Lady Tommies recruit two more

Peter Murphy has tapped into the Nova Scotia and Ontario hockey markets for his latest recruiting foray. The Tommies have added a new forward and another goalie to bolster the rank and file. Both Ladies have impressive stats and you can read more about them HERE. Welcome to Kristin Wolfe and Kendra Broad. We look forward to seeing you in September.

Hot button issues, thank you commentors

We're really pleased with the recent round of comments to the Matt Eagles recruitment post. So, thanks to you the readers, let's foster the conversation and throw it back to you again.

Is St. Thomas' men's hockey program on the right course with the current recruits to date?

Do you think that being a small liberal arts university handicaps Mike Eagles as a recruiter or can it be an advantage if "sold" correctly?

The Tommies had a less than optimal 2008-09 season, so what holes in the current line up need to be filled, if any? If you think there are holes, what positions and with who should Mike fill them with?

Can St. Thomas compete for the AUS championship this coming season?

Answer how you see fit. There are no right answers and your opinions on this subject make for better reading than mocking each other's spelling ability and favourite team preference. Again, good work with the recent comments.

Tyler Dietrich may find his niche with Tommies

Tyler comes to the Tommies via our cross campus rivals at UNB. There are several ways you could look at his addition to next years team. One way is to conclude that he isn't going to be of any significance as he is a Squirrel cast off and didn't prove anything in his short time with them. Not very fair to Dietrich when you consider the Squirrels depth over the past several years.

Another way to look at this new addition is he has something to prove, not just to his new team mates, but to himself. He has suffered through injury after injury in his major junior and university career and has never been able to obtain any consistency. If he can remain healthy for the season it will be any ones guess as to how much he can help. The skill is there.

Tyler has jumped around more than a Mexican bean and may be the first CIS player (in recent history anyhow) to play for 3 different Universities in his career. He will be 25 years old this summer and only entering his 3rd year of eligibility. The West Vancouver native started off his CIS days in 05-06 with his home province UBC Thunderbirds, sat out a year, played 14 games in 07-08 with the Squirrels, and had to sit out last year to be eligible to play with St. Thomas this coming year.

The 6'1" Dietrich is known for his speed and his gritty play. In the small confines of the LBR good things may finally start happening for this western boy. If this guy is willing to give Coach Eagles his best every night, can stay healthy, and get rewarded with a regular shift we may just have a new fan favourite in Green and Gold.

It's Official...Tommies roll out the welcome Matt

From Tommies press release:

New Hockey Tommie Fits Coach’s Expectations to a “T”

When recruiting for his men’s hockey Tommies, head coach Mike Eagles looks for high skill level, strong work ethic and commitment to strive for improvement.

For these reasons, Eagles is all smiles when it comes to welcoming the latest addition to the Tommies, his son Matt.

Matt Eagles spent four years in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey league and just concluded his career last week as the Moncton Wildcats lost in a tough quarter-final playoff against Rimouski.

Eagles was drafted into the “Q” in the ninth round in 2005 and started slowly as a fourth-liner. This is where the commitment to improve engaged.

Only two years later, Eagles was the leading scorer on the team with 25 goals in the regular season. This past season, he captained the Wildcats and was a leader in the dressing room and on the score sheet. In his last season, the right-handed shooting centre/right winger was the team’s leading scorer with 65 points in 68 games. He finished his major junior career as the Wildcat’s seventh all-time leading scorer (159 points) and fifth in goals(77).

Coach Eagles believes that his new forward has the skills needed to be an impact player but it is his work ethic that will be just as important, noting the younger Eagles’statistics improved each year.

“As a coach, I’m very excited for Matt’s arrival because of his calibre of play and
quality of person. The opportunity to coach my son is another thing for me to be
excited about. At the same time, I wanted it to be Matt’s decision,” said Eagles.

Having a father play in the NHL for 15 years serves as inspiration for Matt. He even wears the same #36 on his back just like his father.

Matt believes this transition will be an easy one since the two have talked hockey from as early as he can remember and since his father was always there to share advice after games in Fredericton where Matt played with the Fredericton Midget Canadiens.

“I feel that if anyone is going to help me to get to the next level of play after university, it is my dad. I have a tremendous amount of respect for his ability as a coach and his determination as a leader.”

Proudly wearing the “T” will help.

“I was always a huge St. Thomas fan, so it is a thrill for me to come back to Fredericton and play for this team,” Matt added.

Daily Gleaner: Matt Eagles lands at STU

Like father, like son

Nathan White of the Saint John Telegraph Journal spoke recently to Mike and Matt Eagles. While there is no definite news of where Matt is playing this fall, all Tommie fans hope it's in a Green and Gold jersey here in Fredericton.

Telegraph Journal: Eagles caps junior years with exceptional season

Now that Matt's junior career is over, he hasn't decided what's next. It's only logical to guess Dad might have a spot for him on the Tommies, but Matt is still holding out hope for a shot at the pro ranks. Nevin sees him having a strong university career, with a future in coaching.

In other Tommie news, the "interim" tag has been dropped from Athletic Director Mike Eagles title. Congratulation Mike! STU Article and Daily Gleaner: Dual role for Eagles

Highlight Video From STU/UdeM

Hey everyone, in my browsing of the internet, I came across the STU Tommies men's website. If you look at the link of where it says "Upcoming Games" there is an underlined link of where it says UDM on February 11th. If you click on that link, there is a video taken by yours truly (even though I didn't make it, I have a good idea who did) of all 5 STU goals, including the Banfield Bank Shot in OT. Have a look with the enclosed link.

http://w3.stu.ca/stu/sites/mens_hockey/index.html

Hopefully everyone is having a plentiful Easter Weekend.

Good pick up for STU with Jadran Beljo. Anyone who can play on the same line as Jordan Staal and Logan Hunter, along with playing with Patrick Kaleta of the Buffalo Sabers and Liam Reddox of the Edmonton Oilers must be a great talent.

Tommies add former OHL Sniper

The official Tommies release:

STU Tommies Welcome Jadran Beljo

St. Thomas University men’s hockey team is pleased to announce that forward Jadran Beljo from Sudbury, Ontario has committed to the Tommies for the upcoming season.

“I like to help out the team any way I can but my best assets would probably be setting up and finishing plays in the offensive zone. I'm excited to come to St. Thomas to rebuild and hopefully be a part of a winning team for the next few years. I look forward to getting my education in a beautiful city, and rebuilding to hopefully bring back a championship to St. Thomas in the near future.” said Beljo.

Jadran is an offensively gifted forward who has played five seasons in the OHL. Beljo had consecutive 30+ goals seasons with Mississauga and London in 06-07 and 07-08 respectively. The Tommies are excited to have Beljo on board as they look to rebuild the team after missing the play-offs in 08-09.

"Jadran is the type of quality player and person that the Tommies are looking for. He is an intelligent player that has a very good stick and skates well. We are really looking forward to having him in our lineup," said Head Coach Mike Eagles. Photo Credit: Official OHL site.



Watch Beljo in action, and check out the related videos for more...

Best Player In The Past 4 Years

This is kind of a no brainer on who #1 is, so here it is!

#1- #19 Kyle McAllister

Macker was everything you would want in a hockey player. Big, strong, great shot, great passer, great dangler, great at faceoffs and a great leader. He was like the Joe Thornton for St. Thomas as he could make passes from anywhere, tape to tape. In 5 years, Kyle scored 68 goals, 88 assists for 156 points and 154 pim. He was a fantastic player. Here is one of his goals from the playoffs 2 years ago in game 1 vs. SMU.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVpZh3xR4O4

End of Season Awards

The end of season awards were handed out last night at the annual Athletics Banquet, as well as the Tommy Hughes Award which was announced at a Friends of STU reception earlier. The winners are listed below. Congratulations to all.

Men's

Most Valuable Player: Corey Banfield
Top Defenseman: Bryan Main
Most Sportsmanlike: Ryan Murphy
Top Rookie: Ben MacFarlane
Unsung Hero: Devan Praught
Tommy Hughes Award: Justin Roy

Women's

Most Valuable Player: Julia Sharun
Rookie of the Year: Julia Sharun
Top Defensive Player: Lucrece Nussbaum
Most Improved : Nicole Dube