Ice Bats Make Roster Moves On Eve of Three-Game Road Swing
January 23, 2007 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Austin Ice Bats News Release
The Austin Ice Bats of the Central Hockey League today announced finalization of three trades, as the team prepares to play the first of three games on the road. Two of the trades were completed to make room for players assigned to the Ice Bats by the team's American Hockey League affiliate in Houston.
This past Saturday, the Ice Bats activated center Aaron Davis from the 45-day injured reserve list, and placed him the lineup for that night's game. Davis was averaging a point per game before suffering an injury Thanksgiving week at New Mexico.
To make room for Davis' return, the Ice Bats traded forward Tim Earl to Wichita for future considerations. Earl scored five goals and eight assists in 35 games for the Ice Bats.
On Monday, the AHL Houston Aeros assigned defenseman Chris Ovington to Austin. Ovington, a sixth-round NHL Draft pick of the Florida Panthers in 1998, played five junior seasons in the Western Hockey League, and five seasons at the University of Alberta under current Aeros Coach Rob Daum. After winning a second straight championship at the school, Ovington played four regular season and seven playoff games with the Aeros last season. This year, the Vernon, British Columbia native has three assists and 45 penalty minutes in 25 games with the Aeros. Ovington will be signed to a five-game tryout agreement, and is to appear in the Ice Bats lineup Tuesday at Corpus Christi.
As a result of Ovington's assignment, the Ice Bats activated defenseman Doug MacIver and dealt him to Memphis as future considerations from an earlier trade. MacIver compiled 21 penalty minutes in six games, but had been out of the lineup since November 18th to injury.
Finally, with goaltender Tony Quesada's five-game tryout about to expire, he is to be signed to a standard player contract on Tuesday. Quesada, winless in three starts despite a team-best 2.71 goals-against average, was assigned to the Ice Bats by Houston last Wednesday.
Quesada's permanent status on the roster precipitated Monday's final trade, that of goaltender Kevin Couture to Arizona for forward Marty Doyle and future considerations. Couture was 5-7 with a 2.80 GAA in 12 starts for the Ice Bats. A tough-minded forward, Doyle has five points and 133 penalty minutes in 27 games with the Sundogs.
The Ice Bats, currently in a third-place Southeast Division tie at 14-15-7, begin a three-game road swing with a contest Tuesday morning in Corpus Christi. After games at Odessa and Bossier-Shreveport Friday and Saturday, the Ice Bats will return home for "Faith and Family Day" this Sunday. A free post-game skate with the Ice Bats players follows Sunday's 4pm contest against the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs.
In addition to providing tickets through the Ice Bats office at 927-PUCK, the Bats are for the first time utilizing Front Gate Tickets as the team's ticket outlet. Fans may conveniently purchase tickets at any Front Gate Tickets location, including Stubbs BBQ, Waterloo Records and Encore Video & CD.
Fans may order on-line through the Ice Bats website at www.icebats.com. Phone orders may be placed by calling (512) 927-PUCK, or 1-888-512-SHOW. Individual game tickets range in price from $15 to $35, depending on section, with discounted rates for groups of 15 or more. Fans may call the Ice Bats ticket office at (512) 927-PUCK, or log onto the team's website at www.icebats.com for more information.
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