By Arielle Aronson/DFP staff
The Boston University men’s ice hockey team officially announced the arrival of four new players when it released its 2011-12 roster on Wednesday.
As expected, the Class of 2015 will include forwards Cason Hohmann and Evan Rodrigues as well as defenseman Alexx Privitera.
A fourth Terrier, goaltender Anthony Moccia, may be a new face on the roster, but he is not a new face at Agganis. The Medford, Mass. native was a practice goalie for the Terriers last season and will start the year in former Terrier Adam Kraus’s spot as a third goalie.
Coach Jack Parker singled out Privitera in the press release as “a big get for our program.” The 18-year-old blue-liner is a former member of the United States National Development program and last played in the United States Hockey League for the Muskegon Lumberjacks, where he finished fourth among league defensemen in scoring with 34 points. Parker compared Privitera’s style of play as similar to that of former Terrier David Warsofsky, but at 5-foot-11, 195-pounds, Privitera is an upgrade size-wise.
Hohmann, a 5-foot-9, 165-pound center, also spent time with the U.S. national team before joining the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders of the USHL. The 18-year-old seemed strong at both ends of the ice as he finished third on his team in points in 2010-11 (22-33-55) and tied for the team lead with a plus-19 rating.
“Cason’s a center iceman who simply makes his wings better with his great vision,” Parker said. “He moves the puck at the right time and can also create for himself.”
Rodrigues is the only new addition who hails from Canada. The 5-foot-10, 175-pound forward out of Etobicoke, Ontario last played for the Georgetown Raiders of the Ontario Junior Hockey League. Rodrigues spent two seasons with Georgetown, notching 105 points (41g, 64a) in 93 games.
“Evan is a pure sniper,” Parker said. “He’s shown the ability to score every time we’ve seen him play and is very dangerous from the dots in. He’s solid all-around as well.”
The full press release can be found at GoTerriers.com.
Number assignments for freshmen/changes for returnees:
1 Anthony Moccia
4 Patrick MacGregor (used to wear 11)
5 Adam Clendening (used to wear 4)
6 Alexx Privitera
23 Cason Hohmann
26 Evan Rodrigues
I’m a bit disappointed that Priviera wasn’t drafted
I dont think He’s not old enough
I believe Privitera was eligible for this year’s draft. He turned 18 in January (1/18/1993 birthdate). In order to be draft eligible, a player must turn 18 on or before September 15.
I played youth hockey in Medford with Moccia, if that means anything.
Which it doesn’t.
Moccia is a practice goalie for an average high school team not a Division I goalie. He’s not a Division I practice goalie anywhere else except he took lessons from Garagosian and will cause no controvery when he doesn’t play.
Limited help from the freshmen…when they underperform again whose fault will it be this year?
Privitera was definitely draft eligible. He was ranked 193 in Central Scouting’s North American midterm rankings, but fell out of the top 210 in the final rankings. Based on that, it’s not a huge surprise that he wasn’t drafted. But I thought someone would take a chance on him just because he has more skill and more upside than a lot of guys available in the late rounds. Just needs time — which he’ll obviously get at BU — to put it all together and develop.
RE: “Moccia is a practice goalie … .” Nice to hear from you again, Andrew. Good luck finishing up your career in Canada.