University of Maine senior right winger Donavan Houle has signed an amateur tryout agreement with the San Jose Barracudas, the American Hockey League affiliate of the National Hockey League’s San Jose Sharks.
The 24-year-old Houle, who was an undrafted free agent, had one year of eligibility remaining at UMaine.
In addition, UMaine sophomore forward Reid Pabich and senior goalie Connor Androlewicz have entered the NCAA Division I transfer portal and the Black Bears have landed former UMass Lowell sophomore left winger Owen Fowler via the portal.
UMaine head coach Ben Barr verified that Pabich and Androlewicz have entered the transfer portal but he said he couldn’t comment on The Rink Live listing that had Fowler heading to UMaine in the fall.
Houle, a valuable hard-working winger who played in all situations, set a career-high in points (24), assists (15) and shots on goal (88). He scored nine goals which was tied for fourth-best on the team.
He was also tied for fourth in plus-minus with a plus-10.
A player receives a plus-one if he is on the ice when his team scores an even-strength or shorthanded goal and a minus-one if the other team scores one.
He had two power-play goals and a shorthanded goal and he had an assist in his last game. It was his pass that set up Harrison Scott’s goal in the 3-1 loss to Cornell in their NCAA Springfield Regional game.
The 6-foot-1, 195-pound Montreal native, who was a swift-skating physical player and one of the team’s top penalty-killers, concluded his 120-game career with 28 goals and 36 assists for 64 points. That included six power-play goals, four game-winning goals and two shorthanded tallies.
He scored at least nine goals in each of his last three campaigns and played an important role this season in UMaine earning its first berth in the Hockey East semifinals and the NCAA Tournament since 2012.
Fowler, a gritty 5-foot-10, 190-pounder from Tewksbury, Mass., had to sit out this past season due to a knee injury suffered during an off-campus fight, according to the Lowell Sun.
As a freshman at UMass Lowell in 2022-23, he had five goals and seven assists in 33 games and was a plus-four.
During the 2021-22 season, he played for Omaha and Sioux City in the United States Hockey League and had 10 goals and 27 assists in 55 games. He was plus-11.
He had 196 penalty minutes during the ‘21-22 season but just 18 for the River Hawks in ‘22-23.
Pabich had a goal and four assists in 21 games for UMaine this past season after registering two goals and five assists in 31 games his freshman campaign.
Pabich was one of four forwards vying for two spots on the fourth line and was a healthy scratch for the team’s last 10 games as sophomore Parker Lindauer and freshman Anthony Calafiore became fixtures surrounding junior center Cole Hanson.
Androlweicz was the team’s No. 3 goalie behind freshman Albin Boija and senior Victor Ostman and didn’t play at all this season.
He appeared in eight games during his career and posted a 1-1-1 record, a 3.25 goals-against average and an .873 save percentage.
