Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Bulls tender goaltender Jacob Weatherly

Press Release

AMARILLO, TX – Colorado Rampage goaltender Jacob Weatherly hopes to continue the great tradition of excellent goaltending of the Amarillo Bulls.

The defending Robertson Cup National Champions announced today (Wednesday) that they have tendered Weatherly for the 2014-15 regular season.  Weatherly, who is in his second year with the Rampage, has posted a mark of 11-4-1 with a 1.92 GAA and a save percentage of .910.

The Bulls have had tremendous success in goal with Nikifor Szczerba, Gregg Gruehl, Mike Taffe, and most recently Collin Delia and Paul Berrafato. Weatherly said he’s ready to follow their hard work.

“I’m really excited to have the opportunity to tender with the Bulls,” said Weatherly, who hails from Castle Rock, Colorado. “I’ve heard a lot about the program, the coaches, and how everything is first class. That’s a place I want to go to and develop.”

Weatherly said he wants to follow in the other goaltenders footsteps of moving on to the NCAA.

“I have been working towards a college scholarship my whole hockey career,” said Weatherly. “I would like to play somewhere on the east coast and this is the best place for me to go and get that exposure to the colleges.”

Amarillo Bulls Head Coach Dennis Williams said there will be a big void in the team’s goaltending with Paul Berrafato (Holy Cross) and Collin Delia (Merrimack) moving on to the NCAA.

“Our scouting staff and Rampage Coach Andrew Sherman all believe that Jacob is ready to take on that responsibility and compete to be the No. 1 goalie on our team next season,” said Williams. “I think it’s been a great opportunity for our guys to play here the last couple of years with four of our goalies moving on to the NCAA.”

In the past four years, the Bulls have recruited well in the state of Texas, and now they are reaching out to the state of Colorado.  Williams said that it’s important for the Bulls to recruit well from teams that are close to home.

“The Colorado Rampage is in our own backyard like the Dallas Jr. Stars,” he said. “We’ve said all along that you work hard to get the best players from your region. Jacob Weatherly is the top goalie we wanted and we are very excited that he has chosen to sign with us.”

Colorado Rampage Head Coach Andrew Sherman said it’s great for Jacob to be recognized by a prestigious organization like Amarillo and fans can look forward to seeing a mentally tough goaltender between the pipes.

“Jacob is a great competitor with lots of composure,” said Sherman. “He is very committed to the process and is a first to practice, last to leave type of player.” 

 (Nathan can be reached at nathanfournier@mainehockeyjournal.com)

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