> the RPI SID:
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: APRIL 11, 2000
 
BRAD TAPPER TO FORGO SENIOR SEASON
Junior All-American signs with NHL’s Atlanta Thrashers
 
Rensselaer All-American hockey player Brad Tapper has signed a free
agent contract with the Atlanta Thrashers of the National Hockey League,
thus relinquishing his final year of college eligibility.  Tapper will
join the club in September for training camp.
 
A junior from Scarborough, Ont., Tapper led the nation in goal scoring
this season, averaging 0.84 goals per game.  He also ranked first in the
U.S. in game-winning goals with seven and was among the leaders in the
nation in points per game (14th with 1.38), power play goals (11th with
10) and shorthanded goals (12th with 3).  His 51 points (31 goals, 20
assists) in 37 games led the Engineers, who he helped to an overall
record of 22-13-2, a third place finish in the league standings (11-9-1)
and into the Championship Game of the ECAC Tournament.  Also the team
leader in penalty minutes with 81, Tapper was named an All-ECAC First
Team All-Star and a JOFA/American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) East
Second Team All-American.
 
In his three seasons at RPI, Tapper, who is 6-0, 185 pounds, tallied 65
goals and 51 assists for 116 points in 106 games.  He was an ECAC
Honorable Mention selection and named to the ECAC’s All-Rookie Team as a
freshman when he scored 14 goals and 11 assists with 62 penalty minutes
in 34 games.  He followed that with a sophomore season in which he had
20 goals, 20 assists and 60 PIMs in 35 games.  Earlier this season,
Tapper was chosen to Rensselaer’s Team of the Decade for the 1990s.
 
Tapper is the second member of the 1999-00 Engineers to sign with
Atlanta.  Senior captain Brian Pothier, also a JOFA/AHCA East Second
Team All-American, agreed to terms with the Thrashers earlier this
month.
 
--
Kevin Beattie
Sports Information Director
Rensselaer
AS + RC
Troy, NY  12180-3590
(518) 276-2187
FAX: (518) 276-2188
 
[log in to unmask]
 
HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey;  send information to
[log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.