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SPHL Vermilion County Bobcats

Bobcats Add Several to Staff

November 30, 2022 - SPHL (SPHL)
Vermilion County Bobcats News Release


The Vermilion County Bobcats of the SPHL are pleased to announce several staff additions. Chris Blaisuis has been named Head Coach, Matt Phipps has been named equipment manager, Haley Cruz has been named Athletic Trainer, and Sean Zears has been named Director of Broadcasting and Media Relations.

Blaisuis comes to the Bobcats with many years of hockey knowledge.. For the past two seasons, he has been the Head Coach in the Indy Jr. Fuel 16U AA team, leading the team to USA Hockey Tier II Nationals.

Blaisuis has experience of working both in the NA3HL and NAHL. During the 2016-17 season, he was named the Head Coach and GM for the Willmar WarHawks, where he coached for a season and a half.

Midway through the 2017-18 season, he was named the Head Coach and General Manager for the Rochester Ice Hawks.

Prior to that, Blaisuis had served as the USA Scout and Hockey Operations Assistant for the NAHL's Fairbanks Ice Dogs from 2010-16, where he worked under Head Coaches Josh Hauge and Trevor Stewart. During that time span, the Ice Dogs went to five Robertson Cups, winning the Robertson Cup National Championship three times in 2011, 2014 and 2016.

He has also scouted for the NAHL's Lone Star Brahmas, Johnstown Tomahawks, and Kenai River Brown Bears, and scouted for the Tri City Storm in the USHL.

Cruz joined the Vermilion County Bobcats Staff in 2022. She graduated from Boise State University in 2020 with a BS in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Pre-Athletic Training. She went on to receive her Master of Athletic Training degree from Boise State University in 2022. At Boise State, she worked with men's tennis, women's soccer, and football. Cruz also worked with the Idaho Steelheads during their 2021-2022 season. Before starting at the VC Bobcats, Cruz lived in Alaska where she worked with the Anchorage Wolverines. Haley grew up in Folsom, California, and enjoys golfing, hiking, and most other outdoor activities.

Phipps joins the Bobcats for his first season as a head equipment manager. From Bloomington, IL Matt played youth hockey and started his hockey operations career as a stick boy for the Bloomington PrairieThunder of the United Hockey League back in 2007. Over the years Matt worked in the UHL, IHL, CHL and the AHL. He learned the ropes under numerous coaches and equipment managers over seven years in Bloomington and Peoria. He has special memories of working with the Peoria Rivermen (American Hockey League) during the NHL lockout in 2012 and spent 2 years in Peoria till the team was sold.

"I am excited to begin my SPHL career with the Vermillion County Bobcats team and organization," said Matt. "The hockey community has been a huge part of my life for as long as I can remember, and I'm excited to bring my knowledge and skills to help these dedicated players perform at the highest level."

Matt is married. He and his wife, Jazmyne, have two daughters Emersyn 2 and Sterling 7.

This will be the first season with the Bobcats for Sean, who has been in the broadcasting industry since 1993. The past few years he was the Play-by-Play broadcaster for the Wenatchee Wild of the BCHL. He called most games remotely from his home. Before that, he was the Play-by-Play broadcaster for the now defunct Topeka Pilots of the NAHL. Sean also filled in for a few games for the Bloomington Prairie Thunder of the United Hockey League.

Sean lives in Rankin with his wife Kristi, along with his 3 dogs and 4 cats. Sean has two daughters, both in college in the Peoria area. Sean is looking forward to getting to know fans around the SPHL, especially in Danville.

The Bobcats will have another three games in three days, starting on Friday when the team travels to Peoria to take on the defending SPHL champion Rivermen. Puck drop is at 7:15 and you can catch all the action on HockeyTV.com.

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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.

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