Wisconsin hockey recruiting: Chicago forward Joey Abate gives verbal to Badgers

	Class	Position	Shoots	Height	Weight
	2017	Forward	Left	6'2	175
	Team		Hometown		DOB
	Chicago Mission U16		Bloomingdale, Ill.		9/6/1998

Wisconsin continues to add talented forwards to its future stable, and did so again on Monday, earning a verbal commitment from Chicago Mission U16 forward Joey Abate.

Abate, who is a 1998-born forward, played last season for the Chicago Fury, but made the transition over to the Mission this year and has been a top player. 2017 Wisconsin recruit Dominick Mersch also plays for the Mission U16 team.

Abate is leading the Mission in scoring so far this year in the High Performance Hockey League, with five goals and eight points in seven games. Abate also led the Mission in scoring at the NAPHL Showcase in Blaine, Minnesota last month, registering six goals and 10 points in five games.

I happened to be in attendance for one of the Mission's games at the NAPHL Showase against the powerhouse Honeybaked program. So was Wisconsin head coach Mike Eaves. Abate played very well in the thrilling affair, including scoring the game-winning goal with less than one minute to play.

It sounds like Abate's decision came down to North Dakota and Notre Dame, but in the end, the Badgers won the battle for the power forward.

Since he's a late 1998-born player, Abate will likely end up being a 2018 recruit.

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