone Star Brahmas had the second-best record in the regular season behind 27 goals from Holy Cross commit Peter Kessel and 50 points from uncommitted Carson Kelley.

Drake Glover (Alaska Anchorage) leads the Brahmas with seven points in eight playoff games, while former Boston University goaltender Max Prawzdik, who joined the team at midseason, has a .911 playoff save percentage.


Janesville Jets

Janesville leads the four teams with 11 commits on the roster and the Jets had the third-best record in the regular season, winning the Midwest Division. Brown commit Michael Maloney and a pair of uncommitted forwards – Peter Bates and Cullen Munson – were atop the Jets’ scoring list.

Alaska Anchorage commit Kip Hoffmann leads Janesville – and all players remaining in the Robertson Cup field – with seven goals and 11 points through seven playoff games. Janesville features the youngest starting goaltender in the field in 1999-born Jacob Barczewski, who has a .935 save percentage in the playoffs.


Aberdeen Wings

Aberdeen is the only team of the four that did not win its division in the regular season, finishing fourth in the Central. The Wings are 6-3-0 in the playoffs, however, and have advanced to Duluth behind Kevin Fitzgerald (St. Cloud State), Carson Dimoff (St. Lawrence) and Colin Raver (uncommitted). That trio makes up three of the top five playoff scorers remaining in the field.

Aberdeen boasts nine Division I commits, led by Fitzgerald, who finished the regular season tied for eighth in the league in scoring. Top-scoring defenseman Andy Carroll is a Minnesota State commit who was a first-round selection of Green Bay in last week’s USHL Draft.

NCAA Commits in NAHL Robertson Cup
Aberdeen Wings (9)
Andy Carroll Minnesota State
Carson Dimoff St. Lawrence
Kevin Fitzgerald St. Cloud State
Trystan Isenhour Colorado College
Logan Jenuwine Western Michigan
Shawn Knowlton Air Force
Gage Mackie Arizona State
Andrew Sinard Miami
Joseph Strada Arizona State

Aston Rebels (8)
Drew Blackmun Northeastern
Dominic Garcia Arizona State
Gvido Jansons Arizona State
Brennan Kapcheck AIC
Dustin Manz Lake Superior State
Marek Mitens Lake Superior State
Ryan Solomon Northeastern
Jensen Zerban Air Force

Janesville Jets (11)
Joseph Abate Wisconsin
Christopher Dodero AIC
Colin Felix Massachusetts
Jack Gates Colorado College
Kip Hoffmann Alaska Anchorage
Adrian Holesinsky Maine
Michael Maloney Brown
Jakov Novak Bentley
Cole Paskus UMass Lowell
Derek Schaedig Harvard
Blake Wareham Canisius

Lone Star Brahmas (7)
Justin Addamo Robert Morris
Alec Calvaruso Colorado College
Drake Glover Alaska Anchorage
Austin Kamer Michigan State
Peter Kessel Holy Cross
Simon Loof Merrimack
John Zimmerman Army West Point