AUBURN — After a week of their National Collegiate Development Conference training camp, the Twin City Thunder made 12 cuts over the weekend, most notably goaltender Derek Fournier.

Currently the roster stands at 28. The Thunder must get down to 23 by Sept. 11.

The 20-year-old Fournier, who’s entering his final junior season, was a part of the Thunder last season. He played in the United States Premier Hockey League’s Tier III Premier League, where he posted a 6-9-5 record with a 3.35 goals against average and a .903 save percentage.

“He’s a (19)99 (birth year). He needs to play. He needs to be there (in net) and battling,” Twin City Thunder owner and director of hockey operations Dan Hodge said. “It’s not here, (so) hopefully it’s a place that will give him that opportunity.”

The Bangor native was a 2017 Travis Roy finalist, losing to future Thunder teammate Jeromey Rancourt. At Bangor High School as a senior in the 2016-17 season, he went 9-5-0 with a 1.86 goals against average. He was also drafted by the Saint John Sea Dogs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in 2016, where he was taken in the 13th round.

The Thunder won’t return any of last year’s goalies, as Jaxon Friedman, another 1999 birth year, made the Austin Bruins of the North American Hockey League. With the Thunder last season, Friedman went 12-4-1 with a 2.76 goals against average and .929 save percentage.

Currently the team has Alexander Kozic and Artur Ozhangarian for goalies. Kozic played for Shattuck St. Mary’s in Fairbault, Minnesota last year while Ozhangarian played with the Ogden Mustangs of the Western States Hockey League.

Both can play more than one season of junior hockey, as Kozic is a 2001 birth year and Ozhangarian is a 2000 birth year. With a limited amount of 1999 born players the team can have, the Thunder need to make sure they hit on their 20-years-olds.

“That’s why we had tryouts, we had to see who came in to earn a spot,” Hodge said. “That was our main objective when it came to camp, who would come in and earn a spot? There was no guarantee Jaxon would have been here. Here at the NCDC level, you have six `99s. You’ve got to spend those spots wisely. It’s no different than USA Hockey, with their import (player rules). You’ve got to be really sure on the spots and as a group collectively, any 99 has to be a home run. It has to be a player that’s a no-brainer. That’s where we are. We’ve got six spots. We’ve got to fill them wisely.”

Still in camp are four players on last year’s team — forwards Jeromey Rancourt, Zach Desmarais, Tristian Mock and defenseman Nicolas Poirier. Desmarais led the team with 27 goals and 31 assists, while Rancourt was second with 16 goals and 26 assists for 42 points.

Mock was a late-season addition to the team and had five goals and five assists in 10 games. Poirier was tied for  second in points among defenders on the team with five goals and 17 assists.

All but Desmarais is a 99 birth year. Desmarais was born in 2000.

“They have done well enough to stick around and be here still,” Hodge said. “Again, its get harder and harder as the numbers get smaller and smaller to earn those spots. Those guys that were here last year, doesn’t mean they will be here this year. It’s a thing they have to work harder and harder to earn their spot like everybody else.”

Going into the camp, the Thunder staff wasn’t looking at any position battles in particular.

“Everything was sort of up for grabs, we had a good sense from main camp where guys were,” head coach Doug Friedman said on Friday. “Again, coming here is a guy like (defenseman) Adan Svensson, who really stood out. Up front it was Nick Rashkovsky, who really stood out with his work ethic, and showing off some of his skill, too. We were pleasantly surprised.”

Svensson played with Nacka of the Swedish J20 Elit League and the Division II league. With the J20 team, he had a goal and 10 assists in 28 games. With the Division II team he had two goals and four assists in 28 games. Rashkovsky was tied for first in scoring last season for Vermont Academy, a prep school in Rockingham, Vermont. He had 17 goals and 19 assists in 29 games.

The coaching staff will get its first real look at the team in a game setting when they play two exhibition games with the Islanders Hockey Club this week. They travel down to North Andover, Massachusetts, on Tuesday and host the Islanders on Thursday at Norway Savings Bank Arena at 2:30 p.m.  The home game will be open to the public.

While there are 28 players currently on the roster, Hodge and Friedman have been fielding calls this weekend from perspective players, especially players who didn’t make an United States Hockey League roster. USHL rosters were finalized over the weekend.

Copy the Story Link

« Previous

Henry Fall transitions from an assistant golf pro to head coach at Bates College

Next »

UMF men’s soccer hopes to makes some noise in NAC