Aces shuffle roster in preparation for Stockton
February 16, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Alaska Aces News Release
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The Peoria Rivermen have re-assigned left winger Josh Soares to Alaska and promoted goaltender Derek Gustafson, while the St. Louis Blues have re-assigned netminder Marek Schwarz to the Aces.
Schwarz and Soares will join the club in time for tomorrow's game at Stockton, which opens a three-game trip for the three-time defending West Division champions, 22-19-5 after a 5-3 win over Idaho last Sunday. Gustafson's last action in the American Hockey League came during the 2006 Calder Cup playoffs, when he won a pair of games for Providence in an eventual opening round loss to Portland. He did not play in Peoria's 4-3 shootout win over San Antonio Friday.
The 21-year-old Schwarz will become the fifth goaltender to see action with the Aces this season, joining Chris Beckford-Tseu (now in St. Louis), Gustafson, Mike Brown (who beat Idaho Sunday), and Kris Tebbs (recently signed by Memphis in the Central Hockey League). Schwarz, a native of the Czech Republic whom the Blues selected with the 17th overall pick in the 2004 NHL Draft, earned a trip to the 2007 AHL All-Star Game, finishing 19-13 in his rookie year for Peoria and making his NHL debut December 12, 2006. He has gone 9-10-2 in 23 games for the Rivermen and played parts of two NHL games with the Blues this season, most recently a 6-1 loss to Chicago Jan. 16 in which he made eight saves on 13 shots.
Soares will be returning from his second stint with Peoria this year and has missed 11 of Alaska's 46 games, but still leads the Aces with 48 points and ranks second behind Bo Cheesman with 21 goals. Soares did not record a point in two games with the Rivermen last week, but scored twice and assisted on two other goals in his last trip to the AHL in mid-December. Eric Neilson, who was called up to Peoria along with Soares last week, earned another fighting major (his third in the AHL) in Friday's win over the Rampage.
The Aces own a 3-1-4 record against Stockton this season, including four losses in overtime (the last three in Anchorage). The Thunder have just one win in their last 10 games (1-8-1) heading into tomorrow's match-up against Alaska at 6:30 p.m. AT. The Aces play Stockton again Sunday at 3:00 p.m. AT before moving on to Fresno Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. AT. Alaska plays host to a three-game series against Las Vegas at Sullivan Arena beginning February 22. All regular season games are broadcast live on Alaska's flagship station, AM 750 KFQD, with coverage beginning 15 minutes prior to face-off.
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