Fury complete first major trade of season
Published on March 8, 2006 under International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Muskegon Lumberjacks News Release
MUSKEGON, MI.--- Having recently returned to the top of both the Central Division and overall UHL standings, the two-time reigning Colonial Cup Champions of the United Hockey League, the Muskegon Fury, have completed their first major trade of the 2005-06 season.
In a four player deal, the Fury have obtained defenseman TOM GALVIN and right wing ANTHONY BLUMER from the Quad City Mallards in exchange for defenseman STEVE O'ROURKE and right wing JEFF PETRUIC.
GALVIN, 26, is currently in his second full season as a pro following a star-studded four-year collegiate career in the highly-prestigious CCHA at the University of Notre Dame. Originally selected by Muskegon in the first round, eighth overall, in the March 2004 UHL North American Amateur Draft, the 5-9, 185lb right-hand shooting standout is in his first full season in the UHL. Thus far this season, playing in all of Quad City's 57-games, he emerged as the Mallards second top point-producing defenseman, having collected 24-points on 5-goals, 19-assists with 63-PIM. Included in his offensive totals are 3-PPG, 2-FG and 1-UG.
In his first full pro campaign last year, in the 2004-05 season, Galvin, an American-bred from Miller Park, NY, performed in the ECHL with the Reading Royals where he led his team in scoring among defensemen, collecting 30-points on 4-goals, 26-assists along with 48-PIM. Galvin was one of the more prominent members of a Royals defensive corps that allowed the fewest GA in the ECHL; just 161-GA for a GAA of a stingy and stellar 2.24.
BLUMER, (Bloom-er), 23, is currently in his first full professional campaign after being selected by Quad City in the second round, 22nd overall, in the March 2005 UHL North American Amateur Draft. The 6-0, 200lb native of Eagan, Minnesota enjoyed a superlative four-year collegiate career at St. Thomas University where he averaged a point a game through 113-career games with the "Tommies." In those 113-games, the speedy right wing authored 113-points on 45-goals, 68-assists. Thus far this season with the Mallards, Blumer was ranked sixth in overall team scoring, amassing 30-points in 57-games on 14-goals, 16-assists, along with 61-PIM. Included in his offensive output are 2-PPG, 1-GWG, 1-FG, 3-UG and 3-SHG with the latter total ranking as second most for the Mallards. He was also 2/9 in the OTSO competition.
The Fury's newest right wing actually saw some brief service for Quad City late last season following the conclusion of his collegiate career. Blumer did see action in two late season contests for the "Greenheads." Blumer culminated his collegiate career on a very high note as he helped spark St. Thomas to the NCAA Division III Final, ranking second in his team's scoring with 36-points in 31-games on 13-goals, 23-assists.
The Fury's Director of Hockey Operations / Head Coach Todd Nelson spoke of Muskegon's first significant transact-ion of the season. "We really enjoyed having Steve and Jeff here with us. However, we felt as an organization, we wanted to get a little younger with our lineup. With the acquisitions of both Tom Galvin and Anthony Blumer, we believe that we have added some good, strong youth to our lineup. In exchange, Quad City gets the good, experienced players that they were looking for. It is a trade that would seem to satisfy both teams' needs."
Concerning his two newest players, Coach Nelson is looking forward to having their respective talents injected into the Fury lineup. "We are excited about the additions of Anthony Blumer and Tom Galvin to our lineup. Both players bring excellent speed and enthusiasm. Blumer possesses great speed and will generate a lot of energy while Galvin also skates very well and has the ability to move the puck. We have been looking for more of that on our back end."
As for Quad City's newest additions, O'Rourke, 31, is in his seventh pro season and his first season in Muskegon. In 49-games, he collected 7-points on 1-goal, 6-assists with 94-PIM. The Fury had acquired him from Adirondack, previous to the 2005 training camp in exchange for the rights to defenseman Kevin Haupt.
Petruic, also 31, is in his 12th pro season. The former 2001-02 UHL scoring champion with the since-extinct Asheville Smoke, was signed by the Fury as a free agent on October 21, 2005, the eve of opening night. In 42-games with Muskegon, he had produced 25-points on 13-goals, 12-assists with 26-PIM, 2-PPG, 1-GWG, 4-FG and 2/3 marksmanship in the OTSO.
The Fury's newest acquisitions, Tom Galvin and Anthony Blumer are expected to participate in their initial practice session with their new team Wednesday morning at Walker Arena. Both players are scheduled to make their Muskegon debuts this Friday night when the Fury host second-place Kalamazoo in a 7:30 clash featuring the top two teams in the UHL and the Central Division standings.
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