A CCHL Original Article | Alumni Spotlight
During the 2018-19 season, a total of 14 alumni from the Central Canada Hockey League were part of NCAA Western Collegiate Hockey Association programs.
Anthony Nellis, Stephen Baylis, Craig Pefley, and Zac Tierney all completed their Senior seasons, Jason Tackett finished his Junior year, while a handful of youngsters in Tim Theocharidis, Will Cullen, and Pierre-Luc Veillette had strong Freshman seasons.
Looking ahead to this coming season, incoming Freshmen from the CCHL include Peyton Francis (Carleton Place) who heads to Alabama Huntsville and Brett Thorne (Carleton Place) who will join the University of Alaska.
Top Performers
F – Anthony Nellis (SR) – Lake Superior State University
The Breakeyville, QC native and former star with the Pembroke Lumber Kings, Nellis finished off a memorable collegiate career by posting career bests in Goals (15), Assists (18), and Points (33), helping the Lakers to their best season since joining the WCHA in 2013-14. For his efforts, he was named to the WCHA Third All-Star Team. At seasons end, he signed with the ECHL’s Fort Wayne Komets where he ended up totaling 8 points (5G, 3A) in 10 games of action.
F – Stephen Baylis (SR) – Bowling Green University
A consistent player if there ever was one, the Ottawa, ON native and Carleton Place Canadians alumni topped off a very successful collegiate career with Bowling Green University in 2018-19. Although missing some time with an injury, Baylis still managed to finish with 22 points (8G, 14A) in 35 games of action while leading the Falcons with 5 Game-Winning Goals. Bowling Green rewarded him with the Dr. Ron Zweirlein Leadership Award at the season ending banquet. It is expected that Baylis will continue his playing career at the professional level in 2019-20.
F – Jason Tackett (JR) – Ferris State University
The former Pembroke Lumber Kings and Kemptville 73’s standout had his best season of college hockey yet in 2018-19. In 28 games of action, the West Chester, OH native finished with 14 points (6G, 8A), finishing 6th overall on the Bulldogs in scoring. Going into his Senior season, the expectations will increase as he will surely be given a bigger role.
Freshman Focus
D – Tim Theocharidis (FR) – Bowling Green University
The Carleton Place Canadians alumni and CCHL Defenseman of the Year in 2017-18, Theocharidis exceeded expectations in his first season of collegiate hockey. The Pickering, ON native finished third in scoring among Falcons blue-liners with 11 points (4G, 7A) in 34 games of action. As he heads into his second season, it is expected that the two-way defenseman will be put into tougher game situations and log more minutes. He was recently invited to the Vegas Golden Knights Development Camp.
D – Will Cullen (FR) – Bowling Green University
After taking 2017-18 off, the former Carleton Place Canadians and Nepean Raiders blue-liner put together an exceptional Freshman season with the Falcons. The Pelham Manor, NY native finished 2nd in scoring among team defensemen with 14 points (4G, 10A). He and fellow CCHL alumnus Tim Theocharidis helped bring offense and a strong transition game to the Falcons defense, something that had been lacking in years past. Going into his Sophomore season, Cullen is expected to continue improving his all-round game which will be extremely beneficial to the Falcons program.
Senior Appreciation
F – Craig Pefley (SR) – Ferris State University
Yet another Carleton Place Canadians alumni, Pefley scored a career best 5 goals in 2018-19 while totaling 15 points in 29 games of action. He finished his collegiate career with 41 points (13G, 28A) in 78 games. At seasons end he signed an amateur tryout with the ECHL’s Tulsa Oilers, he played 2 games before being released. He is expected to continue his hockey career at the professional level in 2019-20.
D – Zac Tierney (SR) – Ferris State University
The Ottawa Jr Senators and Cornwall Colts alumni put up a career best 6 points (2G, 4A) from the blue line in 34 games of action with the Bulldogs. The London, ON native was honoured by the WCHA Conference at seasons end with a Scholar Athlete Award for his strong academic work. On May 3rd, it was announced that Tierney had signed a contract in the France2 league with Neuilly-sur-Marne for 2019-20.
SKATERS | ||||||||
YEAR | NAME | SCHOOL | POS | GP | G | A | P | CCHL TEAM(S) |
SR | ANTHONY NELLIS | LAKE SUPERIOR STATE | F | 38 | 15 | 18 | 33 | PEMBROKE |
SR | STEPHEN BAYLIS | BOWLING GREEN | F | 37 | 8 | 14 | 22 | CARLETON PLACE |
SR | CRAIG PEFLEY | FERRIS STATE | F | 29 | 5 | 10 | 15 | CARLETON PLACE |
FR | WILL CULLEN | BOWLING GREEN | D | 31 | 4 | 10 | 14 | CARLETON PLACE/NEPEAN |
JR | JASON TACKETT | FERRIS STATE | F | 28 | 6 | 8 | 14 | PEMBROKE/KEMPTVILLE |
FR | TIM THEOCHARIDIS | BOWLING GREEN | D | 34 | 4 | 7 | 11 | CARLETON PLACE |
SO | CONNOR MERKLEY | ALABAMA-HUNTSVILLE | F | 37 | 3 | 4 | 7 | CARLETON PLACE |
SR | ZAC TIERNEY | FERRIS STATE | D | 34 | 2 | 4 | 6 | CORNWALL |
FR | PIERRE-LUC VEILLETTE | LAKE SUPERIOR STATE | F | 32 | 2 | 4 | 6 | OTTAWA |
SO | ANDREW DODSON | ALABAMA-HUNTSVILLE | F | 27 | 1 | 3 | 4 | CARLETON PLACE |
JR | SEAN RAPPLEYEA | ALABAMA-HUNTSVILLE | D | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | OTTAWA |
FR | OWEN GUY | LAKE SUPERIOR STATE | F | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | KEMPTVILLE/OTTAWA |
JR | IAN JOHNSTON | LAKE SUPERIOR STATE | F | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | BROCKVILLE/KANATA |
GOALIES | ||||||||
YEAR | NAME | SCHOOL | POS | W | GAA | SV% | SO | CCHL TEAM(S) |
SO | HENRY JOHNSON | BEMIDGI STATE | G | 5 | 1.96 | .916 | 2 | BROCKVILLE |