Friendship Four in the EIHL: 2019/20
To date the
Friendship Four has provided an opportunity for hockey fans in the SSE Arena
and throughout the UK and North America to watch some future NHL and EIHL
stars.
Since 2015, hockey fans have been able to watch even more NHL talent such as Dante
Fabbro and Joel Farabee of Boston University (2018) who now play for the
Nashville Predators, and Boston Bruin’s Connor Clifton who played for Quinnipiac
(2016). The EIHL has also been able to attract its fair share of NCAA talent
from previous Friendship Four tournaments. Aside from Darcy Murphy and Charles
Corcoran from the 2015 tournament, who I mentioned in my previous post on the
Friendship Four, other NCAA talent has been attracted to the EIHL. These are
Chris Truehl of Quinnpiac (2016) who had a brief stint in Belfast in the
2017/18, current Giant Liam Morgan (Union, 2018), Patrick Lee (UMass, 2016) who
had a brief spell with the Dundee Stars in 2017/18 and Mario Puskarich (Vermont,
2016) who plays for the Manchester Storm this season.
Friendship Four in the EIHL: 2019/20
Belfast Giants
Morgan 21, played for Union College and in his last season was a Friendship Four champion. In 67 NCAA games Morgan tallied 42 points and a +23 rating. Since joining the Belfast Giants for the 2019/20 campaign, Morgan has played in 38 league games where he has collected 26 points. He added two goals this past weekend in a 7-3 win over the Guildford Flames and ranks 7th overall for league points this season among Belfast Giants. In 6 Champions Hockey League games, Morgan totalled 7 points and was the Giants top scorer in the competition.
Morgan 21, played for Union College and in his last season was a Friendship Four champion. In 67 NCAA games Morgan tallied 42 points and a +23 rating. Since joining the Belfast Giants for the 2019/20 campaign, Morgan has played in 38 league games where he has collected 26 points. He added two goals this past weekend in a 7-3 win over the Guildford Flames and ranks 7th overall for league points this season among Belfast Giants. In 6 Champions Hockey League games, Morgan totalled 7 points and was the Giants top scorer in the competition.
Manchester Storm
Puskarich,
27, has 30 points in 46 league games with the Manchester Storm this season. The
former University of Vermont Captain had 117 points in 138 NCAA games, also a
+23 rating, and was a Friendship Four champion in his final season in the NCAA.
Before joining Manchester, Puskarich appeared in 15 games for the ECHL’s
Manchester Monarchs and 44 for Medvescak Zagreb of the EBEL. He ranks third
among Manchester Storm players for league points and added an assist this past
weekend in a 2-0 win against the Glasgow Clan to bring his total for the year
to 30 points (13G, 17A).
Coventry Blaze
As
mentioned in my Friendship Four: 2015 article, Charles Corcoran (Brown, 2015),
joined the EIHL last season and had 52 points in 60 games for the Dundee Stars.
Corcoran, 25, has almost surpassed his points total from last season and to
date has recorded 51 points in 46 league games for the Coventry Blaze. Corcoran
now ranks joint 4th overall for EIHL points this season, tied with
teammate Luke Ferrara. Corcoran added a goal and three assists in victories
over Nottingham and Glasgow this past weekend to bring his goals total to 16
and his assists total to 35.
The 2020
Friendship Four sees Quinnipiac University, Army West Point, Sacred Heart
University and Mercyhurst compete for the Belpot trophy and I can’t wait to
watch players that might one day play in the NHL or EIHL!
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