UMass adds former Cornell defenseman Bliss as graduate transfer for second half of ‘18-19 season

Massachusetts has added graduate transfer Ryan Bliss to the roster for the second semester of the 2018-19 season.

Eligible immediately, the defenseman played two seasons at Cornell from 2014 to 2016 before missing time due to injury.

Bliss has one and a half seasons of eligibility remaining.

“We are excited to add defenseman Ryan Bliss to our UMass hockey program,” said UMass coach Greg Carvel in a statement. “Ryan has proven to be a gifted player throughout his career, but dealt with a major injury which set him back a few years ago. He is working feverishly to rebuild himself as a hockey player and we look forward to helping Ryan find new levels of play on the ice. Ryan is a talented puck moving defenseman who sees the game extremely well and is also a high character young man, the type that has helped us build our current UMass hockey team.

“Ryan will transition seamlessly into our program and hopefully be a contributing member of our team on the ice sooner than later.”

Bliss played in 53 games over the course of the 2014-15 and 2015-16 campaigns and totaled 16 points on three goals and 13 assists.