Comings and Goings: Northeastern rumored to add Saponari, lose Cronin

In a surprisingly busy off-season evening, Northeastern has added Atlanta Thrashers' prospect and former BU forward Vinny Saponari to its roster, but is also losing head coach Greg Cronin to the professional ranks, according to a report in the Fargo-Moorhead (ND) Forum.

It's been an interesting few months for Cronin, who was suspended by the school for recruiting violations involving text messaging for the final three weeks of the regular season, but was reinstated in time for the Huskies' run to the Hockey East semi-finals.

Cronin - perhaps bolstered by a possible deal elsewhere - was very vocal about his thoughts on first-year player Brodie Reid's leaving school early to sign a two-way deal with the San Jose Sharks earlier this week.

Cronin, who took over as coach at Northeastern in 2005, is 73-88-21 at Northeastern, and 93-101-23 as a collegiate head coach, going 20-13-2 as interim head coach at Maine from 1995-7. He spent two years as head coach of the AHL's Bridgeport Sound Tigers from 2003-5, going 88-61-16-5.

Hockey East Class of 2011: How Did They Fare?

The ECHL, AHL and NHL regular seasons have all come to a close, and with the seasons ending, so too are many Hockey East 2011 alums done playing for the season. 

Of all the alums, former Northeastern captain Tyler McNeely impressed the most during a brief stint in the AHL, netting five goals, recording four assists and finishing with a plus-nine rating in ten games for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Both Stephane Da Costa (Merrimack) and Matt Campanale  (UNH) donned NHL sweaters, but neither registered a point during their play with Ottawa and the New York Islanders, respectively. 

John Muse impressed in his lone start with the Portland Pirates, stopping 33 of 35 shots in an overtime win. Former teammate Cam Atkinson played in five games for Springfield, scoring three goals and adding two assists. 

Former BU captain Joe Pereira played a single game with the Worcester Sharks before being traded to Bridgeport, where he scored five points in ten games. 

Hockey East player of the year Paul Thompson played in four games for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, tallying three points and a plus-four rating. 

ECHL

UMass - F Chase Langeraap (SC) 8 GP, 2-0=2, +2
Merrimack - F Joe Cucci (SC) 2 GP, 0-0=0, Even
Vermont - F Josh Burrows (BKR) 7 GP, 1-0=1, +5

AHL

BC - F Cam Atkinson (SPFLD) 5 GP, 3-2=5, +2
BC - F Jimmy Hayes (RFD) 7 GP, 0-0=0, Even
BC - F Joe Whitney (POR) 1 GP, 0-1=1, +1
BC - G John Muse (POR) 1-0-0, 1.85 GA, .943 Sv %
BU - F Joe Pereira (WOR) 1 GP, 0-0=0, Even; (BPT) 10 GP, 2-3=5, +1
BU - D David Warsofsky (PRV) 10 GP, 0-3=3, +3
Maine - F Tanner House (OKC) 6 GP, 1-4=5, +3
Maine - F Gustav Nyquist (GRP) 8 GP, 1-3=4, +1
Maine - D Jeff Dimmen (POR) 7 GP, 0-1=1, -4
Maine - D Mike Banwell (ALB) 4 GP, 0-1=1, -5
Maine - D Josh Van Dyk (ABB) 1 GP 0-0=0, Even
UMass - G Paul Dainton (SPFLD) 2-2-0, 2.63 GA, .912 Sv %
Merrimack - F Chris Barton (BPT) 1 GP, 0-0=0, Even
Northeastern - F Wade MacLeod (SPFLD) 9 GP, 1-2=3, -5
Northeastern - F Tyler McNeely (BPT)  10 GP, 5-6=11, +9
UNH - D Matt Campanale (BPT) 5 GP, 0-0=0, Even
UNH - F Paul Thompson (WBS) 6 GP, 1-2=3, +4
UNH - F Mike Sislo (ALB) 3 GP, 0-0=0, -5
Vermont - D Kevan Miller (PRV) 6 GP, 0-0=0, +2


NHL

Merrimack - F Stephane Da Costa (OTT) 4 GP, 0-0=0, -1
UNH - D Matt Campanale (NYI) 1 GP, 0-0=0, Even

Reid Departs Northeastern, Signs With San Jose

Brodie Reid, Northeastern's fourth-leading scorer (11-17=28) in 2010-11, has left school to sign with the NHL's San Jose Sharks, according to a source familiar with the player.

Reid's departure means that the Huskies have now lost their four leading scorers from last season after Wade MacLeod, Tyler McNeely and Steve Silva all graduated.

The freshman from Delta, British Columbia had a stellar second-half of the season, piquing the Sharks' interest.

San Jose currently sits at second in the Western Conference with 103 points. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

UNH's Matt Campanale Becomes Second Hockey East 2011 Alum to Make NHL debut

Matt Campanale skates as a member of the New York Islanders for the first time at TD Garden. 

Photo courtesy Scott Slingsby.

Playing at the University of New Hampshire, Matt Campanale was no stranger to quality talent. The top forward line - comprised of Hockey East player of the Year Paul Thompson, captain Mike Sislo and Washington Capitals prospect Phil DeSimone - on the 2010-11 Wildcats put up 148 points combined, 53 of them goals and 13 of those, game-winners.

So it was all but certain that when UNH’s season ended - some would say abruptly, some would say later than expected - with a 2-1 loss to Notre Dame in the NCAA Northeast Regional Final just ten days ago, there would be a Wildcat soon trading in his UNH Blue and White for different colors and a shot at NHL glory.

Just, nobody expected Campanale would be it.

Thompson signed an entry-level deal with Pittsburgh to a substantial amount of fanfare - after all, such an injury-depleted team could use Thompson’s hands to help boost their offense. Sislo followed by signing with the Devils, which snuck under the radar, but gave the former captain as much a chance as anyone to make an NHL roster before April. And Campanale quietly signed an amateur tryout offer with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, AHL affiliate of the flailing New York Islanders.

In two games with Bridgeport, Campanale didn’t register a point, notching only one shot on goal and two penalty minutes. After practice on April 5th, he got a phone call from the Islanders front office. He figured he was heading back home to Chester Springs, Pennsylvania. But the Islanders had different plans for the blue-liner who led his alma mater in plus-minus at plus-25 and was second on the team in blocked shots with 48.

He wasn’t heading back to Pennsylvania. He was heading to Boston, to the TD Garden, to the same sheet of ice that he’d last played on 17 days earlier as a Wildcat in the Hockey East semifinals, only this time, he was going to do it as an NHLer.

“When I got the call, I was really excited; when I found out it was Boston, I was thrilled,” Campanale said after the Isles’ 3-2 defeat. “My entire family was here, and I’m not sure how many New Hampshire people were coming up, but it was probably a decent amount.”

By anyone’s standards, it wasn’t a glowing debut - the former UNHer logged only 8:21 of ice time and didn’t register a shot, getting on the score sheet only for a delay of game penalty with 11:26 remaining in the game.

“Everyone was telling me to get on the score sheet somehow,” Campanale quipped after the game.

“It was a lot of fun, but it’s an extremely high level, even compared to the AHL,” he said, admitting that he couldn’t quite get away with the things he was used to in college because the size and strength of the opposition at the NHL level was so different.

Even on familiar ice, Campanale knew it wasn’t the same game. “[The atmosphere was] a lot different, actually,” he said when asked how his first NHL game compared to the last time he played on Garden ice.

With the Islanders’ having lost 578 man-games to injury on the season, Campanale may get to see time in their last two games, Friday versus Pittsburgh and Saturday at Philadelphia. If he does, it’s safe to say he’ll relish the offseason and look forward to future tilts with, say, Florida.

Not that he isn’t relishing this chance, right now.

“It’s definitely something that nobody expected, but it was exciting that I got the opportunity and I’m just really happy to be here.”

Checking in on the Hockey East Class of 2011

Now that the flurry of post-post-season comings and goings are over, it's time to see how the Hockey East class of 2011 is faring in their post-collegiate careers.

Since his season ended - perhaps prematurely - at the hands of Notre Dame, Stephane Da Costa is the only Hockey East-er to head straight to the NHL. Playing for the Ottawa Senators on Saturday, Da Costa recorded a shot, but no points and was a minus-one in the Sens' 4-2 loss to the suddenly frisky Toronto Maple Leafs.

Other HEA alums who are poised to see time at the NHL level in the next season include reigning conference player of the year Paul Thompson, who has three point (1-2) in three games for the Wilkes-Barre Penguins and is a plus-four - a surprise for a player who didn't do much back-checking as a student-athlete. His former linemate Mike Sislo signed a two-year, entry-level deal with the New Jersey Devils on Sunday; while Sislo will finish the season at AHL Albany this year, he could compete for time in a Devils roster full of holes next season.

Former Boston College standout Cam Atkinson has played in two games with AHL Springfield (MA), and is 2-2=4 in those games with a plus-one rating. His former teammate Jimmy Hayes has played three games for the Rockford IceHogs - AHL affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks - but is yet to register a point and is a minus-one in those games. Don't be thrown by the AHL's website saying that he's playing D for Rockford - he's still on the right wing.

Ex-Maine Black Bear Gustav Nyquist has 1-2=3 totals through four games with Detroit Red Wings' affiliate Grand Rapids, and has a plus-one rating as well.

Below are the stats for all Hockey East 2011 alums through their first few days/weeks as professionals:

ECHL

UMass - F Chase Langeraap (SC) - 8 GP, 2-0=2, +2
Merrimack - F Joe Cucci (SC) - 2 GP, 0-1=1, Even
Vermont - F Josh Burrows (BKR) - 7 GP, 1-0=1, +5


AHL
BC - F Cam Atkinson (SPFLD) 2 GP, 2-2=4, +1
BC - F Jimmy Hayes (ROC) 3 GP, 0-0=0, -1
BU - F Joe Pereira (WOR)- 1 GP, 0-0=0
BU - D David Warsofsky (PRV) - 7 GP, 0-1=1, +1
Maine - F Tanner House (OKC) 3 GP, 1-1=2, +1
Maine - F Gustav Nyquist (GRP) 4 GP, 1-2=3, +1
Maine - D Jeff Dimmen (POR) 2 GP, -1
Maine - D Mike Banwell (ALB) 1 GP, 0-0=0, -1
UMass - G Paul Dainton (SPFLD)- 1-2-0, 2.71, .923
Merrimack - F Chris Barton (BPT) - 1 GP
Northeastern - F Tyler McNeely (BPT) - 6 GP, 2-1=3, +4
Northeastern - F Wade MacLeod (SPFLD)- 5 GP, 1-0=1, -1
UNH - D Matt Campanale (BPT) - 1 GP
UNH - F Paul Thompson (WBS) - 3 GP, 1-2=3, +4
Vermont - D Kevan Miller (PRV) 3 GP, 0-0=0, Even


NHL

Merrimack - F Stephane Da Costa (OTT) - 1 GP, -1



Signings

Merrimack Captain D Adam Ross - ECHL’s Victoria Salmon Kings
UNH Captain F Mike Sislo - NHL New Jersey Devils (assigned to Albany)
Maine D Josh Van Dyk - NHL Edmonton Oilers (assigned to Abbotsford, has not yet played)