Fury Set To Open Training Camp
Published on October 4, 2007 under International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Muskegon Lumberjacks News Release
MUSKEGON, MI.--- Set to inaugurate their 16th consecutive campaign in this modern era, the Muskegon Fury of the all-new International Hockey League will commence their annual training camp to formally launch the 2007-08 IHL season this MONDAY, OCTOBER 8TH at the Fury's long-standing home of Walker Arena, downtown Muskegon.
The dawning of the 2007-08 season signals not only the beginning of a new season but also the beginning of a new and exciting frontier and era in the rich, winning heritage and history of a Muskegon franchise which has achieved winning records and coveted post-season playoffs' berths in each of its initial 15-years as a bona fide franchise under the Fury banner.
Second year Director of Hockey Operations / Head Coach Bruce Ramsay will formally greet approximately 30-35 prospective roster candidates for team meetings and medical examinations on Sunday, October 7th as the Fury organ-ization embarks on its initial steps in the quest with zest of capturing the IHL's most hallowed hardware; namely the Huber Trophy, emblematic of the regular season crown as well as the ultimate league grand prize of the Turner Cup championship. With past achievements of such lofty and lustrous acclaim as a UHL all-time record four Colonial Cup Championships and coming off their fourth divisional title and third in the last four years, the Fury will broach this new campaign with a rather healthy injection of new faces, young colts and a pronounced spirit of youth on their new roster.
Perhaps, with their most sizable training camp roster in team annals, the Fury will proceed with their training camp sessions to be conducted on a daily basis. Two-a-day workouts will be limited to the first two days of camp with the remaining duration consisting of single sessions. Coach Ramsay will lead his squadron on the ice MONDAY, OCTOBER 8TH and TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9TH at 10:00 AM with full-fledged scrimmage games to follow each day beginning at 2:15 PM. As is tradition in Muskegon, all of the Fury training camp workouts are open free to the general public.
It is anticipated that the Fury training camp roster will be comprised at the outset of 3-GOALTENDERS; 10-DEFENSEMEN and 17-FORWARDS. There will be another 4-8 players expected to report as free agent tryout candidates. Currently, the Fury have 28-players officially signed to standard IHL contracts.
At the present time, it does appear that Muskegon will have 5-players marking their return from last season's club which captured the UHL's Eastern Division Championship with a record of 76(49-21-6) 104-points and .684 winning percentage and overall close second place finish in the overall standings; a mere two points behind league titlist Fort Wayne. In addition, two more standouts are returning to Muskegon where they played major roles in previous Fury championship grandeur.
The all-time greatest goal-scoring colossus in UHL history, ROBIN BOUCHARD, winner of a league record five Colonial Cup crowns and TREVOR JOHNSON have come back to Muskegon following one year tours of duty last season in Italy.
Among the galaxy of Fury returning incumbents from the '06-07 team are All-Star defensemen PHILIPPE PLANTE and DAVE VAN DRUNEN with the former the league's 2nd top scoring blue line ace last season and the latter the 3-time winner of the Fury's Best Defenseman and Best Plus Player Awards.
At the forward position, Muskegon's latest on-ice edition will offer three more on the returning side. Most prominent of this triumvirate is center MIKE WATT, who finished 6th in league-wide scoring with 68(35-44-79) and was utterly brilliant in the playoffs, firing 13-goals in 11-games, including league-highs of 3-SHG and three 3-goal "hat tricks." Watt will be joined by center BILLY COLLINS, a member of the last two Colonial Cup title timber teams of 2003-04 and 2004-05, whose 19-career playoff goals rank tied for 6th in the club record book and right wing BILL ZALBA, a member of Colonial Cup IV in 2005.
Among the more prominent newcomers to the Fury nation are second-year goaltender ISAAC REICHMUTH, who helped lead Alaska to the ECHL Northern Conference Western Division title last season and first year netminder RYAN GRINNELL who lead all of college Canada with a 2.20 GAA with the U. of Toronto last season. On defense, the Fury will be bolstered with the acquisitions of veterans KYLE KOS and JAY HARDWICK along with promising newcomer RUSS MOYER.
Also in the new Fury cast are such stellar newcomers as center CHRIS MILLS, who set the Manhattanville College single season scoring record in '06-07; left wings RAFAL MARTYNOWSKI, a 20-goal marksman in his rookie pro season of '05-06; JUSTIN KELLER, who averaged nearly a goal a game last season in the SPHL with Florida and 64-goal cannoneer ADAM SERGERIE, who averaged over a goal a game and over 2-points a game last year in the MJHL with the Selkirk Steelers.
Training camp additions for the Fury may still be anticipated; especially with the NHL and AHL regular seasons having been inaugurated, a full two weeks prior to the second coming of the IHL.
The Muskegon franchise is instituting its 16th year under the Fur banner. The Fury are the lone team to finish every season with an overall winning record and attaining a post-season playoff berth in each year of their existence. Five times in the last six years and six times through the past eight seasons, the Fury have amassed over 100-points in the standings. Three times, including twice in the last three years, they have registered 50 or more victories and eight times in the past 10-years and 10-times in the last 13-years they have recorded 40 or more wins.
In addition to their league record of four Colonial Cup Championships, the Fury have reached the Conference Finals in nine of the past 10-seasons. Muskegon has captured four division crowns as well.
THE FURY PRE-SEASON GAME SCHEDULE: (2)
Wed. October 10 Kalamazoo at THE FURY 7:30 pm
Sat. October 13 Bloomington at THE FURY 7:30 pm
FURY TICKETS INFORMATION: Tickets for all regular season games are now on sale at the Walker Arena Box Office, all Ticketmaster Centers or by phone (231) 726-2400. VISA / MASTERCARD are accepted. For the various Fury season ticket plans and great group rates, call the Fury office (231) 726-FURY (3879).
FURY POCKET SCHEDULES: Available throughout the Lakeshore area and at the Fury offices and the Walker Arena Box Office.
THE FURY HOME OPENING NIGHT: The Fury will debut the second coming of the new IHL with their grand home opening extravaganza bonanza on SATURDAY NIGHT, OCTOBER 20TH VS. THE KALAMAZOO WINGS with opening face-off set for 7:30 pm at Walker Arena.
THE FURY ON RADIO: All Fury games, pre-season, regular season and post-season playoffs will be broadcast live on new flagship radio station WWKR-FM 94.1, "WEST MICHIGAN'S 94 K-ROCK." In addition, THE FURY DAILY UPDATE is on the air Monday through Friday at 5:20 PM on WWKR-FM 94.1. The popular weekly radio show, FURY HOTLINE has returned for its 13th consecutive year, hosted by CUTI'S SPORTS BAR & GRILL. The program airs every Monday night from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm, also on WWKR-FM 94.1, "WEST MICHIGAN'S 94 K-ROCK."
THE FURY ON THE WORLD-WIDE INTERNET: All of the Fury game broadcasts can also be heard on the Fury Internet when you visit the Fury web-site at www.furyhockey.com.
International Hockey League 2 Stories from October 4, 2007
- Icehawks Sign Five To Training Camp Roster - Port Huron Icehawks
- Generals Sign Greg Bullock - Flint Generals
- Flint Generals Announce Training Camp Schedule - Flint Generals
- Fury Set To Open Training Camp - Muskegon Lumberjacks
- Komets Keen On Aquino - Fort Wayne Komets
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