By Roger Brown
MaxPreps.com
Jamie Ferullo grew up watching University of New Hampshire hockey games at the Whittemore Center in Durham. He'll be playing college hockey at the Whittemore Center in the near future, but it won't be for UNH.
Ferullo, who is currently a senior at Spaulding High School, has made a verbal commitment to play hockey at Providence College. Like UNH, Providence is one of nine teams in the Hockey East Association.
"I just can't wait to come back and play at (the Whitehorse Center)," Ferullo told the Fosters Daily Democrat. "I love the school (Providence), love the campus and I can't wait to become a Friar in a couple years."
Ferullo is expected to join the Providence program in 2009 or 2010. Until then, he'll play for the Eastern Junior Hockey League's New Hampshire Junior Monarchs, an elite junior hockey program that sends players to Division I hockey schools each year.
"It's up to me when I want to go," Ferullo said. "I can go in 2009-10, but it's going to depend on how I develop."
NCAA rules prevent Providence coach Tim Army from commenting on Ferullo until Ferullo signs a national letter of intent, which he could do as soon as this December.
Ferullo played four seasons of high school hockey at Spaulding. He was a Division II All-State selection three times, and was named the Division II Player of the Year twice. Spaulding won the Division II championship in Ferullo's sophomore and junior seasons.
Ferullo completed his high school career with 181 points, which places him second on the school's all-time scoring list. Eric Royal, who went on the play at the University of New Hampshire, collected 195 points while he was playing for Spaulding.
Ferullo said Holy Cross was the only other Division I school who showed interest in him. College recruiters may have been scared off by his 5-foot-6, 160-pound frame.
"You're too small, you can't make it…I've been hearing that my whole life." Ferullo said. "I've taken the first step to making it."
Baseball: Welch Has Gained Control
No player in the state has been more dominant this season than Portsmouth pitcher Tim Welch, a senior who battled control problems at times last season.
Welch, who will play for Bowdoin next year, is 5-0, with 36 strikeouts in 26 innings and hasn't allowed a run in 2008. He picked up victory No. 5 last Wednesday, when Portsmouth raised its Class I record to 13-0 by beating St. Thomas, 11-0.
Through 13 games, Welch was hitting .477.
"The individual stats are great, but there's nothing like being where we are now and hopefully where we're headed," Welch said. "The biggest difference for me this year is making that first pitch strike one."
Lacrosse: Unbeaten Teams to Battle
In terms of marquee matchups, this may be the best week the 2008 boys and girls lacrosse regular season has to offer.
Portsmouth (9-0) will play at Hollis-Brookline (9-0) Wednesday in a game between the two programs that met in last year's Division III girls' championship game. Portsmouth capped an unbeaten season by beating Hollis-Brookline in that contest.
The Portsmouth boys will also be involved in a game that features two unbeaten teams Wednesday. The Clippers (9-0) will face Monadnock (8-0) in Portsmouth.
Two Division I heavyweights will meet on Thursday, when Bishop Guerin (10-0) travels to Pinkerton Academy (11-0) in a boys matchup. Bishop Guerin has outscored its opponents by 185-32 this season.
