The University of Maine men’s hockey program has received two National Letters of Intent from European forwards Emil Westerlund of Sweden and Adrian Holesinsky of Slovakia during the spring signing period.
The signing of the two players gives coach Red Gendron an incoming class of eight — four forwards, three defensemen and a goaltender — all of whom will join the program this fall.
Westerlund and Holesinsky will look to give the Black Bears some more scoring punch to complement last year’s productive freshman class that produced 79 points.
Westerlund comes to UMaine from the Linkoping HC J20 SuperElite team. he compiled 28 goals and 11 assists in 44 games.
Westerlund also has spent time with Sweden’s U19 national team, scoring three goals in four games.
The 6-foot-1-inch Westerlund will give the Bears size up front.
“[Westerlund] has exceptional size, speed and physicality, who plays with great intensity at the net front,” Gendron said in a press release.
Holesinsky also hopes to give UMaine a dynamic force up front, and he compiled 11 & 25 in 30 games for the North American Hockey League’s Janesville Jets this season.
He has also spent time with the Slovakian national team at the U18 and U20 levels.
Gendron described Holesinsky as, “a very mature player with exceptional stick skills and hockey sense. His passion for the game is boundless.”
The pair join goaltender Jeremy Swayman, defensemen Alexis Binner, Cam Spicer and Brady Keeper, and forwards Eduards Tralmarks and Adam Dawe in UMaine’s 2017 freshman class.
Their participation is contingent upon acceptance into the university and meeting NCAA clearinghouse requirements.
UMFK women’s hoop adds 4
The University of Maine-Fort Kent women’s basketball program announced Wednesday the commitment of four players to play at the school, including two Maine natives.
Georgia Landry of Patten and Sammi Thayer of Glenburn join Kalie Chamberlain of Vermont and Kallee Dowler of Ohio with the Bengals in the fall.
Landry was a Penobscot Valley Conference first-teamer as a junior and senior at Katahdin High School in Stacyville, and was named to the McDonald’s Senior All-Star team this winter.
Thayer was a KVAC All-Academic selection as a senior at Bangor.
Thayer, Landry and Dowler are all guards while Chamberlain is a forward.
Chamberlain led her high school team in Vermont to a state championship as a junior and was a first-team All-County choice as a senior.
Dowler compiled 1,318 points at Barnesville High School, the second most in school history, and was voted the Ohio District 12 Player of the Year. She also was named to the first team of the All-East District Division III, District 12 and Ohio Valley Athletic Conference, respectively.
Dowler was also an Ohio All-State second-team honoree.
