FORT McMURRAY, AB (June 17, 2014) – The Fort McMurray Oil Barons of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) are proud to announce that forward Mitchell Byrne (Onaping, ON) has committed to attend and play for the Norwich University Cadets of NCAA Division III in 2014-15.
Byrne joined the Oil Barons for the 2013-14 season after graduating from Rothesay Netherwood School in Rothesay, New Brunswick. In his first season of Junior A, the 1994-born forward was an early scoring leader for the Barons, and finished the campaign with 10 goals and 13 assists; 23 points in 57 games played, while chipping in 3 playoff goals.
Byrne joins a Norwich program that narrowly fell in last year’s ECAC East Men’s Hockey Championship, while finishing second overall in the conference standings. The Cadets, out of Northfield, Vermont, play under head coach Mike McShane, a four time NCAA Division II/III Coach of the Year, who has guided that program for the better part of two decades.
“As an organization, we’re excited for Mitchell,” said Oil Barons General Manager and Head Coach Curtis Hunt. “We wish him the best as he moves on to the next level of his playing career.”
Byrne is the eighth Oil Baron from the 2013-14 team to commit to a postsecondary institution, joining Mitch Vanderlaan (Cornell), Tanner Jaillet (Denver), Kevin Miller (Ohio State), Alex Cromwell (Providence), Brennan Saulnier (Alabama-Huntsville), Austin Yadlowski (Mount Royal), and Curtis Lewington (Marian).