NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, CFL stats



 Tri-City Storm

Big Trade Between Storm and Buccaneers Finalized

February 7, 2012 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Tri-City Storm News Release


KEARNEY, Neb. - The Tri-City Storm have acquired goalie Christian Frey (pronounced - Fry), prospect forwards Chase Rey, Joel L'Esperance, and the first-and second-round 2012 USHL Futures Draft picks from the Des Moines Buccaneers.

In return the Storm sent goalie Pheonix Copley, prospect goalie Trevor Gorsuch, prospect forward Gage Quinney, and Tri-City's third-and fourth-round 2012 USHL Futures Draft picks to Des Moines.

General Manager and Head Coach Josh Hauge made the announcement Tuesday morning.

"We wanted to bring in a solid USHL prospect goalie for this season to be a part of our future, as well as two high-end prospects like Chase and Joel, which we could do with solid assets going back the other direction," said Hauge. "We needed to look out for our future, and today we did that."

"We made this deal because we saw Adam (Wilcox) starting to take over as our No. 1 goaltender for this season, and we see Frey as a goalie with lots of potential with the Storm."

Frey, who is in his rookie season in the USHL, has a record of 3-6-1 with a 3.15 goals-against average and .892 save percentage. Last season, the 18-year old from Arlington, Texas played for the Dallas Stars U18 Midget Major team, where he was 11-6-4 with two shutouts, 2.19 GAA and .912 SV%.

Rey, who was called up for two games this season with Des Moines, is playing for the St. Louis Blues U18 Midget Major team this season. In 31 games with St. Louis, he has 19 goals, 19 assists and 36 penalty minutes. Rey is a current teammate of Storm prospect forward Chase Berger in St. Louis.

L'Esperance is playing this season with Compuware U18 Midget Major team, where he has registered nine goals and five assists in 21 games. The 16-year old was a third round pick (41st overall) by Des Moines in the 2011 USHL Futures Draft. Last season, L'Esperance had 18 goals and 18 assists in 36 games playing for Compuware U16 Midget Minor team.

Departing from Tri-City's active roster is Copley, who is in his first-and-only season in the USHL and is set to play for Michigan Tech University next season. The 20-year old is 9-13-0 so far this season with a 3.14 GAA and .905 SV%.

"We want to wish Pheonix all the best, and thank him, as well as Trevor for their time with the Tri-City Storm," added Hauge.

The Storm stay on the road this weekend to play the Fargo Force on back-to-back nights. The Breeze 94.5 FM will air both games with the Viaero Wireless Pre-Game Shows starting at 7:15 p.m. Friday and 6:45 p.m. Saturday.


• Discuss this story on the United States Hockey League message board...

United States Hockey League Stories from February 7, 2012


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.

Other Recent Tri-City Storm Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central