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The Hockey East regular season is still over two month away, but the recruiting season never ends for the league's 11 coaches. Providence and Maine received good news and bad, respectively, over the weekend.
Phillips Exeter '97 defenseman Spenser Young of Brentwood, NH committed to Providence College and coach Nate Leaman. The Friars have received plenty of terrific news on the recruiting front since Leaman hopped on board from Union College. PC is on the verge of being a Hockey East powerhouse with Leaman at the helm.
Maine head coach Red Gendron received some bad news when '95 forward Ryan Cloonan decommited from the Black Bears program. The East Longmeadow, Mass. product will play for the Waterloo Blackhawks this upcoming season. Cloonan, who committed to Maine during the former coaching regime, grew up playing for the Boston Advantage youth and midget program. He played for the Junior Bruins in the Eastern Junior Hockey League (EJHL) this season. Cloonan told Nathan Fournier of the Maine Hockey Journal that the coaching change had a major impact in his decision. A source indicated Cloonan will take his time to re-evaluate his opportunities before committing to a new school.
In other news, former Union College and Colby College (Division III) head coach and Providence and Colgate assistant coach Stan Moore has been named the new head hockey coach of Bridgton (ME) Academy, a post-graduate school for boys.
Jeff Cox is a hockey reporter for SBNation. Follow him on twitter @JeffCoxSBNation.