USPHL NCDC SEASON REVIEW - NORTH DIVISION
The 2019-2020 NCDC season was the third season operating as a tuition free Junior hockey league. This particular season for the NCDC saw its highest amount of NCAA Division 1 commitments and several pro signings into European hockey leagues.
Below is our season recap to get everyone refreshed on the NCDC North Division before the season takes off in late September.
Please note, listed committed players may have been previously committed prior to playing in the NCDC.
Boston Jr Bruins
39W-8L-1OTL-2SOW-2SOL- 2nd Place
Commitments
Johnny Mulera (Maine), Ian Carpentier (Yale), Colin Graf (Union), Ryan Lovett (Dartmouth), Zach Pellegrino (Bentley), Michael Brown (Merrimack), Nick Allain (Yale), Thomas Gale (Holy Cross), Michael Holland (Miami of Ohio), Kyle Knight (Western New England), Jack Silich (Quinnipiac), Ben Thomas (Endicott)
Summary
The 2019-2020 Bruins were a highly entertaining squad with tons of young talent. They gathered a lot of attention from USHL and Pro Scouts. Outside of the Hitmen, where the Bruins went 1-3 against (3SOL) and finished only 6 points behind them, the Bruins were a challenge for every team in the league.
You don’t have to look far to find why the Bruins had such a successful campaign when goaltender Thomas Gale (Holy Cross) posted a 93.5 save percentage and often stole games for the Bruins.
Up front, the Bruins were led by 20-year-old Johnny Mulera who will be heading to the University of Maine this fall. Mulera finished three points behind Mickey Burns for the league’s highest point getter.
It would not have been shocking to see the Bruins challenge for the Dineen Cup by years end. The Bruins are poised to have a monster campaign in the 2020-2021 season as 02’ Forward Collin Graf returns as captain.
The Jr. Bruins have had one of the strongest off-seasons as they have signed some big names such as Jude Brower (Brunswick School), Matt Cormier (Rivers School), Luke French (Northwood) and Sebastian Tamburro (Aurora OJHL).
Islanders Hockey Club
29W-17L-3OTL-3SOW-3SOL- 4th Place
Commitments
Cy LeClerc (New Hampshire), Paul Bryer (Suny Plattsburgh), Seth Stadheim (Connecticut College) , Quinn McCarthy (Nichols), Blake Coleman (Stevenson University), Kalle Andersson (Plymouth State), Jacob Zacharewicz (Brown)
Summary
As one of the youngest teams in the NCDC last season, the Islanders Hockey Club struggled out of the gate early as they went through some growing pains. However, this Islanders team finished as one of the hottest teams in the league when their young crop of forwards really took off mid way through the year.
Offensively, the young trio of Cy LeClerc, Nicholas Niemo and Patriks Marcinkevics were as dynamic as any forwards in the league. Paul Bryer who was acquired from the Rockets, provided a nice spark to a young line up and a great secondary scoring threat for the Islanders.
In net, the duo of Kalle Andersson and Jacob Zacharewicz both posted above 92 percent save percentages.
The 2020-2021 season should be filled with optimism for the IHC squad as they will have one of the most experienced clubs in the league. The biggest hurdle IHC may encounter this season is losing their young guys to the BCHL andUSHL rosters.
Northern Cyclones
28W-16L-5OTL-2SOW-1SOL- 6th Place
Commitments
Bryce Defazio (Suny-Geneseo), Zach Rehbaum (Suny-Geneseo), Lucas Roy (Suny-Canton), Will Gavin (Air Force), Gunnar Stadem (Tufts)
Summary
The 2019-2020 Northern Cyclones team finished in the middle of the standings but had the potential to win a few more games then they did.
On any given night, the squad had enough talent to beat any team in the league with plenty of fire power up front, however the Northern Cyclones struggled to find sustained consistency through out the year.
The good news for the Cyclones is they do in fact return young forwards Pavel Karasek (36pts) and Dayne Hoyord (41pts), which will help the 2020-2021 squad take the next step forward as a franchise.
Boston Bandits
25W-17L-4OTL-3SOW-4SOL-Seventh Place
Commitments
Conor McAnanama (Umass Boston), Raphael Provencher (Nazareth College), Jared Thomas (Suny-Geneseo), Connor Sullivan (Yale), Kyle Mandleur (Vermont)
Summary
The Boston Bandits organization saw a mixed bag of results, in what was their last season in the NCDC.
Like most teams in the middle of the pack, the Bandits struggled to find consistent success, however they did have enough high-end skill to compete on a nightly basis.
Smooth skating Connor Sullivan was one of the most dynamic defenders in the league as he tallied 45 points from the blue line. Up front veterans Jared Thomas and Billy Hefferle led the way, while rookies Kyle Mandleur and Anthony Sciucco had no issues finding the scoresheet themselves.
15 Round Shootout vs Jersey Hitmen
The Bandits, who are now moving down to Philadelphia to become the Philadelphia Hockey Club, are very unpredictable for next season. Like with any junior franchise relocation players scatter to other leagues, which could be the case here.
PHC will look like a new team with only a few returning players from the previous Bandits franchise.
New Hampshire Jr Monarchs
24W-20L-2OTL-4SOL-8th Place
Commitments
Kevin Paganini (Milwaukee School of Eng.), Aidan Curran (New Hampshire), CJ Duvall (Hobart), Cam Speck (Endicott), JJ Berdal (Albertus Magnus), Jack Clarner (Middlebury), Kevin Lassman (Hobart), Tyler Lyewski (Anna Maria), Nick Durajlija (Albertus Magnus), Trent Denucci (Suny-Geneseo), Will Crane (Hobart)
Summary
Entering the season, New Hampshire was one of the hardest hit programs in the league when it came to losing some of its top tier players to the BCHL and USHL. The result was a team that lacked scoring as it finished third to last in the league in team goals for. However, the organization did a tremendous job of adding Junior veterans’ mid-season and saw some success as they battled their way to a playoff spot.
The Monarchs gained a boost when they received back franchise favorite Aidan Curran from the BCHL and added William Winship from the NAHL mid-way through the season. The team did a nice job of committing players in the 2019-2020 season however they have some big holes to fill on the back end as they lose several players that ate minutes for their program.
Their ability to rebuild through tender, draft and free agency will be put to the test or you may see the same version of the Monarchs in 2020-2021 season.
Twin City Thunder
22W-24L-2OTL-4OTW- 9th Place
Commitments
Zach Egber (Stevenson), Gonzales Hagerman (Bowdoin), Jeromey Rancourt (Plymouth State), Alexander Kozic (Bowdoin), Andy Antiles (Middlebury)
Summary
For most expansion teams the first in year in competition is rough, but for this Twin City squad they competed all the way through and just missed out on a playoff spot by a tie breaker.
The 2019-2020 version of the Twin City Thunder was heavily influenced by international players as the organization really utilized the league rule of no cap on imports. The Thunder played a physical brand of hockey and at times were very reckless as they led the league in penalty minutes by a large margin.
Coach Dan Hodge will be replacing Dough Friedman for the 2020-2021 season and one battle he will have to overcome early on is that his entire roster maybe turned over due to travel restrictions.
The organization has appeared to go more local when recruiting players this off season, including several New England HS players.
South Shore Kings
22W-27L-3OTL-3SOW-1OTW-11th Place
Commitments
Michael Boutoussov (UNLV), Jack Ring (New Hampshire), Matthew Krieger (Stevenson), Erik Voloshin (Wesleyan)
Summary
The South Shore Kings really struggled to find their identity this past season and the organization struggled to find a consistent line up that could produce on a regular basis.
The squad received a boost late in the year when UNH commit Jack Ring returned to the organization from the NAHL. Goaltenders Erik Voloshin and Evan Szary were bright spots for South Shore as they were able to keep their teammates in many contests.
Although South Shore may have taken their bumps and bruises this past season, they may reap the rewards of the rebuild as they are slated to have the most returners in the league. Do not be shocked if this team climbs the standings in the 2020-2021 season.
Rochester Monarchs
3W-44L-3OTL-1OTW 13th
Commitments
Jared Smith (Elmira), Max Cole (Salem State), Bailey Krawczyk (Elmira), Dylan Wiemer (SUNY-Brockport)
Summary
The record explains it all for the Rochester Monarchs. With little support given to the players and coaches, odds were stacked against the team as they tried to generate any long-term success.
Fortunately, the 20-year old’s were able to secure their NCAA commitments and the younger guys will disperse into the league or other junior hockey leagues as the franchise will not continue to play in the NCDC.