Matt Beniers likely will play college hockey for the University of Michigan, multiple sources have told New England Hockey Journal. Mark Divver was first to report the news.
Last October, the Hingham, Mass., native committed to Harvard. However, he got antsy given the uncertainty surrounding whether the Crimson could hit the ice for the 2020-21 season.
Beniers, a late ’02 who is projected to be a top-10 pick in the 2021 NHL draft, was coveted by every major program in New England during the recruiting process. When he opened his recruitment back up earlier this month, Boston College, Providence, Michigan and Notre Dame were the programs with mutual interest.
According to sources, the Eagles didn’t have scholarship room, whereas the Wolverines were able to make room for Beniers, a left-shot center. Michigan assistant coach Kris Mayotte had a previous relationship with Beniers from when he was on Nate Leaman’s staff at Providence. That certainly helped land Beniers, who played the past two seasons with USA Hockey’s NTDP.
It had always been thought that Beniers would play college hockey in Boston. Other factors in Michigan’s favor was the Big Ten’s high probability of playing, the academic reputation of the school, and the familiarity with the region from his time down the road in Plymouth, Mich., while at the NTDP.
Beniers, who played his freshman season at Milton Academy, is accelerating to play college hockey this season during his draft year. In 60 games this season with the NTDP, Beniers had 25 goals and 32 assists.
While New England players typically stay to play college hockey within the region, Beniers won’t be the only player from the region wearing the maize and blue this winter. He joins junior goaltender Strauss Mann, a Greenwich, Conn., native and Brunswick alum. In 2019-20, Mann was a finalist for the Mike Richter Award, given annually to college hockey’s top goaltender.
Hockey East to prioritize conference play
Wednesday’s announcement by Hockey East that the league intends to play the 2020-21 regular season was welcome news to college hockey players, coaches and fans.
According to the league’s press release, the 11 member schools will look to play this upcoming season while “prioritizing competition between league members and the completion of a regular-season schedule.”
The schedule and start date are not yet set in stone, but according to industry sources, the most likely scenario is play commencing in November with 30 conference games. However, complications related to the coronavirus could cause changes.
“Specifically, the league plans to construct multiple balanced schedule models for both the men’s and women’s leagues for the 2020-21 season. These models will include added safety measures and allow for maximum scheduling flexibility,” it was noted in the press release.
