Icehawks Enforcer Making Most of Stint in AHL

February 17, 2009 - International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Port Huron Icehawks News Release


PORT HURON, MI - Port Huron Icehawks right wing Robert Snowball is making the most out of his first stint in the American Hockey League.

Snowball was called up to the Lake Erie Monsters on Saturday and made his AHL debut that evening against the Manchester Monarchs. The enforcer, who is usually more accustomed to penalty minutes than points, scored his first AHL goal during his first shift.

"I just really wanted to go out there and play my game," he said of his goal. "I know my role coming in is to be a physical player, but when a puck is in front of you, I think you have to capitalize on that and score. I don't think of myself as a goal scorer but it is definitely nice when you can chip it in."

The 27-year old native of Markham, Ontario also played on Monday when Lake Erie, the AAA affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche, visited the Iowa Chops. He finished the game with a +1 rating and is now +2 in two games with the Monsters. He is expected to be with the team this week as they wrap up a nine game road trip with games at Quad City on Wednesday, Rockford on Friday and Grand Rapids on Saturday.

Snowball has been reunited with a former Icehawks teammate while with Lake Erie. His roommate last season in Port Huron, Josh Aspenlind, also plays for the Monsters and is his roommate on the current road trip.

A physical player who has racked up 869 career penalty minutes, Snowball is in his sixth professional season and third in the city of Port Huron. He returned to the Icehawks in December after taking a brief break from the sport. He has six points (3g, 3a) and 49 penalty minutes in 20 games with the Icehawks this season.

"Coach Drulia and I had talked about working towards a higher level in hockey and that's what I wanted to do," he explained. "I was very excited to have that happen and make it real this season."

He added, "I‘m excited for every chance I get to play and go out and prove myself to the coaches and my teammates. I really just want to play to the best of my ability and hopefully make an impact with the team and the league so I can have more opportunities at this level."

The Icehawks play a mini-series with Bloomington this week. They host the PrairieThunder tomorrow then travel to Bloomington for games on Thursday and Saturday.



International Hockey League 2 Stories from February 17, 2009


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