Thanks, Steve.

Also of interest is that David is the older brother of Sarah Hughes, a young
figure skater who is already among the top five American women, and who may
well compete in Salt Lake in '02.

-- Greg

----- Original Message -----
From: Steven Rockey <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, May 18, 2000 05:44 AM
Subject: Cornell Recruits


> Trafic has been slow on the list and this seemed like some people might be
> intersted so here is a news release:
>
> Seven Recruits to Join Big Red Men's Hockey Team
>
>         ITHACA, N.Y. (May 16) - Cornell head men's hockey coach Mike
> Schafer has announced that seven freshmen will be joining the Big Red,
when
> they enroll at the University in the fall. The group is broken down
amongst
> five forwards and two defensemen.
>
>         "We're pleased with the outstanding group of freshmen who will get
> the opportunity to don the Big Red jersey in the fall," Schafer said. "The
> class has both size and talent and they are the kind of people we want to
> represent our program."
>
>         Forwards Kelly Hughes (Calgary, Alb.) and Jason Kuczmanski
> (Cheektowaga, N.Y.) lead the incoming freshmen after the two scored 78 and
> 77 points, respectively with their junior teams last year.
>
>         Hughes played for Victoria Salsa (BCHL) last year and recorded 28
> goals and 50 assists in 60 games. He was his team's most improved player
in
> 1998-99 and served as the team's captain this past season. The Salsa
> finished the 1999-2000 season on top of the Island Division of the Coastal
> Conference with a 36-20 regular-season record. At 6-3, 210, Kelly is a big
> power forward with soft hands. He is the oldest member of the incoming
> freshmen (DOB: 10-9-79) and will provide maturity in a relatively young
> class. He has a lot of character on the ice and, according toSchafer,
plays
> the physical style that has become a Big Red trademark.
>
>         Kuczmanski (5-11, 185) led the Buffalo Lightning (OPJHL) in
scoring
> this past year with 32 goals and 45 assists in 49 games. He was an OPJHL
> all-star selection and was voted his team's most valuable player. Jason is
> a skilled player who competes hard and is strong on his skates. Coach
> Schafer expects him to add depth to the Big Red's power-play unit.
>
>         Greg Hornby (Nanaimo, B.C.), Ryan Vesce (Lloyd Harbor, N.Y.) and
> Scott Krahn (Kelowna, B.C.) are three other forwards that are expected to
> make an impact with the Big Red.
>
>         Hornby (5-11, 200) may have led the Nanaimo Clippers (BCHL) in
> penalty minutes (154), but he was also one of the team's leading scorers
> with 51 points on 27 goals and 24 assists. A highly sought after recruit,
> six of his goals came on the power play, one was short-handed and four
were
> game winners. He is a very physical player who possesses some good
> offensive talent. His team finished third in the Island Division but made
a
> run in the postseason, defeating Kelly Hughes' team in the first round of
> the playoffs. The Clippers then went on to face the Chilliwack Chiefs
> (former team of current Big Red forward Shane Palahicky) and fell 3-2 in a
> hard-fought series. A hard worker, Hornby was selected to the BCHL
all-star
> team at the end of the season.
>
>         Vesce led the New York Apple Core (former team of current Big Red
> defenseman Doug Murray) in scoring with 59 points on 28 goals and 31
> assists in 38 games. He was ninth overall in scoring in the Eastern Junior
> Hockey League and was a league all-star. Vesce was also the captain of the
> of the U.S. Select-17 team that competed in Prague in 1999. He is a quick
> player with tremendous skills. For a player of his stature (5-8, 160), he
> plays a physical game and will go head-to-head with his opponents.
>
>         A highly skilled player who will add speed to the Big Red lineup,
> Krahn (5-8, 165) had 63 points (21 goals, 42 assists) for the Vernon
Vipers
> (BCHL) this past season. Since joining the Vipers three seasons ago, Scott
> has increased his point production and was one of his team's leading
> scorers this year. His team won the Canadian National Junior Championships
> last year and lost in the provincial finals this season. Scott was also a
> member of the 1997 BC Select-16 team.
>
>         The Big Red's new defensemen are Ben Wallace (London, Ont.) and
> David Hughes (Great Neck, N.Y.).
>
>         Ben was one of the London Nationals' (WOJHL) (former team of
> current Big Red goalie Ian Burt) anchors on defense this past year,
playing
> in nearly every game. In 50 games, he had four goals and 12 assists with
> just 25 penalty minutes. At 6-2, 190, he is a big, physical defenseman
with
> good mobility. The youngest member of the incoming class (DOB: 6-6-82),
the
> coaching staff looks for him to hit the weight room and get stronger
before
> the start of the season.
>
>         David Hughes (5-10, 200) is familiar with the Big Red, as his
> father, John, was the captain of Cornell's 1970 undefeated and untied
> national championship team. David played for both the Rochester Americans
> (NAHL) and the Capital District (EJHL) teams last year and had four goals
> and four assists. He is a hard worker and needs to continue developing his
> skills as he makes the transition to Division I college hockey.
>
>         The Big Red returns 21 veterans in 2000-01 and will look to make
> another run at the ECAC title. Cornell finished the 1999-2000 season with
a
> 16-14-2 overall record and a fourth-place finish in the ECAC (10-9-1). The
> Big Red defeated Harvard in the best-of-three first round of the ECAC
> playoffs and then defeated Clarkson in the preliminary game in the
> championships at Lake Placid. The Big Red then lost to eventual champion
> St. Lawrence in overtime in the quarterfinals and fell to Colgate in the
> consolation game to finish fourth in the tournament.
>
>         Statistically, the Big Red was ranked among the nation's leaders
in
> three team categories this past year. The Big Red's offense finished the
> year 20th in the nation with its 3.25 goals per game, while the defense
> held opponents to 2.69 goals per game, which was 17th nationally. The team
> was also ranked 17th in scoring margin with 0.56 goals per game more than
> its opponents.
>
>         In his five years at the helm of the men's ice hockey program at
> Cornell, Schafer has coached his alma mater to an 85-63-17 record and two
> ECAC tournament championships.
>
> Steven Rockey
> Director of the Mathematics Library
> 420 Malott Hall
> Cornell University
> Office: 255-5268
> Home: 272-8925 or 273-3807
> e-mail:  [log in to unmask]
> http://www.math.cornell.edu:/~library/