FORT McMURRAY, AB (May 20, 2015) – The Fort McMurray Oil Barons of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) are proud to announce that third-year forward Adam Durkee (Nederland, CO) has committed to attend and play for Sacred Heart University beginning in the 2015-16 NCAA season.
Located in Milford, CT, the Pioneers play in the Division I Atlantic Hockey conference, under head coach C.J. Marottolo. Durkee is the second Oil Baron recruited to play for Marottolo, joining former three-year MOB veteran forward Ben Lake (Calgary, AB) who recently completed his senior year at the school.
Durkee joined the Oil Barons in 2012 after being recruited from the Rocky Mountain Roughriders Tier I Elite team in Colorado. In just his first season of junior eligibility, Durkee finished with 25 points (12 goals, 13 assists) in 56 games, ranking fourth on the team’s end-of-season leaderboard. Durkee also registered 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists) in the team’s 5-game playoff series against the Whitecourt Wolverines, and was named one of two Playoff Most Valuable Player Award winners for that season.
He nearly doubled his point production the following year as a key centre in the MOB’s trek to the North division final, scoring 46 points (23 goals, 23 assists) in 2013-14 and dressing in all 60 regular season games, adding 8 points (4 goals, 4 assists) in 17 post-season affairs.
After ranking fifth in team scoring that year, Durkee surged in 2014-15 to become the Barons’ second-highest scoring player, this time with 47 points (18 goals, 29 assists) in 59 games played, with 1 goal in 4 playoff games.
Durkee went on to lead the Oil Barons in scoring at the 2015 Crescent Point Energy Western Canada Cup, scoring 5 points (3 goals, 2 assists) in 4 games, including his first-ever Junior hat trick in a 5-4 comeback win over the AJHL champion Spruce Grove Saints. Durkee was one of only three forwards named to the WCC’s All-Tournament team as well.
In total, Durkee suited up for 205 regular and post-season games as an Oil Baron, missing only 5 regular season games and 1 Western Canada Cup game, scoring 136 total points (63 goals, 73 assists) in the process. In the last three Oil Barons seasons combined, Durkee was the team’s second-highest scoring player.
The Oil Barons organization would like to congratulate Adam and the Durkee family on the spectacular news of his advancement to the Division I level, and wish him the absolute best of luck in the next stage of his hockey career.
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