The Springfield PICS would like to Congratulate Defensemen Luc Fricchione of West Springfield on his NCAA Div III commitment to Worcester State University Men’s Hockey.  Luc has represented the PICS for over 7 years; dressing in over 170 games, and part of the 100 point club.  The ‘big guy’ was selected “Captain” at each level of the club he played for: U15, U16, Jr. Elite and Premier level.

When GM and Head Coach Rob Bonnueau was asked about Luc; this is what he had to say: “Luc has been with the Springfield Pics at every level the program offers.  He started with our U15 and U16 teams, a season of Jr. Elite and now is entering his 2nd season at the Premier level.  Luc is an offensive defenseman who plays in all situations. He will be very hard to replace; but we look forward to seeing Luc help Worcester State over the next four seasons.  It is nice to see a player rewarded that has been such an important part of the Springfield Pics Program”.  

When asked about Worcester State as being the choice, Luc was quick to say:  “I was lucky enough to have some of the Worcester State players tour me around the campus and rink and met a lot of the team. I already know a couple former Pics players on the team and could tell it was a great group of guys, a group that had a lot of fun together, but also wanted to win a championship. I then met with Coach Deraney and loved the way he described his team, how he runs it, how he thinks Worcester will be a championship team, and that he will do anything to help his players become the best versions of themselves.

I’ve spent most of my career with the Pics and have been lucky to be with such a great program with great coaches. I grew up in the Pics youth system with my Dad, Vern Smith, Chuck Blood, and the late George Rettew developing me into the player I am today. I would like to thank John and Anthony Sarno, TJ Syner, and Barry Almeida for coaching me on the Pics U16 and Elite levels. Lastly, I’d like to thank Rob Bonneau and Brian Collins for coaching me on the Premier team the last 2 years. Coach Bonneau has really helped my overall game focusing on compete level, intensity, and my defensive side of the game while still being able to jump up in the play. Playing my last year has really helped me round out my game and prepare me for college hockey with Coach Bonneau putting me in a great spot to be a leader and contribute in all situations of the game.

When Coach Johny Sarno was asked about his former player:  “Luc was a good player and team leader for us at the U16’s PICS AAA team and has played for the U15, U16’s, Jr Elite and Premier teams. He was able to excel and grow throughout his career and within each season. It's great to see him reach the next level of NCAA hockey with Worcester State. We're very excited and happy for Luc.  A big congrats”!

The Springfield Pics are proud to announce the commitment of Premier Player Jacob “Jake” Trowt of Wilmington, VT to NCAA Division III Fitchburg State Men’s Hockey for the 2023-2024 season. This is Jake’s first year for the Premier team and in 27 games for the Pics, he has lit the lamp 14 times, and  21 assists.  When asked of his commitment:  “I would like to thank my family for their support and being there for me every step of the way…as well as my teammates and coaches for pushing me to become the player I am today”.

GM and Head Coach Rob Bonneau had this to say: “Jake is a very hard working player who has great offensive abilities.  Jake plays in all situations for us and has been an impact player from day one.  We have been trying to get Jake for 3 years to come play for us and final this season that happened and the wait was worth it.  We wish Jake the best as he will follow in a long line of former Pics players to play at Fitchburg State.“  

“Jake will be joining (3) three PICS Premier alumni next season at NCAA Fitchburg State Men’s Hockey program making (4) four pics hockey alumni in their line up next season.   It will be very exciting to watch at Fitchburg Civic center; they will be a top contender for the MASCAC title”.  Coach Sarno.   

Springfield, Ma:  The Springfield Pics U15 Tier 1 AAA squad who are part of the USPHL’s U15 Division are having the best season to date for the 15’s at the midway mark.  When Head Coach Vern Smith was asked about his squad he had this to say; “overall strongest group we’ve had to date”.  The boys are sitting in first place with 8 wins and 3 losses in league play.  This season has proven the boys to be a league contender facing top level clubs such as IHC (Islanders Hockey Club) as well as Northern Cyclones.  

The offensive push has the team at a plus 50 goal differential…with 75 goals scored on the season.  The boys leading the charge are Ryan Netkovick and Logan Carpenter of South Hadley, MA, Cal Hoyt of Hatfield, Ma and Dom Fiorentino of Wilbraham, MA.  

The growth of the program is starting to show as Coach Vern referenced the newcomers Blake Alibozek from Simsbury, CT and Oliver Pzinski from Salisbury, CT “giving us added scoring depth…and solid contributions from the depth of the rest of the squad making this an exciting group to coach”.  The coaches are starting to see the results of the PICS developmental process.

Team success starts with good team defense and goaltending has been especially strong lead by local net minder Gavin Carpenter of South Hadley as well as Andrew Bezaire of Windsor, Ontario of Canada.      

This puts the U15’s in a position to make a solid run as the top seed at the Divisional Playoffs over the last two months of the season.  You can follow all the action and results on our social media platforms or catch games on LiveBarn when available. All Springfield Pics home games are played at the Olympia Ice Center in West Springfield, Mass.  You can find all the club information at www.springfieldjrpics.com as well as the league's web page at www.usphl.com and for the U15’s and U16’s at https://www.tier1hockeyfederation.com/ 

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Springfield, Ma:  Pics Premier currently stand at 15 wins-10 losses as well as a couple wins via shootout and a thriller of an OT win within league play.  Prior to the annual holiday break the squad was able to pick up nine (9) crucial points with a nice three (3) game winning streak. This has the squad sitting 4th overall in the highly competitive New England Conference of the USPHL.

Heading into the back half of the season seedings for playoff’s start to come into play.  GM and Head Coach Rob Bonneau stated with a good run “they’d like to secure home ice for the first round of the playoffs' “.  The Pics have 5 of their next 6 games in January on home ice Vs. South Shore Kings, Bandits, IHC and the Cyclones before heading north to face New Hampshire Monarchs.  

In order to achieve home ice, the squad will continue to rely on veteran Dom Balboni of West Springfield, MA who has been leading the charge with 19 goals and 19 assists while Jake Trowt of Wilmington VT sits at 14 goals and 18 assists.  The defensive side has pinched in too; returning players Luc Fricchione (4G-18A) also of West Springfield and Josh Tisdell (1G-15A) of Chicopee, MA  have been called on to shut down opponents' top lines, while contributing on the offensive side as well. 

Returning Veteran Ben Zaranck of Deerfield, MA has an impressive record at 10-1-1 with a .941 save percentage and a 2.26GAA placing him in the top 20 of all goalies at number 14 overall in the league (70 teams).  One goalie can’t do it all and so when called upon Landry Laird of Gunter, TX at 1-5-1 has an impressive .925 save percentage and equally as impressive is his 2.68GAA.  

The Pics take the greatest pride in accomplishing the goal of Junior hockey: college placement.  The Premier placed 50% of their roster to college hockey last year.  The success the boys are having on the ice is generating a good deal of attention.  The tradition of the Pics is well known throughout the region and GM Rob Bonneau had this to say; “we are hoping to announce a few college commitments soon”.  

You can follow all the action and results on our social media platforms or catch games on LiveBarn when available. All Springfield Pics home games are played at the Olympia Ice Center in West Springfield, Mass.  You can find all the club information at www.springfieldjrpics.com as well as the league's web page at www.usphl.com 
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Springfield, Ma: The Pics U16 squad is again in position to make a run at the “Banner Season” as they begin the back half of the league schedule.  There are only 11 games left and the Pics after the holiday break are ready to return to the ice and make that run over the next two months. 

The U16’s find themselves with an overall 20-10-8 season.  The showcase style schedule at the start of the season allowed the coaching staff of Head Coaches Anthony and John Sarno to find the right line combinations both offensively and on the defensive side.  They seemed to have found that combination as all three of the top line are leading the USPHL’s U16 Division in points.  This line consists of two local returning veterans of the U16 squad (and NCDC drafted) Devin Niles (Hatfield, Ma) and Aiden Pisano (Springfield, Ma) who are joined by newcomer Tom Smentenko from the Czech Republic.  

When asked about the ability of the defense to help them reach their goal Head Coach John Sarno had this to say; “We have a very sold D core…Barbee (Aidden Barbee of Potomac MD) and Aldi (Algirdas Jarad an 07 from Lithuania) logging big minutes…as well as Matthew Percsi (of Palmer, Ma) who was promoted from last years U15 squad and Adol” (Sylvester Adolfsson from Sweden)...

As for the goalies; Coach Sarno went on to say “all 3 goalies have been very solid and give us a chance to win each time we take the ice…Very reliable”.  In goal the Pics have Matteo Lachance from Connecticut who was promoted from last year's PICS U15 squad, Jack Signorelli from Connecticut as well as rookie Massimo De Vita from San Jose, California.  

You can follow all the action and results on our social media platforms or catch games on LiveBarn when available. All Springfield Pics home games are played at the Olympia Ice Center in West Springfield, Mass.  You can find all the club information at www.springfieldjrpics.com as well as the league's web page at www.usphl.com and for the U15’s and U16’s at https://www.tier1hockeyfederation.com/ 

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The Springfield Pics are proud to announce the commitment of Elite Team Goalie Ray Picard to ACHA Air Force Academy for the 2022-2023 season. Ray, who is originally from Portland, Connecticut, played for the Pics the  past 3 seasons with U15’s, U16’s and Jr. Elite.  Ray is part of the U16’s 2021 American League Championship and posted a league best SVS’s of .966%. When asked about Ray here is what the coaches had to say: 
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GM Rob Bonneau: “We are extremely proud of Raymond for his appointment to USAFA and grateful for the time he spent with the Pics as he carries on playing hockey with the Falcons in the ACHA.”

Elite Coach Chris Beaudoin: “Ray is a great kid on and off the ice.  He came to the rink ready to go, and was ready when his name was called…to include winning us a couple of big games during the elite season.” 

U16’s Coach John Sarno: “Ray is a good, reliable goalie who gives the team a chance to win, a very reliable person too.  He was a big part of our U16’s 2nd league Championship team.  We wish Ray a big congrats and best of luck.” 

The Springfield Pics are proud to announce the commitment of Premier Player Corey McNally to NCAA Division III Anna Maria College for the 2022-2023 season. Corey who is originally from Minnesota played for the Premier team this past season with 39 games for the Pics.  McNally was known as a 2 way forward bringing grit to the defense while also lighting the lamp 4 times to include 2 Power Play goals and a game winner as well as garnering 11 assists.  

When GM Rob Bonneau was asked of Corey’s contributions this season here is what he had to say: “Corey is a very skilled offensive player who has the ability to score at the next level.  The thing I liked about Corey this past season was his willingness to play our D-zone system. In order to play college hockey you must be willing to play defense. We wish Corey the best the next 4 seasons at Anna Maria college”.

The Springfield Pics are proud to announce the commitment of Premier Player Matt Tullo to Virginia Tech for the 2022-2023 season. Matt played for the Premier team for the past two seasons with 86 games for the Pics, lighting the lamp 21 times, and garnering 35 assists.

“Matt has been a very important part of the success of the team the last two seasons. He played in every role, power play and penalty kill. Matt came to practice everyday and worked hard. Matt was one of captains last year and his leadership will be missed. Virginia Tech is getting a power forward who is going to compete and make a difference from day 1. We wish Matt the best the next 4 seasons at Virginia Tech”; GM and Head Coach Rob Bonneau is quoted as saying. 

The Springfield Pics are proud to announce the commitment of Premier Player Tyler Wilson to Framingham State University for the 2022-2023 season. Wilson played in 41 games for the Pics, lighting the lamp 18 times, and garnering 26 assists.

"Tyler is a player that makes a coach go to the rink every day.  His attitude towards playing, and life, is contagious and will carry over the next four years at Framingham.  Tyler is a player I was talking to for three seasons to come play for the Pics, and this season we we’re finally able to get him to the Pics family.  Tyler from day one scored goals for this team and hasn’t stopped which is why he was the team's leading scorer this season.  He also plays very good defense and both special teams.  We wish Tyler the best the next four seasons at Framingham State and look forward to watching their team play." Pics Premier Head Coach and General Manager Rob Bonneau was quoted.

John Sarno, College Placement Coach was quoted at saying "Tyler is a skilled hockey player who knows how to score goals and skates very well. He was our Premier squad's top goal scorer, and plays a complete game of hockey. Tyler will be a big impact next season at Framingham State next year and we're very excited for him and look forward to watching him at the next level."  

Tyler joins Joe Bouchard, and Brock Baumann in this year's incoming. He will play along side Pics alumni Jake Conrad, Ethan Cervonayco, and Blake Carlson. The Pics wish Tyler all the best in his collegiate career.