Tornado Goalie Dan Sullivan commits to the University of Maine

After a rare year without a single NCAA Commitment from the Texas Tornado. They hoping that this off-season and going into the 2010-2011 season can start putting the Texas Tornado back on the map as a place that players can have strong NCAA & Professional Careers after their junior days are over.

First up is Tornado Goalie Dan Sullivan who's ending a great year where he played 51 games during the regular season with a strong .912 SV% and a GAA of just over 3. During the playoffs, he almost played a big part in an upset bid against the St. Louis Bandits in the opening Round of the Playoffs where he put a strong .949 SV% and a solid 1.85 GAA in the 5 playoff games.

He's heading to the University of Maine which is in Hockey East where the Maine Black Bears finished 4th in the regular season before getting to the Hockey East Championship Game before losing to Boston College in the Conference Final. Unfortunately for the Black Bears, not even the trip to the Hockey East Championship wasn't enough to get them into the National Tournament.

Some other players to look for possibly to maybe announce or make major decisions include players like Nick Taurence and Jack Prince who lead the Tornado in scoring. This finishes off a great season where over the weekend, he was also named to the All South Division Team as well.

From Shannon Smith of the Texas Tornado Website: www.tornadohockey.com

The Texas Tornado is proud to announce that goaltender Dan Sullivan has committed to the University of Maine for the 2010-2011 season. Sullivan played in 51 regular season games for the Tornado this past season, posting a 3.08 GAA, making 1575 saves, and put up a .912 SV%. During five playoff games against the St. Louis Bandits he put a 1.65 GAA, 185 saves and an amazing .949 SV%.

"Sully started at a high level this year and because of his work ethic and willingness to learn just better and better. Dan is going to an outstanding program at Maine and I have no doubt that he will be a big success in their future success," said Head Coach Tony Curtale. "I have coached several big time goalies in the past like Ben Bishop, Al Montoya, Dave Mckee, Brandon Crawford-West, Ron Vorgel and Sullivan is right there with the group."

Former Alumni Ben Bishop who attended Maine from 2006-2008 and led the team to two Final Four's appearance before leaving early to play for the St. Louis Blues and the AHL's Peoria Rivermen. Maine has a great history in NCAA Hockey with 11 Frozen Fours, earned 5 Hockey East Championships and 2 National Championships.

Here's a look at other recent Tornado Alum Goalies and where they Playing right now.

Al Montoya, San Antonio Rampage (AHL)

Ben Bishop, Peoria Rivermen (AHL)

David Mckee, Allen Americans (CHL)

Brendon Crawford-West, Miami of Ohio (CCHA)