With his final BCHL season in the rear-view mirror, Wenatchee Wild defenceman Alex Bates now has an NCAA destination to focus on for the coming season.
Bates has accepted an offer to play at Sacred Heart University (SHU) in the Div. I Atlantic Hockey Association.
The native of Highlands Ranch, Colorado posted three goals and 34 assists this past season to lead the Wild defence corps in points. Over two BCHL seasons in Wenatchee, Bates recorded six goals and 44 assists for 50 points in 105 games to go along with 50 penalty minutes.
At SHU, located in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Bates will join a Pioneers program that last season featured five former BCHLers in Brett Magnus, Coltyn Hansen, Spencer Graboski, Jason Cotton and Austin McIlmurray.
The Pioneers compete in AHA along with Holy Cross, Robert Morris, RIT, Army West Point, Air Force, Mercyhurst, Canisius, Niagara, AIC and Bentley. Bates is one of three BCHL players from this past season to commit to SHU along with Chilliwack’s Colin Bernard and Nanaimo’s Marcus Joseph.
