The University of Maine men’s hockey team has landed a point-producing center for next season in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, native Tim Doherty, cousin of Boston College captain Teddy Doherty.
Tim Doherty has 15 goals and 21 assists in 23 games for the Boston Junior Bruins in the U.S. Premier Hockey League. He had 28 goals and 34 assists in 46 games for the Junior Bruins a year ago.
He had verbally committed to Brown University and attended Brown briefly this fall before returning to the Junior Bruins. He didn’t play at Brown.
“Maine was the best fit for me as a student-athlete,” said Doherty, who visited the campus two weekends ago during the UConn series.
He said he also had visited other schools.
“I talked to the coaches and the players and felt the coaches really cared about the players and that the team itself was incredibly close-knit, which means a lot to me,” said Doherty.
The 6-foot, 185-pound Doherty is a 20-year-old center who can also play on the wing, according to Junior Bruins coach Mike Anderson.
“Maine should be excited. He’s going to be a good player,” said Anderson. “He has great vision and does a real good job creating offense for himself and his teammates. He has a very high hockey IQ, he really understands the game, and he plays hard. But he’s not just a playmaker, he can also score goals.”
He added that Doherty has a “great stick,” and he’s good defensively and on face-offs. He said he also is very coachable.
The 5-15-6 Black Bears are 59th among 60 Division 1 teams in scoring, averaging just 1.77 goals per game, so next year’s freshman forwards will get a chance to make an immediate impact.
“Getting an opportunity to have an impact right away means a lot to me,” said Doherty, who will be a recruited walk-on with an opportunity to earn a scholarship down the road.
He said he will have to receive a waiver from the NCAA to be eligible immediately since he did attend Brown.
He intends to try to get “stronger on my feet and get a little faster” before he arrives on campus in August.
“There will be a lot of big bodies out there,” he said.
Doherty’s coming to UMaine is contingent upon his acceptance into the school and meeting NCAA eligibility requirements.