Black Wolves finish productive virtual draft
The New England Black Wolves recently completed a productive National Lacrosse League Entry draft, trading for forward Jacob Ruest while selecting five players during the first virtual draft in league history.
The Black Wolves, who did not have a first-round pick, traded their two second-round choices (Nos. 18 and 33 overall) to the Colorado Mammoth for the No. 24 pick and Ruest, a right-handed forward who spent four seasons with the Mammoth and scored 73 goals with 115 assists in 67 games.
New England used the No. 24 pick to select Charlie Kitchen of Delaware, the Colonial Athletic Association Offensive Player of the Year and a two-time All-CAA pick. Kitchen, a 6-foot-4 attackman, scored 118 goals and added 66 assists during his college career, but will put his professional career on hold to return to Delaware after being granted a fifth year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 crisis.
"We've had our eye on Jacob for a while but were not able to get a deal done," general manager and head coach Glenn Clark said of Ruest in a release. "We're really excited to add Jacob to our lineup. He plays the type of game that will fit well with our offense."
The Black Wolves also selected Michael Sowers (No. 41 overall), Grant Ament (No. 65), Nick Ellerton (No. 80) and Jeremy Bomberry (No. 93).
Like Kitchen, Sowers (Princeton) and Ellerton () will return to college for a fifth year of eligibility. Sowers is the all-time leading scorer at Princeton (302 points on 121 goals and 181 assists) and a two-time AllIvy League first team pick. Ellerton, a defenseman from Boston University, has 118 ground balls and 66 turnovers in 42 games.
Ament will join the Black Wolves after playing for Penn State and completing his rookie season in the Premier Lacrosse League. The forward was a three-time All-American for the Nittany Lions and the 2019 Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year where he scored 91 goals and had 189 assists in 54 games. Bomberry joins the Black Wolves after winning a silver medal with the Iroquois Nationals Junior team in 2018. The forward played for Six Nations from 2015-19, scoring 47 goals with 108 assists in 64 games.
Auto racing
• Salem's Alexander Pearl won his third race of the 2020 when he captured the 20-lap SK Light feature on Friday night at Stafford Speedway. Pearl took the lead from Nick Anglace on lap-8 and never trailed again. Oakdale's Derek Debbis finished 10th. In the 20-lap Street Stock feature, Franklin's Chris Meyer finished fifth.
Calendar
• New London Babe Ruth baseball membership meeting — Thursday, Sept. 24, 6:30 p.m., New London Elks Club. Meeting will be held upstairs and attendees are reminded to wear a mask. Anyone interested in being on the board is encouraged to attend. Contact: Anna at (860) 443-7553.
• Waterford Babe Ruth baseball annual meeting — Wednesday, Sept. 30, 7 p.m., Babe Ruth field. Election of officers and board of directors. Anyone interested in helping the league contact league president Lucas Beaney at beans3@snet.net