NORTH ANDOVER, MA – Bismarck Bobcats defenseman Tom McCarthy committed to play NCAA Division I hockey next season for Merrimack College, becoming the sixth current Bobcat to secure a D-I scholarship.
“It’s very exciting to have my future at the next level set,” said McCarthy, who the Bobcats acquired via trade in November. “It’s great to have that off my mind, since this is my last year of juniors; now I can focus on the rest of this year and our team winning the Robertson Cup.”
McCarthy, a native of Maple Grove, Minn., has recorded a goal and two assists in 17 games in black and gold and compiled a +5 plus/minus rating.
The defenseman decided to become a Warrior after his official visit to the North Andover, Mass., campus in January.
“Walking around Merrimack, visiting the rink and the facilities, I never had a doubt; I never had a second thought,” said McCarthy. “Everything felt right and I knew that it was the place for me.”
The Bobcat defenseman plans on majoring in either business or engineering when he enrolls.
Merrimack is a part of the elite Hockey East conference—considered to be one of the best conferences nationwide—along with national powers such as Maine, Boston College and defending national champion Boston University.
McCarthy says that Bobcats head coach Byron Pool played a major role in helping him secure his scholarship.
“When I came to Bismarck, I’d been talking with a couple schools—including Merrimack—but it had just been preliminary,” said McCarthy. “Coach Pool was extremely proactive and really got my name out there, even bringing in interest from more schools. But most importantly he helped get things really going with [Warriors head] Coach [Mark] Dennehy.”
McCarthy joins Bobcat teammates Jason Fabian (Air Force) Ryan Jacobson (Air Force), Aaron Quick (Air Force), Gavin Hartzog (Wisconsin) and Sam Rendle (Bemidji State) on the team’s 2009-10 college list. Bobcat alumnus Tony Turgeon has also committed to the University of Nebraska-Omaha, making the team’s total number of college commitments seven players.
The Bobcats return to regular season action Saturday when they pay a visit to the Runestone Center for a 7:00 PM contest against the third-place Alexandria Blizzard.
Saturday’s game will be broadcast locally on the radio home of Bobcat Hockey, Super Talk 1270, KLXX-AM, and worldwide at BismarckBobcats.com via B2 Networks. The pre-game show starts at 6:30 PM.
You won\’t want to miss any of the games this season, so order your Season Tickets, Family Packs and Group Nights today by calling the Bobcat Hockey Office at 701-222-3300 or by e-mailing the office for more information at gobobcathockey@aol.com.
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