Photo credit: Lisa Mazurek
After two separate stints in the BCHL which included two trips to the league finals, Vernon Vipers defenceman Carver Watson has secured a scholarship with the Mercyhurst University Lakers for the 2019-20 season.
Watson played last season with the Vipers, getting in 26 games and contributing one goal and eight assists. He was also a key part of the Vipers postseason run to the Fred Page Cup finals where he had seven points in 21 games. The 21-year-old from Appleton, Wisc. also previously played for the Chilliwack Chiefs in the 2016-17 season where he scored eight goals and added 17 assists for 25 points in 37 regular-season games. He also went to the finals that year, chipping in with 10 points along the way and eventually losing in heartbreaking fashion after a 1-0 overtime loss in Game 7 to the Penticton Vees.
He finishes his BCHL career with 34 points (nine goals, 25 assists) in 63 regular-season games.
The 5-foot-11, 175-pound blueliner also had two stints in the USHL. He played for the Madison Capitols and the Tri-City Storm before joining Chilliwack and returned to the league to play for the Green Bay Gamblers in 2017-18 before heading to Vernon this year.
Mercyhurst is an NCAA Division I program located in Erie, Pa. The Lakers play out of the Atlantic Hockey conference, competing against Air Force, American International, Army West Point, Bentley, Canisius, Holy Cross, Niagara, Robert Morris, Rochester Institute of Technology and Sacred Heart. Mercyhurst finished seventh in the conference in 2018-19 and lost to Army West Point in the Atlantic Hockey quarterfinals.
Last year’s Lakers team only featured one BCHL grad – freshman and former Surrey Eagles defenceman Owen Norton.
Merritt Centennials forward Brendan Schneider is the only other current BCHL player committed to Mercyhurst. He is set to join Watson with the Lakers next season.
