SPHL Fayetteville Marksmen

Antz Stock Roster; Announce Pre-Season Game

Published on September 29, 2009 under SPHL (SPHL)
Fayetteville Marksmen News Release


A rematch of last season's Southern Professional Hockey League championship finalists will give Fayetteville FireAntz head coach Tommy Stewart a chance to judge a batch of new players.

The Antz, who were the runners-up in a best-of-seven finals with Knoxville, will host the Ice Bears on Oct. 16 at the Crown Coliseum. Fayetteville will play in Knoxville the next night, after which Stewart will decide the 18-man roster he'll begin the season with Oct. 22.

"I think we'll start camp with 28 and there'll be a lot of fighting for positions," Stewart said of the 18-man roster he's allowed by league rules.

"I've got 12 new guys coming to camp and I think six have been a team captain before. That says a lot about character; that they're tough and that they stick up for their teammates."

The players are:

Geoff Patton, a defenseman with experience in the Central and International leagues who will probably join Lawne Snyder on Stewart's second line;

Murray Free, the captain of his junior team the past two years whom Stewart expects to be the Antz's third-line center;

Keith Mason, a forward who's a scorer with a short fuse who comes highly recommended by Jason Firth, a former pro teammate and opponent of Stewart's. Mason led his junior team in playoff scoring last year en route to a championship;

Antony Candeloro, a 6-foot-2 forward and a juniors captain;

Glen McCarron, a forward who was the MVP of the same league in which the Antz's top scorer, Rob Sich, once played and a player who's not afraid to mix it up. Said Stewart: "To lead that league and have a mean streak is a welcome addition.";

Ryleigh Campbell, the 2001-02 Rookie of the Year in the North Saskatchewan Junior League whom Stewart said is also 6-0 as a mixed martial arts fighter;

David Leveille, the bigger, older brother of Antz first-line center Chris.

Zack Geiszler, a defenseman who played at Alaska-Fairbanks and with the Dayton Bombers of the ECHL;

Shawn Connors, a defenseman;

Dave McKenna, who played four collegiate seasons at Elmira - Snyder's alma mater;

Dominik Rozman, an Alabama-Huntsville graduate and former teammate of the Antz's Brett McConnachie. Rozman scored 30 points in 29 games last season for Eindhoven in Holland;

Keith Fink, a goalie who was 12-1-0 last year at Nichols College in Dudley, Mass.;

Two players who were with the Antz during part of the 2008-09 season will be in camp.

They are defenseman Sean Cryer, who was obtained by the Antz in a trade with Knoxville at midseason, and Brad Johnson, who made the Antz roster last season as a rookie but was released after 10 games

Check out the Fayetteville Marksmen Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



SPHL Stories from September 29, 2009


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central