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Islanders Prospect Alex Jefferies Off to Hot Start in NCAA

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Alex Jefferies

New York Islanders prospect Alex Jefferies started off his collegiate hockey career with a bang over the weekend.

The Merrimack College freshman had scored his first NCAA goal and had two assists through their first two games of the season against UMass Amherst on Saturday and Sunday. Jefferies’ goal came at 3:51 in the second period of Sunday’s 3-2 win for Merrimack.

Alex Jefferies took the puck from his own end into the UMass zone and beat Matt Murray for the flashy goal. He was also awarded the first star in that game.

The 19-year-old forward started the weekend off with an assist on Merrimack’s first goal of the year by Chase Gresock on Saturday. Jefferies picked up his second career assist on Sunday night on his team’s opening goal of the game.

“It felt really good,” Jefferies told reporters after the game. “I’m just glad it helped the team win, but I’m really happy. It was good to get that (first goal) off my back. Glad it helped the team win. It was a great weekend.”

Alex Jefferies was selected by the Islanders in the fourth round of this year’s draft and is playing in his first season at Merrimack. He played for Gunnery Prep last season and had 33 goals and 69 points.

The winger told reporters on draft day that he saw himself as a goal-scoring winger.

“I definitely pride myself on scoring goals,” Jefferies said after the Islanders drafted him in October. “I think I have a good shot. See the ice well, but I pride myself on being a 200-foot player as well and being good in the defensive end.”

Merrimack College had been originally slated to face Maine to open their sseason, but those games had to be postponed.

COVID-19 inconvienenced another Islanders draft pick who had been expecting to open up his own college season.

Logan Cockerill and Boston University had been scheduled to suit up for their season opener against UConn, but that game had to be cancelled after someone close to the team tested positive for COVID-19. The university announced last Thursday that the team had paused all athletic activites.

Cockerill was selected by the Islanders in the seventh round in 2017.

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