Former Vaughan Viper and North York Ranger Liam Kerins, now with the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) Tigers, was named Atlantic Hockey Rookie of the Week for his performance this past weekend.
The native of Caledon East, Ontario joined the OJHL in 2011-12 as a 16-year old member of the Vaughan Vipers out of the Mississauga Rebels Midget ‘AAA’ program. Kerins would tie for fifth on the club as a rookie with 14 goals, while also recording 21 points in 48 regular season games played. He would receive his first taste of junior post-season action, notching a goal during a second round, seven game series loss to Toronto Lakeshore. Following the season, the Vipers would suspend operations and Kerins joined the nearby North York Rangers, where he would spend the next two full seasons.
The 2012-13 season saw Kerins as a key member of one of the league’s top offensive units, finish third on the club with 28 goals and 67 points in 52 games played, also ranked 16th and 11th among all OJHL scorers and would be named to the OJHL South Division All-Star Team that competed at the 2012 Central Canada Cup All-Star Challenge held in Wellington, Ontario. He continued his offensive output in the playoffs, recording 17 points in 18 games as the Rangers upset the South-West Conference champion Buffalo Jr. Sabres before falling to South Division rival and eventual league champion St. Michael’s Buzzers.
Kerins did not slow down in 2013-14 and led his club in scoring with 37 goals and 74 points in 51 games played, to sit tied for second in the OJHL goal scoring race and fourth overall among all scorers. He once again was named an All-Star, helping the South-West Conference All-Star Team finish as runner-up at the 2013 Central Canada Cup All-Star Challenge held in Terrebonne, Quebec. For the second consecutive year the Rangers would be knocked out of the post-season, this time by the eventual champion Toronto Lakeshore Patriots and following the season, Kerins was named to the OJHL 1st All-Star Team.
Below is the official press release from the RIT Athletics website (www.ritathletics.com):
Freshman forward Liam Kerins (Caledon, Ontario/North York Rangers) of the RIT men’s hockey team, was named the Atlantic Hockey Rookie of the Week on Tuesday, for the week ending Feb 21, 2016. It is Kerins’ first weekly honor of his collegiate career.
Kerins recorded four points on two goals and two assists in a three-point weekend for the Tigers versus Niagara. On Friday, Kerins had a goal and an assist in the first period, as RIT and Niagara skated to a 4-4 tie. On Saturday, Kerins once again had a goal and an assist, scoring the game-tying goal early in the second period and assisting on a goal later in the period, as RIT earned a 5-2 win. Kerins has six points over a four-game point-scoring streak and has 16 points on eight goals and eight assists in 29 games this season.
RIT wraps up the regular season this weekend with a home-and-home series against Mercyhurst. Friday’s game from the Gene Polisseni Center starts at 7:05 p.m., while Saturday’s contest from the Mercyhurst Ice Center also begins at 7:05 p.m.