The Brooks Bandits of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) are delighted to announce that 1997-born forward Oliver Chau (Oakville, ON) has committed to attend and play for the University of Massachusetts.
Located in Amherst, Massachusetts, the UMass Minutemen play in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Hockey East conference, under first-year head coach Greg Carvel. Brooks Bandit alumni Patrick Lee (Calgary, AB), Austin Plevy (Langley, B.C.) and Shane Bear (Calgary, AB) currently play for the team.
Chau, 19, is in his rookie Junior A campaign with the Bandits, and ranks 6th in point scoring in the entire AJHL with 25 points (13 goals, 12 assists) in 18 games played. He is the league’s third-highest goal scorer, and leads the league in power play goals with 11, with no other player having scored more than 6 this season.
The 5’9”, 165lb forward ranks first among all AJHL rookies in points and goals, and second in assists.
“Oliver has been a welcome addition to our team this season,” said Bandits head coach and general manager Ryan Papaioannou. “We have a history going back a couple of years, and to see him progress through prep school and now being successful at the junior level is exciting.”
Chau committed to the Bandits in August of 2015 after recording a 34-point season (17 goals, 17 assists) in 29 games for Northfield Mount Hermon school in Mount Hermon, Massachusetts, part of the New England Prep School Ice Hockey Association. In his senior year in 2015-16, Chau scored 14 points (8 goals, 6 assists) in 16 games for NMH.
He is the second Bandit player on the team’s current roster committed to UMass, joining 1998-born defenceman Cale Makar (Calgary, AB) who committed to the Minutemen in 2015.
“Oliver is a smart player with a tremendous stick and the speed to match,” Papaioannou added. “We are very happy for Oliver to have realized his scholarship goal so early in his junior career.”
Chau is the 10th player on the current Bandits roster committed to an NCAA Division I institution, joining:
• Cale Makar (University of Massachusetts)
• Josh McKechney (Colgate University)
• Parker Foo (Union College)
• Charlie Marchand (Bentley University)
• Devon Daniels (Mercyhurst University)
• Ocean Wiesblatt (University of Vermont)
• Orca Wiesblatt (University of Vermont)
• Nick Prkusic (Robert Morris University)
• Jacob Kamps (University of Vermont)
The Bandits’ are next in action Tuesday night in Olds against the Grizzlys at 7:00 PM, with the next home game scheduled for Saturday, November 12th at 7:00 PM against the Okotoks Oilers. Tickets for the latter are available online at tickets.brooksbandits.ca.