Fury Sign Two Goaltenders
Published on August 23, 2007 under International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Muskegon Lumberjacks News Release
MUSKEGON, MI.--- Having previously announced the signings of ten players, consisting of five defensemen and five forwards, the Muskegon Fury of the all-new International Hockey League have now begun the process of addressing the critical position of goaltending for the rapidly approaching 2007-08 IHL campaign. With those aforementioned marching orders, the Muskegon club swung into action and harvested a pair of first-year backbone backstops with its latest player signings.
On this date, the Fury Team Owner and Club President Tony Lisman, in concert with Director of Hockey Operations / Head Coach Bruce Ramsay, have announced that first year goalkeepers RYAN GRINNELL and KYLE MCNULTY have agreed to terms with each penning their first ever professional contracts for the 2007-08 season. Adhering to club policy, terms of the deals were not disclosed.
GRINNELL will arrive in the camp of the "Furious Ones" as somewhat of a unique entity in that he is at the age of 31, yet only recently completed his Canadian collegiate eligibility as a star of great grandeur at the University of Toronto of the highly-heralded and acclaimed CIS Conference. The rangy 6-2, 190lb guardian of the goal culminated and punctuated his illustrious career with the Varsity Blues in 2006-07 in absolutely extraordinary fashion. The local product of Toronto, Ontario achieved accolades and plaudits as the number one ranked goalkeeper in all of Canadian Collegiate hockey.
Seeing action in 28-games, Grinnell posted a superb mark of 28(18-9-1) with a 2.20 GAA, 2-shutouts and .921 SPCT. In dominating all of the CIS in puck prevention attention, he led the Canadian nation in wins, GAA and SPCT while tying for the most games played in and finishing second overall in total minutes played (1,606).
Coach Ramsay expressed excitement over the acquisition of his newest netminder in Grinnell. "Ryan is a goaltender who has really come on later in his overall career. Last season, he experienced an absolutely outstanding year which was made even more impressive in that he accomplished it against some of the top-notch major junior 'A' goaltenders. We have received many excellent, positive reports on Ryan; in particularly from his head coach at U-T. Ryan, himself, is very much focused on playing in the professional ranks and prove that he has the ability and determination to be the best. We look forward to having him with us."
MCNULTY, 25, is an American bred, hailing from Wakefield, Rhode Island. He comes to his initial pro team following a sound and solid four-year collegiate career at Clarkson University, located in Potsdam, New York. The 5-11, 178lb puckstopper earned his reputation at Clarkson through his embodiment of veteran leadership. In fact, in the 2006-07 campaign, he was honored with the school's Fran Neragin Award. Seeing service in five games, he posted a record of 5(1-2-0) with a 3.85 GAA and .870 SPCT. It was in his junior year of 2005-06 when he really thrived at his human barricade act, compiling a 2.86 GAA in 15-outings alongside a 15(7-8-0) mark.
Ramsay likes the character reference on McNulty, expounding on such subject matter. "Kyle is coming to us from a very strong Division I program where he was an integral part of their goaltending position for four solid years. He possesses an outstanding work ethic and we know he will come to camp well-prepared as he has been on the ice all summer long to get ready for his first pro season. Moreover, his college coach has spoken very highly of Kyle's character and what he can bring to a team and its overall success." The Fury bench pilot concluded by noting his team and league's tremendous success with rookie goaltenders, "Recent history has shown that our league has produced young rookie goaltenders who have achieved breakthrough years when given the opportunity. Both Kyle and Ryan are legitimate candidates in this category."
As for Grinnell, in the 2005-06 season at U. of Toronto, he authored a 11(2-6-2) mark in 11-games with a 3.55 GAA, 1-shutout and .900 SPCT. In 2004-05, he was 18(7-8-2) in 18-appearances, registering a GAA of 3.59 and SPCT of .899.
In the case of McNulty, in his junior year of 2005-06, he was named to the ECAC's All-Academic Team while in 2004-05, he engineered a thrifty 2.98 GAA. Before his arrival to the Clarkson campus, he was runner-up for the EJHL's Goaltender of the Year Award as a member of the Boston Junior Bruins in 2002-03. He was also named to the First Team Northern Division All-Star Team.
Today's signings of goaltenders RYAN GRINNELL and KYLE MCNULTY bring to 12 the total number of players currently under contract to the Fury for the upcoming 2007-08 IHL season. Previously, Muskegon unveiled the player signings of defensemen JAY HARDWICK, KYLE KOS, RUSS MOYER, PHILIPPE PLANTE, DAVE VAN DRUNEN; centers BILLY COLLINS, MIKE WATT; right wings ROBIN BOUCHARD, ADAM SERGERIE, BILL ZALBA.
International Hockey League 2 Stories from August 23, 2007
- Hammond to return as 'Voice of the Thunder' - Bloomington PrairieThunder
- Fury Sign Two Goaltenders - Muskegon Lumberjacks
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