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Here's a look at the coverage of the signings of three UMass hockey alumni--Conor Sheary, Joel Hanley and Mike Kostka--who all inked NHL deals on the opening day of NHL free agency on Wednesday.
Earlier this week on TheHockeyWriters.com, Michael Pityk had a piece on UMass hockey alum, former captain Conor Sheary and the possibility of NHL success in his future with the Pittsburgh Penguins organization.
In today's Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Jason Mackey has a piece on UMass hockey alum and former captain Conor Sheary who just wrapped up a stellar rookie campaign with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Sheary led the Baby Pens with 45 points during the regular season and ranked second with 20 goals. He has 23 points in 23 career playoff games in the AHL.
Read: AHL wing prospect Sheary an intriguing option for Penguins
Craig Forde has a article on former UMass captain Conor Sheary from the March edition of the New England Hockey Journal. Sheary has enjoyed great success in his first full season of pro hockey after bursting on the scene last postseason with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Tonight the Pittsburgh Penguins announced their lineup for Tuesday's preseason game at Columbus and UMass hockey alum Conor Sheary will be dressing for the Penguins, wearing #63.
Tony Androckitis of the Highland Park Hockey blog (@H_P_Hockey), which provides coverage of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, caught up recent UMass hockey grad Conor Sheary during Pittsburgh Penguins Development Camp a few weeks ago and has this blog post on the former Minutemen captain:
UMass hockey rising-senior goaltender Steve Mastalerz and recent graduate Conor Sheary have both been invited to Penguins Prospect Development Camp, which will begin next Tuesday, July 15. The camp, which will be held at the CONSOL Energy Center, concludes on Saturday, July 19 with a scrimmage that is free and open to the public beginning at 3 p.m.
Sheary, who signed with the organization this spring, is coming off a stellar postseason with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Mastalerz is attending his first development camp.
As a rookie with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, recent UMass hockey alum has been enjoying a stellar postseason run as he currently boasts an eight-game point scoring streak and is tied for seventh in the AHL in postseason scoring with 11 points (6g, 5a) in 11 games. In advance of Game 3 of the Calder Cup Eastern Conference finals tonight, Jonathan Bombulie had this piece on Sheary in today's Scranton Times-Tribune:
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins playoff sensation Conor Sheary has something in common with all-time NBA great Michael Jordan.
Each has turned in some scintillating postseason performances.
But that's not it.
They were both cut from their high school varsity teams.
Jordan famously used the demotion to the jayvees as motivation to fuel his legendary career. Sheary looks at it differently. If he had been the coach at Cushing Academy in the fall of 2006, he might have cut himself, too.
"I can't complain about that. I was 5 feet tall, 100 pounds," Sheary said after practice Tuesday. "I wasn't expecting much going in. I just knew I wanted to play there when I was older."
Play there he did, going from Cushing, an elite New England prep school program, to UMass-Amherst, a member of the powerful Hockey East Conference, to an amateur tryout with the Penguins this spring. During that time, he shot up to 5-8, 175 pounds.
Now he has 11 points in 11 playoff games with the Penguins, carrying an eight-game scoring streak into Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals against the St. John's IceCaps tonight at Mohegan Sun Arena.
When the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins unpiled after winning in overtime Wednesday night, an unlikely hero emerged from the center of the huddle.
Conor Sheary, an unlikely hero for a whole host of reasons, set up the game-winning goal, giving the Penguins a 2-1 lead in a best-of-five first-round series against the Binghamton Senators. Game 4 is set for tonight at the Mohegan Sun Arena.
"It's something else," Sheary said, describing his first experience with an overtime playoff game. "The energy gets even higher. Guys are tired, but they're still working hard. It's a new intensity and it's a lot of fun. To come up with the game winner like that, it's awesome."
Playing in his first professional postseason game, 2013-14 UMass co-captain Conor Sheary played the role of hero, setting up the game winner with his shot from the point that was redirected by Chuck Kobasew with 7:32 gone in overtime to give the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins a 3-2 win and a 2-1 series lead over the Binghamton Senators on Wednesday night.
AHL.com has the recap and video of the OT game winner.
The Highland Park Hockey blog has a recap, as well.
Also visit the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins playoff blog for postgame reaction from Sheary.
Here's a look at what's on tap for the American Hockey League teams with former Minutemen on their roster for this coming weekend:
Conor Allen (Hartford Wolf Pack) - 3/21 vs. St. Johns (7 PM), 3/22 at Adirondack (7 PM)
Joel Hanley (Portland Pirates) - 3/23 at Bridgeport (3 PM) - Listen
Danny Hobbs (Binghamton Senators) - 3/21 at Norfolk (7:30 PM), 3/22 at Norfolk (7:15 PM) - Listen
Michael Pereira (Worcester Sharks) - 3/21 vs. Springfield (7:30 PM), 3/22 vs. Hershey (7 PM) - Listen
Conor Sheary (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins) - 3/21 at Syracuse (7 PM), 3/22 vs. Utica (7:05 PM), 3/23 at Albany (4 PM) - Listen
Conor Allen (Hartford Wolf Pack) - 3/21 vs. St. Johns (7 PM), 3/22 at Adirondack (7 PM)
Joel Hanley (Portland Pirates) - 3/23 at Bridgeport (3 PM) - Listen
Danny Hobbs (Binghamton Senators) - 3/21 at Norfolk (7:30 PM), 3/22 at Norfolk (7:15 PM) - Listen
Michael Pereira (Worcester Sharks) - 3/21 vs. Springfield (7:30 PM), 3/22 vs. Hershey (7 PM) - Listen
Conor Sheary (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins) - 3/21 at Syracuse (7 PM), 3/22 vs. Utica (7:05 PM), 3/23 at Albany (4 PM) - Listen
Casey Wellman (Hershey Bears) - 3/21 at Providence (7:05 PM), 3/22 at Worcester (7 PM), 3/23 at Manchester (3 PM) - Listen
Live stats for all games can be found on TheAHL.com
Late last week, Nick Canelas spoke with UMass hockey senior Conor Sheary, who recently signed with the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins of the AHL.
Nick Canelas of the Daily Collegian has a story examining UMass hockey's senior class and the value it associates with this season's Hockey East Tournament.
Check out the podcast of last night's Bud Light UMass Hockey show, featuring Brock Hines with head coach John Micheletto and player guests senior co-captain Conor Sheary and redshirt freshman Frank Vatrano.
The final Bud Light UMass Hockey Show of the 2013-14 season will air tonight, March 4, live from the Hangar Pub & Grill on University Drive in Amherst at 7 p.m.
Brock Hines will be joined by head coach John Micheletto as well as player guests senior co-captain Conor Sheary and redshirt freshman Frank Vatrano with a look ahead to the Hockey East Tournament, which will open for the Minutemen this Friday night at Vermont.
Fans can submit questions for Coach Micheletto to answer on air via the Ask The Coach Page or through Twitter by tweeting @UMassSportsNet. Listen over the air on WHMP (AM 1400/1240, FM 96.9), online, or on mobile devices through the TuneIn Radio app.
Off the ice, Conor Sheary is pretty unassuming.
"He's a real mellow guy," teammate Michael Pereira said. "He comes off as a quiet and humble and nose-to-the-grindstone type kid. But when he gets down to the rink, he means business."
Notoriously competitive and difficult to play against, Sheary has attracted a lot of attention on the ice lately in what's been an otherwise down year for Massachusetts. He posted an eight-game point streak from Jan. 24 to Feb. 21, totaling five goals and five assists. Over that span, he also strung together a five-game goal streak despite facing two of the top goalies in college hockey, Northeastern's Clay Witt and Massachusetts-Lowell's Connor Hellebuyck, twice each.
"He's just continued to will our team to keep moving forward and stay in games," head coach John Micheletto said. "He's scored some big goals during that stretch."
Read more: Fighting To the End - Sheary a Bright Spot for Massachusetts
UMass senior co-captain Conor Sheary said the Minutemen will be looking to make a push up the Hockey East standings as they begin their nine-game stretch run with a home-and-home series vs. Merrimack tomorrow in Amherst.
"Well, we've obviously had a few rough patches throughout the season. .?.?. Right now, we have all league games left, so that's what we're focusing on."
Read more of John Connolly's Conor Sheary, UMass push on
The Bud Light UMass Hockey Show returns tonight, airing live from The Hangar Pub and Grill on University Drive in Amherst from 7-8 p.m. In addition to head coach John Micheletto, Brock Hines and Adam Frenier will be joined by player guests co-captains Conor Sheary and Troy Power.
Nick Canelas takes a look at the play of UMass' line of Michael Pereira, Branden Gracel and Conor Sheary in his column for the Daily Collegian today:
It was a 3-1 game. Denver had snatched momentum from the Massachusetts hockey team with a pair of goals in the second period, and seemed well on its way to snapping the Minutemen's three-game winning streak.
Then The Big Three stepped onto the ice.
Branden Gracel made a play down low to get the puck to Michael Pereira in the faceoff circle. Pereira shot but didn't get a full piece of the puck. It was deflected and landed right in front for Conor Sheary to come in and finish the play to cut the UMass deficit to 3-2 16 minutes, 44 seconds into the second period.
Read more - Canelas: Play of top line essential to UMass hockey's success
The Daily Collegian had a preview and a pair of columns in advance of UMass' Hockey East pair at No. 13/11 Notre Dame this weekend:
The atmosphere was energetic before Massachusetts hockey practice this Tuesday. Music was blaring, players were engaged in highly competitive games of ping-pong and even UMass coach John Micheletto was cracking jokes. It looked like a team ready for a fresh start.
The Minutemen just endured their worst month in the Micheletto era in November. They went 1-6-2 for the month, capped off by a seven-game winless streak that included a 9-0 beatdown at the hands of New Hampshire on home ice Nov. 9 and Saturday's 6-1 loss at Quinnipiac, where they were held to just 10 shots on goal.
But that's in the past now. The calendar has flipped, the Movember mustaches have been shaved off and UMass is looking for a more positive December.
"The start of the new month kind of gives us a fresh page, clear consciences, we got rid of our mustaches, it's a new beginning for us so we gotta leave (November) behind us," senior forward Conor Sheary said.
Read more: UMass hockey looks for fresh start at Notre Dame this weekend
Additional coverage:
Canelas: UMass-Notre Dame series a statement weekend for both teams
UMass hockey searching for answers on offense
Mark Chiarelli of the Daily Hampshire Gazette has a preview of the weekend's hockey series against Maine.
Cameron McDonough takes a look at UMass' top line, which features its top-three returning scorers from a year ago: Branden Gracel, Michael Pereira and Conor Sheary:
The Massachusetts hockey team has its fair share of question marks heading into the season.
How will Year 2 of the John Micheletto era go?
Who will replace last year's seniors, especially on the second line?
Will Steve Mastalerz step up and be the No. 1 goalie?
And who will step up on defense and replace Conor Allen?
But there are few questions about who the first line will be.
Seniors Branden Gracel, Conor Sheary and Michael Pereira were all moved to the first line during the 2012-13 season by Micheletto and became an instant offensive force in the Hockey East.
Read more of UMass hockey looking for repeat from first line The Bud Light UMass Hockey Show travels to Northampton tonight and will be broadcast from Fitzwilly's at 7 p.m. The show airs live on WHMP (AM 1400/1240/FM 96.9), which is also available streaming online and via the TuneIn app.
Tonight's show will feature player guests senior Eddie Olczyk and junior Conor Sheary who will join UMass assistant coach Joey Gasparini along with Brock HInes and Adam Frenier.
Richard Murray recently featured UMass junior Conor Sheary on Hockeysfuture.com:
Conor Sheary had a breakout season last year for the University of Massachusetts hockey team. But with a new coach and system in place, he could be poised to have another big season for the Minutemen.
Sheary is the leading scorer of returning Minutemen players. In 35 games last season, Sheary scored 12 goals and had 23 assists. He was only one point shy of being a point-per-game player.
"You always want to improve from the year before, so obviously coming back I want to do better than I did last season," Sheary said. "Whether it is point wise, leadership wise, or team wise I just want to improve."
New UMass hockey coach John Micheletto has implemented a new system that is designed to benefit a player with Sheary's abilities.
"[The system] benefits his style of play," Micheletto said. "He has great explosive quickness, and he can separate himself from defensive players. He also has an incredibly quick release, so he has natural elements in his game that we want."
Joshua Boyd of the Melrose Free Press has a story on Conor Sheary's performance in the win over Vermont last Saturday in Frozen Fenway 2012.
Dick Baker of the Springfield Republican looks at the scoring numbers of UMass' T.J. Syner and Conor Sheary who are both among the Hockey East leaders in points this year.
Thanks to a pair of goals and an assist for Conor Sheary and 27 saves from Kevin Boyle, the UMass hockey team beat No. 13 Cornell 5-2 last night in the Everblades College Hockey Classic in Estero, Fla. UMass will face Maine tonight at 7:30 PM for the tournament championship. The game will be a non-conference match-up between the two Hockey East rivals and can be heard on 91.1 FM WMUA.
POSTGAME INTERVIEW:
UMass and Northeastern battled to a 3-3 overtime tie on Friday night in the season opener for both teams. The Huskies managed to tie the game with two seconds left in regulation after pulling goalie Chris Rawlings for the extra skater.
Five Minutemen celebrate birthdays today: Rob Blanchflower from football, Kyle Jennings from swimming, Conor Sheary and Joel Hanley from hockey, and Sean Carter from men's basketball. Happy birthday guys - hope you have a great day!
Despite having several good looks for game-tying and game-winning goals, UMass wasn't able to crack the Vermont defense settling for a tough 2-1 loss at Gutterson Fieldhouse on Friday night.
Springfield Republican: Vermont downs Massachusetts in Hockey East
Daily Hampshire Gazette: Vermont hockey holds on to edge Minutemen
Burlington Free Press: Special teams spark Vermont's win
Postgame Interview:
In Dick Baker's MassLive.com Hockey Blog, he takes a look at the next two home games for UMass, he writes about the atmosphere of New Hampshire, and has some quotes from the Hockey East Media Teleconference that was held yesterday morning.
Don't forget to tune-in or set your DVR's, TIVO's, or if you are old-school, VCR's to check out the UMass Hockey Show which will air this Saturday, October 16 at 11 AM on CBS3 Springfield.
The show will recap the Minnesota weekend, preview the upcoming games against Boston University, feature insight into the program from head coach Don "Toot" Cahoon and show you sides of several players you may not have known about.
There are several features on Paul Dainton, Michael Marcou, T.J. Syner and Kevin Czepiel, plus you can meet several of the team's freshmen and Kevin Moore finds out what guys must do to get ready for games. It's a show any UMass hockey fan will not want to miss!
Dick Baker has four nice posts in his hockey blog on MassLive.com as the Minutemen's preseason camp continues to progress. Hockey East will host Media Day next Wednesday at the TD Bank Garden to officially kick-off the season. A reminder that next Saturday at 3 PM fans can get a glimpse of the team as the Minutemen host New Brunswick at the practice rink in an exhibition game at 3 PM. Following the game will be the ever-popular Skate With The Minutemen where fans can get to know the team and the coaches.
- Conor Sheary Is A Speedy Stickhandler
- Minutemen Feature Two New Recruits From Omaha
- Hobbs Enters Camp In Top Shape
- Army Up First For Non-Conference Home Schedule
Don't forget to check out MassLive.com each day for Dick's blog on the UMass hockey team. You can also find the links to each of his stories here on JTAM.