On a Hockey Scholarship

by Mike McPartlin, Headmaster, Bridgedale Academy

We are proud to congratulate Bridgedale Academy grad Jake Delaney for his recent commitment to attend and play his NCAA D1 college hockey at Miami of Ohio. 

The Redhawks compete in the super-competitive National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) alongside perennial powerhouse programs like Denver, North Dakota and Minnesota-Duluth.

Jake a 6’1” 205 lb left-shooting defenseman, is a resident of Glen Ellyn, IL. He and his twin brother Nick (who has had his own hockey success recently) attended Bridgedale for four (4) years. 

Jake spent most of last season with the Chicago Fury U18s before being called up to the Janesville (WI) Jets of the North American Hockey League (NAHL) where he joined fellow Bridgedale grad defensemen Gunnar Williams and Tyler Pfister. 

Jake made an immediate impact at Janesville, impressing the coaches to such a degree that they tendered him for the 2023-24 season. In addition, he was drafted by the Tri-City Storm in this year’s USHL Phase II draft. 

Will join D3 National Runner-Up in the Fall

by Mike McPartlin, Headmaster, Bridgedale Academy

We are proud to congratulate Bridgedale Academy grad Anton Sorensen for his recent commitment to attend and play his NCAA D3 college hockey at Adrian College. 

Adrian is a powerhouse program, having won the NCAA national championship last season and finishing as runner-up this season to Bridgedale grad Tanner Hartman and his Hobart College Statesmen teammates.

Anton, a right-shooting forward, is a resident of Wheaton, IL. His dad Anders, a former Bridgedale on-ice instructor, is now in his second year as Head Coach of the Rockford Ice Hogs, the AHL affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks. 

Anton, in his second season as a member of the Ottawa Jr. Senators of the Central Canada Hockey League junior league (CCHL), attended Bridgedale for two years while competing for the Chicago Mission.

Anton and his Jr. Senators teammates just hoisted the Bogart Cup for winning the CCHL playoffs and they will now compete in the prestigious Centennial Cup playoffs for Canada's National Junior A Championship. 

Their first Centennial Cup game will be this Friday, May 12, 2023 against the champion of the Quebec Junior AAA Hockey League.

Anton has had a very productive year for the Jr. Senators this season, notching 54 points (18G 36A) in 53 games, good for 15th place in league scoring.

Solid Performance helps Predators win 6-1 over the Blues

Bridgedale grad Spencer Stastney made his NHL debut last night as his Nashville Predators won 6-1 over the St. Louis Blues. Spencer, a left-shooting defenseman, played more than 13 minutes in the game, ending up with an even plus/minus to go along with his 3 shots on goal and 1 blocked shot.

After two years with USA Hockey's NTDP, Spencer starred for four seasons at Notre Dame. He signed with Nashville in 2022 after his senior season at ND and until last night had spent this entire season with the Milwaukee Admirals, Nashville's AHL affiliate.

(Scroll down to see 2020 video of Spencer talking about his time at Bridgedale.)

Spencer received some very high praise from Predators Head Coach John Hynes (comments about Spencer's play begin at 4:26 of the post-game presser).

"I thought Spencer was really good," said Coach Hynes. "I was really impressed with him tonight. I thought his skating was at an NHL level." He also praised Spencer's "puck poise (and) his ability to move the puck up the ice," adding that he "defended well" and "didn't miss a beat."

Wears #37 in Bridgeport Islanders' 5-2 win over Providence

Bridgedale grad Jacob Pivonka made his professional hockey debut last night with the Bridgeport Islanders in the American Hockey League (AHL), a 5-2 win over the Providence Bruins.

Jacob is a left-shooting forward who recently wrapped up a strong graduate season for the University of Nebraska-Omaha.

Prior to joining the Mavericks, Jacob was a key player for four years at the University of Notre Dame, serving as team captain as a senior during the 2021-22 season. He had played two seasons for USA Hockey's National Team Development Program (NTDP) before joining Notre Dame.

by Mike McPartlin, Headmaster, Bridgedale Academy

Now 3 Years in a Row: Bridgedale Grad National Champ!

Bridgedale grad Tanner Hartman and his Hobart Statesmen teammates beat defending champion Adrian College last Sunday to win the NCAA Division 3 National Championship.

This makes it three years in a row that a Bridgedale grad has hoisted an NCAA Hockey Championship trophy.

Last year Denver University teammates Sean Behrens and Jack Devine won the Division 1 Championship.

The prior year, Bridgedale grad Josh Lopina won the D1 Championship  with UMass.

Hobart's National Championship, its first ever, caps off a tremendous season in which they also won the New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) title, only the second time they'd accomplished that feat.

Tanner had an exceptional season for the Statesmen, playing a regular shift at forward, finishing 6th on the team in scoring (7G and 12A - 19 Pts), and making the NEHC All-Rookie team.

During the season, when we noted the impact he was having at Hobart, we didn't mention how well he was doing academically. But that too is impressive. "I'm so proud of the fine young man he's become," says Tanner's dad Craig. "He's carrying a 4.15 GPA and made the Dean's List."

Student-athletes did themselves proud

by Mike McPartlin, Headmaster, Bridgedale Academy

On the evening of Thursday, March 9th, Bridgedale Academy hosted its inaugural Bridgedale Showcase. The brainchild of the Bridgedale Parents Association, this event featured:

Huge Part of his Team's Success

by Mike McPartlin, Headmaster, Bridgedale Academy

Bridgedale Academy grad Nathan Santos was recently honored as an AHAI high school hockey All-State selection. The Neuqua Valley standout senior defenseman was earlier selected as an Illinois West All-Conference All-Star as well.

Mental Toughness and Determination

by Mike McPartlin, Headmaster, Bridgedale Academy

Bridgedale Academy grad Tanner Hartman is making an impact as a freshman on the Hobart Statesmen Men's Hockey Team at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York.

The Statesmen have been ranked #1 in the USCHO D3 hockey poll, a position they've held for 5 consecutive weeks. Their 11-0-0 record reflects their lofty status and Tanner is presently 4th in scoring on the team.

Tanner attended Bridgedale from 6th through 8th grades and for the last two years has competed for the New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs of the National Collegiate Development Conference of the US Premier Hockey League, where he earned Player of the Game honors in the league's All-Star Game. Prior to juniors he competed for the Chicago Fury, where he was an alternate captain on their U18 team.

A native of Chicago, IL, and younger brother of Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman, Tanner's three years at Bridgedale proved to be something of a turning point for him, this according to his mom Kim Hartman.

"Tanner's time at Bridgedale was super valuable for him," says Kim. "He blossomed in many ways, not only athletically and academically of course, but also as a young man. Bridgedale allowed him to grow and mature at his own pace. He learned to take responsibility for himself, and he got tougher. And that made him so much more confident. It changed his life."

On a Hockey Scholarship

by Mike McPartlin, Headmaster, Bridgedale Academy

We are proud to congratulate Bridgedale Academy grad Gabe Perreault for his recent commitment to attend and play his NCAA D1 college hockey at Boston College.

Gabe becomes the first Bridgedale grad to commit to BC, a perennial Hockey East powerhouse.

A resident of Hinsdale, IL, and son of former NHL forward (and present Bridgedale on-ice instructor) Yanic Perreault, Gabe attended Bridgedale for three years while competing for the Chicago Mission '05 birth year teams. He is now in his second season as a member of USA Hockey's National Team Development Program (NTDP).

While competing for the NTDP U17s during the 2021-22 season, mostly in games in the super-competitive United States Hockey League (USHL) Tier 1 junior league, Gabe scored 18 goals and 32 assists for 50 points in 51 games, making him the team's leading scorer. He also played 7 games last season for the NTDP U18s, tallying 3 assists in those games.

In his 18 games played so far this season with the NTDP U18s, Gabe has accumulated 15 goals and 19 assists for 34 points, a nearly 2 points per game clip and is presently 2nd in team scoring. In an early season game, he scored 2 goals, including the game winner, in his team's 5-3 win over the University of Notre Dame.

Gabe also had 4 goals and 5 assists in four games in helping the NTDP U18's to their recent championship at the prestigious Five Nations Cup. 

On a Hockey Scholarship

by Mike McPartlin, Headmaster, Bridgedale Academy

We are proud to congratulate Bridgedale Academy grad Davis Burnside as he begins his freshman campaign with the Ohio State University.

Davis joins Cam Thiesing, older brother of Bridgedale grad Therien Thiesing, on this year's OSU squad.

Davis hails from LaGrange, IL, and attended Bridgedale while competing for the Chicago Mission '03 birth year teams. He is one of just a handful of Bridgedale student-athletes to win Bridgedale's prestigious Ductu per Agone ("Leadership through Athletics") award for the entire school year more than once, accomplishing the feat in both the 7th and 8th grades.

For the last three seasons, Davis played in the United States Hockey League. He had stints with the Tri-City Storm and Des Moines before finishing up with the Dubuque Fighting Saints, helping them to a 2nd place regular season finish in the USHL's Eastern Conference last season.

Davis also served as a captain for USA Hockey's Under-17 Select Team at the 2019 Five Nations Tournament in Fussen, Germany, winning a Silver Medal.