Dennis Kravchenko headlined a list of four UMass hockey players who have officially left the program.
He was joined by forwards Maddison Smiley and Keith Burchett, and goalie Henry Dill, all of whom just completed their sophomore season. All four were removed from UMass’ official roster Tuesday.
It’s unclear whether any of them will transfer or play college hockey again.
Kravchenko, a forward from California, had 65 points in two seasons at UMass. He was third in scoring during the 2015-16 season with 12 goals and 16 assists.
He was Hockey East’s Player of the Month in October.
Smiley and Burchett were role players who both saw regular action on the third and fourth lines. Smiley, a converted defenseman, had a goal and two assists in 27 games, while Burchett had two goals and three assists in five games.
Roster turnover isn’t uncommon when there’s a coaching change. Dill’s departure, which was announced last month, was likely a foregone conclusion even if former coach John Micheletto had stayed.
The sophomore goalie was arrested before the season and suspended during it. He fell to third on the depth chart after struggling on the ice.
After playing in 25 games as a freshman, he appeared just seven times as a sophomore. He was 2-3-0 with a 4.38 goals against average in 2015-16.
REINFORCEMENTS — The Minutemen will have nine new players replacing the four who are departing and two who graduated:
Shane Bear, a 5-foot-10, 170-pound defenseman from Calgary, played for the Brooks Bandits of the Alberta Junior Hockey League, the same team that produced Minuteman Austin Plevy.
Bear had 23 goals and 85 assists in 156 games over three seasons. He had 42 points last year. He originally committed to UMass when Micheletto was the coach and remained committed when Greg Carvel took over.
Griff Jeszka, a 6-foot-1, 195-pound forward from Wisconsin, had 15 goals and 33 assists in 2015-16 for the Brookings Blizzard of the NAHL.
Brett Boeing, an Illinois native, played at Michigan Tech last year, but left after one semester. The 5-foot-8, 187-pound junior returned to junior hockey and finished the season for the Dubuque Fighting Saints. He’ll have to sit out the first semester, but will be eligible in late December.
He tweeted his intention to attend UMass, Thursday.
Luke McElhenie, a Wisconsin native, is a 5-foot-10, 170-pound center. He had 14 goals and 13 assists in 60 games for the Madison Capitols of the USHL in 2015-16. He tweeted his commitment a little over two hours after Boeing.
Ryan Wischow, who played goalie for the Fargo Force of the USHL, had committed to St. Lawrence to play for Carvel, but is following him to Amherst.
The 6-foot-1, Wisconsin native was 24-22 with a .917 save percentage and 2.29 goals against average in the USHL.
Wischow’s Fargo teammate Jake McLaughlin, a 6-foot-2, 180-pound defenseman, will join him at UMass. McLaughlin had four goals and seven assists in 59 games last season. He originally committed to St. Lawrence as well.
Niko Hildenbrand is the third player arriving from Fargo, although he only played the second half of the season in North Dakota after a mid-year trade from Waterloo. The 5-foot-10, 191-pound Californian native had 10 goals and 12 assists between the two teams. Like Bear, Hildenbrand committed to Micheletto.
Jack Suter, a 6-foot, 195-pound center from Nebraska had 14 goals, 26 assists in 60 games last year for Sioux Falls of the USHL.
Johnny Lazarus, a 6-foot, 180-pound forward, had 16 goals and 30 assists for Wichita Falls of the NAHL in 2015-16.
The Syosset, New York native tweeted his commitment late last month.
LEONARD STAYING PUT — Amherst native Johnny Leonard, who played for the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL last year, will return to Wisconsin for the 2016-17 season.
Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage