Joshua Kestner with his family after signing his letter of intent to play for the Chargers. (WHNT, click the image for story and video)
The regular signing period began Wednesday, meaning UAH’s newest players can sign letters of intent to play for the Chargers next season.
Huntsville native Joshua Kestner was the first, signing his letter at the Municipal Ice Complex in Huntsville on Wednesday. WHNT has the story.
The Huntsville High graduate had an outstanding offensive season for the Sarnia Legionnaires of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League, leading the team with 40 goals and 70 points in the 2013-14 regular season. He had six goals in seven playoff games.
Kestner will be the seventh Huntsville native and eighth Alabama native to play varsity hockey at UAH. The previous six Huntsvillians are Tacoma Kapustka (1988-90), Blake Anderson (1989-90), Matt Parker (1994-98), Blake Thompson (2001-02), Jared Ross (2001-05), and Troy Maney (2003-07). Joey Fjeldstad (1989-90) came from Hueytown.
Richard Buri Signs with @uahhockey #cawlidgehawkey pic.twitter.com/BKJ2GGyPPv
— UAH Hockey (@uahhockey) April 17, 2014
Signing on Thursday was Richard Buri, who will be the first Slovakian to play for the Chargers. The native of Nitra was a defenseman for the Minnesota Wilderness of the North American Hockey League, scoring four goals and seven assists in 46 games.
We’ll have more signing news as they come in. The regular signing period runs through August 1, and UAH has 10 commitments in its 2014-15 class. Forward Max McHugh signed last November during the early signing period.
More information on the recruits can be found on our commitments page.
Frenchy Open ready for registration: The Chargers’ premier summer fundraising event is set. The “Frenchy Open” golf tournament, sponsored by SportsMed, will take place at Hampton Cove Golf Course on Saturday, June 7, at 1 p.m.
The tournament is named for the late Jean-Marc Plante, who played for the Chargers from 1988-1992.
Many great raffle and door prizes are available, including two fabulous golf trips to Pebble Beach and St. Andrews for those who score a hole-in-one. Sponsorships are also available.
Registration is $150 per player and $600 per team. You can register online, or contact UAH director of hockey operations Nick Laurila at 256-824-2485 for more information. For complete details, visit uahchargers.com.
I got mine!
Get your jerseys: As we’ve noted last week, Charger hockey replica gray jerseys are available for purchase. They are $79 now, but go up to $99 starting May 1.
When I did my editorial on the home jerseys last month, I didn’t give my opinion on these alternates, which were worn during the final home series of the season. While I prefer traditional designs on home whites and road blues, I don’t mind a “third” jersey being a little alternative. And as thirds go, this has really grown on me, so I was eager to buy one. Gray is interesting because it was the program’s first accent color, and it’s the only non blue-and-white color in the UAH Chargers logo, so I think it fits for a school whose official colors are only blue and white. And the shape of Alabama with the star on Huntsville on the shoulders is a GREAT touch!
And it’s still got a lot of blue on it, which as you might expect is a good thing in my book.
So what are you waiting for? Call 256-UAH-PUCK or email william.brophy@uah.edu today!
Banquet wrap: The Chargers held their season-ending banquet two weeks ago. Here are the team awards, as voted on by the players:
- Defensive player of the year: Ben Reinhardt
- Freshman of the year: Matt Salhany
- Charger Award (spirit of the program): Ben Reinhardt
- Most Valuable Player(s): Matt Larose and Carmine Guerriero
The silent auction raised $2,200 for the program.
For more on the banquet, including interviews with coach Mike Corbett and outgoing senior Brice Geoffrion, check out this recap by Penalty Box Radio.