KEARNEY, Neb. – Tri-City Storm captain Garrett Gamez has signed a National Letter of Intent to play Division I College Hockey with the Providence College Friars next season.

Gamez, who has appeared in a total of 116 games with the Storm over the past three seasons, currently ranks 18th all-time among Storm skaters with 42 assists. Through 13 games this season, the Chino Hills, Calif. native has four goals and four assists.

The forward will become the second player to go from Tri-City to Providence in the last three years, joining forward Trevor Mingoia, who played for the Storm during the 2012-13 season.

The two will be reunited for one more season next fall, as Mingoia, currently a junior, will have only his senior season remaining.

The 19-year-old was previously committed to Denver University and was recruited by then assistant coach Steve Miller. Although things didn’t work out with the Pioneers, Gamez will end up getting a chance to play for Miller after all, as he is currently an assistant with the Friars under head coach Nate Leaman.

“The coaching staff there was a huge hit for me,” Gamez said. “Coach [Miller] was with Denver when I was committed there so I already had a really good relationship with him.”

Since taking the reins in 2011-12, Leaman has changed the culture at the school, guiding the team to its first winning seasons since the 2005-06 campaign. The Friars qualified for the NCAA Tournament last spring for the first time since 2001 and fell one game short of reaching the Frozen Four, losing to Union College in the quarterfinals after defeating Quinnipiac in the opening round.

“I liked that he was very honest with me,” Gamez said of his now future head coach. “He’s not really a player pleaser; he’s just very honest and very straight with you. He tells you how you need to improve and what you’re doing well. I like being able to go to a coach that’s very honest and not scared to hurt my feelings.”

Gamez also said he felt more mature with the way he went through the college selection process a second time.

“I had a better understanding of what I needed to look for and the opportunity I was getting at each college that offered me a scholarship,” Gamez said. “I felt that Providence was the best offer for me and I’m really excited to attend. I liked the atmosphere there.”

With his future now firmly in place, Gamez is looking forward to concentrating on his time left with Tri-City and achieving his goal of winning a championship in the USHL.

“The last couple weeks were pretty stressful getting everything situated and figured out,” Gamez said. “It’s definitely a blessing for myself to be committed there and it’s a bit of a sigh of relief knowing that I’m going to college next year.”

The Storm will take on Des Moines at the Viaero Event Center Friday night at 7:30 p.m., before hitting the road to face Sioux City on Saturday at 7:05.

For more information and to purchase tickets, contact the Viaero Event Center Box Office at 308.338.8011 or visit www.stormhockey.com.