July 2, 2002
HAMILTON, N.Y.¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ University men’s hockey coach Don Vaughan has announced the signing of six student-athletes for the upcoming season.
The Class of 2006 includes: 6-0 defenseman J.R. Bria (Monroe, Conn./Capital District Selects), 6-0 defenseman Eric Main (Atikokon, Ont./Hamilton Kilty Bee’s), 6-0 left wing Jon Smyth (Markham, Ont./Ottawa Jr. Senators), 6-2 right wing Ryan Smyth (Clarence Creek, Ont./Hawkesbury Jr. A), 5-11 center Zac Tataryn (Ottawa, Ontario/Cumberland), and 6-1 center Kyle Wilson (London, Ont./Strathroy).
‘We are very excited about this year’s incoming class,’ Vaughan said. ‘Stan and Andrew did a great recruiting job. We’ve got two blueliners in Main and Bria who will add to the offense because they can get the puck to the net and have decent size. Both of these players could see time on the power play. Up front we have two forwards in Wilson and Tataryn that have great offensive instincts. They are both proven scorers in junior hockey and we anticipate that they will continue to do the same at the college level Jon and Ryan Smyth are two players who can play both ends of the ice. They are very tough and will create
offense by going hard to the net.’&²Ô²ú²õ±è;&²Ô²ú²õ±è;
Bria accumulated 21 goals and 52 assists for 73 points in 71 games last season in addition to 174 penalty minutes, 10 power play goals, three game winning goals and a plus/minus rating of +33.
Main served as an assistant captain on Hamilton’s team that finished as the Ontario Provincial Jr. A Hockey League’s Western Division Runner-up. He tallied nine goals and 18 assists for 27 points in 32 games en route to finishing as the team’s top scoring defenseman and a league all-star. In addition, Main previously skated with the Chatham Maroons, the same team Bob Vandersluis played for.
Jon Smyth’s Ottawa Jr. Senators won the Central Junior Hockey League and advanced to the Royal Bank Cup where they lost in the semifinals to the eventual champion Halifax. He can score and also play on the penalty kill.
Ryan Smyth amassed 41 points on 20 goals and 21 assists in 55 games for the Hawks as he finished fourth on the team in scoring and made the CJHL All-Star team. The Hawks were eliminated from the quarterfinals of the CJHL playoffs.
Tataryn led Cumberland in scoring with 23 goals and 44 assists for 67 points in 43 games. The Grads finished fourth in their division during the regular season but lost in the playoffs to the eventual winners. Tataryn also led the team in scoring during the playoffs. In addition, Tataryn played for the Carelton Place Kins, the junior team coach Vaughan played for.
Wilson led Strathroy in scoring with 42 goals and 30 assists for 72 points in 53 games. He was honored as the team’s Scholastic Player of the Year and Most Sportsmanlike Player of the Year.
¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ finished the season with a 13-19-2 overall mark and was 10-10-2 in league play. The Raiders were eliminated from the first round of the ECAC playoffs after falling to Dartmouth 5-4 in double overtime on March 8 and losing 4-1 on March 9.