Reading, PA - The Reading Royals of the ECHL, affiliate of the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League and the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League, today announced that the organization has acquired goaltender Terry Denike ["deh NIKE"] from the Wheeling Nailers for undisclosed consideration. In a separate transaction, the Royals also traded goaltender Jeff Pietrasiak ["peh TRAY zee ack"] to the Bakersfield Condors for undisclosed consideration.
Last season, Denike (6'2"/190) (26), a fifth year pro from Burlington, Ontario, was an important part of the Dayton Bombers' charge down the stretch to the North Division regular season title. After joining the Bombers late in the year, Denike played twenty regular season games for the eventual Kelly Cup finalists, compiling a record of 11-4-5 with a 2.13 goals against average and a .921 save percentage. Denike, who was twice selected as the ECHL's Goaltender of the Week last season, went 2-2-0 with a 3.27 goals against and a .871 save percentage against the Royals in 2006-07. This year, Denike started this season with the Bombers and played in one game (a 5-4 loss to the Cincinnati Cyclones on October 20, 2007) before being released and acquired by the Wheeling Nailers. Denike played two games with Wheeling, a 3-2 win over Dayton (11/17/07) and a 6-1 loss to Johnstown (11/23/07). Denike, who played his college hockey at Lake Superior State University, started his pro career in Reading during the 2003-04 season, when he played in five games for the Royals, compiling a record of 1-1-1 with a 3.49 goals against average and a .911 save percentage.
Pietrasiak, who went 14-16-3 with the Royals last year (3.09/.901), played in six games for the Royals this season, compiling a record of 2-3-0 with a 3.32 goals against average and a .883 save percentage.
It is expected that Denike will be in uniform on Wednesday night (6:35) when the Royals take on the Wheeling Nailers. That night Reading will honor the United Way of Berks County, and the first 1500 fans in attendance will receive a "jersey coozie" courtesy of Comcast. The Royals will also wear special jerseys on Wednesday that will be auctioned off after the game with the net proceeds going to UWBC. Also, there will be a post-game autograph session held on the concourse level of the Sovereign Center with a couple of Royals' players courtesy of Sir Speedy Printing. The game night broadcast on Wednesday will begin at 6:05 pm with the pre-game warm-up show on ESPN Radio 1240 am in Ephrata, as well as on the internet through the Royals' website, www.royalshockey.com. Streaming video is available on a pay per view basis through the B2 Networks.
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