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News & Notes
~ Damien Carfagna (DOB: 12/12/02), the 5’11 “, 175 lbs., Left-back defender from Wood Ridge, NJ, has become one of the top defenders in the United States Hockey League. He has played 24 games for the Green Bay Gamblers this season and its +/- rating of +14 are tied for 4th among all USHL defenders.
Carfagna’s attacking numbers are even more impressive. He scored at least 1 point in 17 of his 24 games and had 10 multiplayer games. Carfagna’s 26 assists are the 3rd highest among all USHL players. 11 of the help came on the match that is tied for 5th in the league. Overall, his 30 points (4 goals, 26 assists) tied for the 8th highest in the USHL. This video highlights the Gamblers’ December 16, 6-4 win over Madison showing Carfagna’s primary help and his power play goal:
Carfagna was selected in the 2022 BioSteel / USA Hockey All-American Game. The January 17 game features the top American-born prospects eligible for the upcoming NHL Draft. This is the second season that Carfagna qualifies for the concept. In my article “Will UNH bets be selected in 2021 NHL entry draft?” last July I speculated that Carfagna was a possible late 7th round pick, but “may need another season to demonstrate excellence”. He has definitely improved his attacking play this season – he has increased help from 12 to 26 (to date) and power play help from 1 to 11. I would say Carfagna has a good chance of being drafted in the late rounds of the 2022 NHL. Draft, much like UNH freshman defender Alex Gains, drafted last summer by Tampa Bay in the 6th round. This was Gagne’s second year of NHL draft qualifying.
~ Tyler Muszelik (DOB: 7/1/04) was also selected in the 2022 BioSteel / USA Hockey All-American Game. So far this season, the 6’3 “, 193 lbs., Goalkeeper from Long Valley, NJ has set a 12-4-1 record for the U.S. Hockey National Team Development Program Under-18 team. His overall goals at average are 2.88 with a saving percentage of .898.
Over the course of the 2021-’22 season, the NTDP U-18 team will play 15 exhibition matches against NCAA Division 1 teams and 4 against Division 3 schools. To date, Muszelik has played in 9 of these NCAA games and has a 6-2-0 record with a 2.93 GAA and .904 Save%. Highlights include 4-3 wins against Notre Dame and Boston University and a 2-0 exclusion from North Dakota. Here are video highlights from Tyler Muszelik during the final minutes of the BU match at Agganis Arena on December 11:
2021-22 Statistics
| Player | AWITH Stars** | Team | League | GP | Goals | Ass | Pts | PIM | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 Connect | |||||||||
| Nicolas Ardanaz * 30/05/02 (D) | 3.75 | West Kelowna Warriors | BCHL | 27 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 14 | – |
| Damien Carfagna * 12/12/02 (D) | 4.0 | Green Bay Gamblers | USHL | 24 | 4 | 26 | 30 | 6 | +14 |
| Jake Dunlap 12/5/01 (F) | 3.75 | Madison Capitols | USHL | 27 | 11 | 6 | 17 | 18 | +1 |
| John Evans 4/8/02 (F) | 4.0 | West Kelowna Warriors | BCHL | 26 | 8 | 15 | 23 | 2 | – |
| Cy LeClerc * 17/08/02 (F) | 3.75 | Janesville Jets | NAHL | 30 | 19 | 17 | 36 | 2 | +8 |
| Tyler Muszelik * 7/1/04 (G) | 4.0 | American national u.18 | Overall | 19 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 2.88 | .898 |
| Team USA U-18 | USHL | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3.50 | .889 | ||
| NCAA Exhibition. | 9 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2.93 | .904 | |||
| INTL | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1.67 | .942 | |||
| Cade Penney * 23/03/01 (D) | 3.75 | Surrey Eagles | BCHL | 15 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 10 | – |
| Madison Capitols | USHL | 8 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 8 | +3 | ||
| Stiven Sardarian 2/7/03 (F) | 4.0 | Youngstown Phantoms | USHL | 19 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 6 | -2 |
| Kristaps Skrastins * 20/11/01 (F) | 3.75 | Amarillo Wranglers | NAHL | 28 | 19 | 17 | 36 | 47 | +6 |
| JP Turner * 31/1/03 (F) | 3.75 | Sioux Falls rush | USHL | 22 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 20 | -5 |
| Morgan Winters * 12/8/01 (F) | 3.5 | Omaha Lansers | USHL | 9 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | -1 |
| Youngstown Phantoms | USHL | 12 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 16 | -1 | ||
| 2022 of ’23 Commits | |||||||||
| Jed Baliotti 2/7/02 (G) | 3.5 | Nanaimo Clippers | BCHL | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3.25 | .894 |
| Northeast Generals | NAHL | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.76 | .910 | ||
| Aberdeen Wings | NAHL | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3.00 | .872 | ||
| Brendan Fitzgerald * 26/10/03 (D) | 4.0 | Cedar Rapids RoughRiders | USHL | 23 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 42 | +3 |
| 2023 Connect | |||||||||
| Nick Ring 26/10/03 (F) | 3.75 | New Jersey Titans | NAHL | 30 | 6 | 15 | 21 | 6 | +1 |
| 2023 of ’24 Commits | |||||||||
| Ryan Conmy 23/10/04 (F) | 3.75 | Bishop Kearney elects 18U | 18U AAA | 9 | 11 | 7 | 18 | 0 | – |
| Sam Court 1/7/04 (D) | 3.75 | NV Rivierrotte U18 | 18U AAA | 17 | 1 | 9 | 10 | – | – |
| Avon Ou Plase | NO Preparation | 9 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | – | ||
| Connor DeTurris 10/8/04 (F) | 3.5 | Madison Capitols | USHL | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Chicago Fury 18U | 18U AAA | 28 | 22 | 16 | 38 | 24 | – | ||
| T1EHL 18U | 9 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 12 | – | |||
| MES 18U | 12 | 11 | 6 | 17 | 6 | – | |||
| * = Signed National Letter of Intent | |||||||||
| ** = Neutral Zone 5 star rating | |||||||||
PLEASE NOTE
The statistics for the commitments, presented in the table above, are categorized according to the projected year they will enroll at UNH. For example, the “2022 Commits” are expected to start playing for UNH in the fall of 2022. I based these projections on the following factors:
~ Number of UNH players who left the team at the end of last season and the position they played.
~ If a national letter of intent has been signed.
~ The year the commit and UNH coaches originally targeted for enrollment at UNH.
~ How old would the commitment be at admission.
~ Number of years in junior hockey before admission.
~ The commit’s performance in recent seasons as well as injuries.
~ Expected date of high school graduation.
