BOSTON, MA -- Dating back to the formation of the Eastern Hockey League (EHL) in 2013, a total of 13 players have made their commitments to UMass Boston while playing in the #Eshow. The Beacons play out of the highly competitive New England Hockey Conference (NEHC), that has sent at least one team to the Division III Frozen Four in three of the past five seasons. The Beacons were that team during the 2015-16 season, led by a set of EHL alumni.

"Looking at our 100-point banner and two of those players came from the EHL family," said UMass Boston head coach Peter Belisle. "Eric Tufman from the Little Flyers and Travis Daniel from the Rockets, both players were huge for us. Also, Tim Richter, who played for Coach Cerrella, showed the most perseverance I have ever coached. The EHL is a very good college development league and their coaches do a great job promoting their players."

This Fall, Evan Heldt (Philadelphia Little Flyers) will be joining the Beacons, a team with 7 EHL alumni already on the roster. The '97 defenseman from Ohio was very reliable on the blue line the past 2 seasons, and can't wait to get things started at UMass Boston.

“I’m excited to go to UMass Boston and be a part of the great program they have," said Heldt. "There are a lot of people I need to thank for getting me there. First off I want to thank my parents for supporting me all these years. All the time and money it takes to get to this point I’m grateful for them. Thank you to my friends for being there and supporting me. I’d like to thank the coaching staff here at the Little Flyers; Coach Russo and Coach Lewis helped me get to this point and supported me through my time here.  Also, I’d like to thank the Little Flyers organization and the Giacobbo family for providing us with the means to succeed. The program at UMass Boston is one of the best in the country and I’m super excited to be a part of it.”

Be sure to check back in again next week for a new EHL Pipeline of the Week.