Junior Bruins defenseman Charlie Spence has committed to Holy Cross, he announced Friday morning on social media.
The Medfield, Mass., native spent the past three seasons at Phillips Andover and would have served as the captain of the Big Blue in 2020-21 if there had been a prep school season. Instead, Spence played in 31 games for the Junior Bruins in the USPHL NCDC. He scored two goals and added four assists.
Spence played his freshman year at Medfield High before making the jump to prep at Andover. He skated for the River Rats and Little Bruins in split-season hockey. The '02 is a mobile, puck-moving defenseman who has some jam to his game. He’s expected to play the 2021-22 season for Mike Anderson’s Junior Bruins before matriculating to Holy Cross.
Spence is the seventh commit for the Crusaders since Bill Riga (Westborough, Mass.) took over as head coach earlier this offseason. He joins forwards Coleman Jenkins (Mansfield, Mass./Junior Bruins), Joe Solimine (Middleton, Mass./Junior Bruins), Dom Murphy (Westboro, Mass./St. Mark’s) and defensemen Ryan Buckley (Warwick, R.I./St. George’s), Sylas Oberting (Hanover, N.H./Northern Cyclones) and Wes Turner (Wenatchee Wild).
Maine adds goaltender of the future
Maine received a commitment from goaltender Lucas Szyszka on Thursday. The '04 from Westmont, Ill., has come up through the Chicago Mission program but will make the jump to junior hockey for the 2021-22 season.
Szyszka made the 30-man roster for the USHL’s Des Moines Buccaneers. If he doesn’t make the team out of camp, he’ll head to Wichita Falls in the NAHL. Szyszka had an impressive showing at USA Hockey Select 17 Player Development Camp, earning a spot on the American roster for the Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
Szyszka’s commitment to the Black Bears helps solidify the goaltending position for the future. Last month, Maine received a commitment from '02 Platon Zadorozhny, who plays for MHK Spartak Moskva in his native country of Russia.
Maine has had a great tradition of good goaltenders, dating back to Garth Snow and Mike Dunham when the Black Bears won their first national championship in 1993. Since then, current assistant coach Alfie Michaud, Jimmy Howard, Frank Doyle, Ben Bishop, Scott Darling, and most recently Jeremy Swayman have come through Orono.
Two locals commit to NESCAC
Two New England prep school players announced their commitments to Williams and Middlebury earlier this week.
Roxbury Latin senior defenseman Connor Berg will play at Williams. The '03 from Wellesley, Mass., has good size, skates well, and makes a great first pass. Berg was drawing interest from numerous other NESCAC and Ivy League programs prior to pledging to the Ephs.
Berkshire senior winger Ben Boren has committed to Middlebury. The Mamaroneck, N.Y., native is a big, north-south winger who plays a solid game as a power forward. He can bring a physical element and shoot the puck hard. An '03, Boren will head to play for the Panthers following his senior season for Dan Driscoll’s Berkshire club.
