UNO Announces Incoming Hockey Class For 2011-12
May 25, 2011 | General, Hockey
OMAHA, Neb. – University of Nebraska Omaha head hockey coach Dean Blais announced today that eight student-athletes have signed national letters of intent and will join the team for the 2011-12 season. It is Blais' second recruiting class at UNO. The list includes five forwards, two defensemen and a goalie.
“We've been able to bring in another strong recruiting class this season,” said Blais. “We lost six seniors to graduation this past season, players who all had important roles for us. So we tried to find players who could have a positive impact on our roster right away. We think we've done that.”
UNO will play its second season in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association this fall. The Mavericks finished the 2010-11 season with an overall record of 21-16-2, their second straight 20-win season under Blais and just the fourth in school history. They were 17-9-2 in the WCHA, finishing in third place, and made their second-ever appearance in the NCAA Playoffs.
The Mavericks' recruits for 2011-12 include six players who skated in the United States Hockey League last season, one from the British Columbia Junior Hockey League in Canada and one player from the Minnesota high school ranks.
The following is a list of the incoming players sorted alphabetically by position:
Forwards
Josh Archibald – Brainerd HS (Minn.)
Height: 5-10, Weight: 170, Hometown: Brainerd, Minn., DOB: 11/19/1993
Archibald is coming off a strong senior season for Brainerd High School. In just 25 games, he scored 27 goals and 46 assists for 73 points and finished second in scoring in the Class AA ranks for all Minnesota high school players. Archibald has strong family ties to college hockey. His father, Jim, played for Blais at North Dakota when Blais was an assistant coach there, and he holds the school and NCAA records for career penalty minutes.
Jayson Megna – Cedar Rapids Roughriders (USHL)
Height: 5-11, Weight: 197, Hometown: Northbrook, Ill., DOB: 2/1/1990
Megna had a career year in his second year with Cedar Rapids of the USHL, scoring 30 goals and 28 assists for 58 points in 60 games to help the Roughriders clinch the Anderson Cup as regular season champions. He finished second in team scoring and led the team in goals and powerplay goals (8). In 116 career USHL games with Cedar Rapids, he had 41 goals and 43 assists for 84 points. He also had 107 career penalty minutes. In the playoffs, Megna had four goals and three assists for seven points in eight playoff games for the Roughriders to finish second in team playoff scoring. He played in 13 career playoff games total. During the 2009-10 season, he played alongside current UNO defenseman Bryce Aneloski. His brother Jaycob is an incoming freshman defenseman for UNO.
James Polk – Penticton Vees (BCJHL)
Height: 6-0, Weight: 175, Hometown: New York, N.Y., DOB: 2/13/1992
Polk played 55 games for the Penticton Vees of the British Columbia Junior Hockey League last season, tallying eight goals and 17 assists for 25 points. He also had 12 penalty minutes. He added three goals in eight playoff games as the Vees advanced to the second round. Prior to playing for Penticton, Polk played 55 games for prestigious Shattuck St. Mary's prep last season, scoring 27 goals and 21 assists for 48 points to rank fifth in team scoring. He also had 38 penalty minutes.
Andrew Schmit – Lincoln Stars (USHL)
Height: 6-3, Weight: 228, Hometown: Grafton, Wis., DOB: 8/22/1991
Schmit had 16 goals and 23 assists for 39 points while playing 60 games for the Lincoln Stars last season. He also had 118 penalty minutes. He finished third in team scoring. He also played in two playoff games for the Stars but did not register a point. Prior to coming to Lincoln, Schmit played 45 games with the Chicago Steel alongside current UNO forward Alex Simonson. In that season, he had three goals and five assists for eight points.
Dominic Zombo – Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)
Height: 5-9, Weight: 180, Hometown: Ballwin, Mo., DOB: 3/15/1991
Zombo spent the last two full seasons with the Sioux Falls Stampede. This past season, he scored a career-high 16 goals and 20 assists for 36 points to finish fourth in team scoring. He also had 46 penalty minutes. His goal total also ranked fourth-best on the team. In 111 career games with the Stampede, he had 28 goals and 29 assists for 57 points and 81 penalty minutes. He had two goals and four assists for six points in nine playoff games for the Stampede this season and finished his career with seven points in 12 career playoff games. Zombo is the son of Rick Zombo who played at North Dakota for three seasons while Blais was an assistant coach there and later went on to play 652 games in the NHL for Detroit and St. Louis.
Defensemen
Jaycob Megna – Muskegon Lumberjacks (USHL)
Height: 6-4, Weight: 202, Hometown: Northbrook, Ill., DOB: 12/10/1992
Megna had a goal and 17 assists for 18 points in 55 games in his only year with Muskegon. He ranked second in defenseman scoring for the expansion Lumberjacks. He also had three assists in six playoff games. Megna was named the co-recipient of the United States Hockey League's Scholar-Athlete Award for the 2010-11 season for maintaining a 4.0 grade-point average. His brother Jayson is an incoming freshman forward for UNO.
Brian O'Rourke – Green Bay Gamblers (USHL)
Height: 6-1, Weight: 187, Hometown: St. Louis, Mo., DOB: 4/4/1991
O'Rourke had a goal and 11 assists for 12 points and 57 penalty minutes while playing in 59 games for the Green Bay Gamblers this past season. In 94 career games for Green Bay, he had a goal and 13 assists for 14 points while amassing 98 penalty minutes. He also helped the Gamblers to the Clark Cup finals in 2011, appearing in 11 games and earning 10 penalty minutes. In total, he played in 20 career playoff games for Green Bay and registered 15 penalty minutes.
Goaltender
Ryan Massa – Fargo Force (USHL)
Height: 5-11, Weight: 173, Hometown: Littleton, Colo., DOB: 7/6/1990
Massa led Fargo in games played and wins this season, finishing with a record of 19-9-4 with a 2.37 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage in 33 games. He also had two shutouts. He finished eighth in the USHL in GAA. In 66 career games with the Force, he compiled a record of 38-16-6 with a 2.76 goals-against average, a .902 save percentage and three shutouts. He appeared in 17 playoff games, going 10-7 with a 2.21 GAA and a .921 save percentage.
