Indians Forward Commits to Robert Morris
Published on February 18, 2004 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Soo Indians News Release
Kewadin Casinos Indians GM/Coach Joe Shawhan has announced that Logan Bittle, (Peoria, Illinois), has accepted a scholarship offer to play at Robert Morris the newest member of the CHA (College Hockey America).
Bittle will be part of the inaugural class at Robert Morris who was accepted recently to participate in the CHA next season. Robert Morris will be coached by former Western Michigan University Bronco defenseman Derek Schooley.
"Derek has recruited our team aggressively and is being rewarded by landing one of the top forwards in the country, I applaud his efforts," stated the Indians Head Coach during the announcement. "Logan is excited to be a part of building a new program. To the credit of Derek Schooley, he recognized that Logan Bittle is the type of individual that will set an example for others and is very self motivated."
Bittle, who currently leads the NAHL in scoring with 62-points as well as goals with 31, is surprisingly the first Indian's player to accept an offer this season. Coach Shawhan selected Bittle to participate for Team USA at the Viking Cup Tournament in Camrose, Alberta over the holidays and helped lead the Americans to a silver medal.
The 6'-0", 200lb winger is on pace to challenge the Indians franchise records for both total goals and total points accumulated in a season. The record for points was set by Barry Pochmara in 2001, when he registered 99 for the Indians, en route to leading the Indians to the NAHL regular season league title. Pochmara went on to play for Lake Superior State University. That same year, Tom Stone registered 56-goals to break Chris Gobert's record of 51 set in 1998. Both of those individuals went on to wear Northern Michigan University Wildcat jerseys. Chris Gobert, eventually went on to win CCHA rookie of the year honors in 2000 after narrowly beating out former Indian's goaltending great Ryan Miller for the honor.
"I am very happy for Logan. He has been a tremendous Indian's player. As much as his on ice production has been vital for our team success, his off ice enthusiasm has been integral to our team chemistry. He has done more for us than we have done for him."
Indians Finalize Roster; Kaunisto Brought Up from Midgets
February 11, 2004--As the February 10th roster freeze date came and passed, the Kewadin Casinos Indians Hockey team did very little to disrupt the chemistry of their first place team. In a traditional move for GM/Head Coach Joe Shawhan, the team added a member of the Kewadin Casinos Indians Midget AAA team to fill one vacant spot on the 25-man roster.
Added to the roster was 6'-2" forward Ray Kaunisto (Sault Ste. Marie, MI), who currently is second in scoring on the Midget AAA squad. Kaunisto will join the Indians at the conclusion of the Midget season.
"Ray has earned the opportunity to finish the season with our club. He is aggressive and committed to the game," stated Shawhan.
Kaunisto was drafted in last season's USHL draft by the Sioux Falls Stampede. He was also selected as one of the top 20-players for his age in Michigan and participated for Team Michigan in the Select 16 Festival over the summer.
The Indians currently sit alone atop the 21-team North American Hockey League with a 34-2-6 record, which is good for a league-best 74-points. The Indians clinched a playoff spot last weekend with the sweep of the Cleveland Barons.
In what appears to be the final season for the Jr. A franchise in Sault Ste. Marie, the Indians have 13-games remaining in their schedule which includes 8-home games. The Indians will close out the regular season with 6- straight home dates during the season's final three weekends: March 12-13 vs. Toledo, March 19-20 vs. Youngstown, and March 26-27 vs. Springfield. The Indians hold the league's best win/loss record on home ice with an intimidating 16-0-4 record in 20-games at Big Bear.
Playoffs will begin April 2nd with dates and times to be determined.
Indians Sweep Player of the Week Awards!
February 11, 2004--In a weekend sweep over Cleveland, Bittle recorded both game-winning goals in a 4-1 win and a 3-0 win, while adding two assists for four points on the weekend helping the Indians to an NAHL-best 74 points, good for 1st overall in the NAHL. Bittle leads the league in goals (31) and total points (62). Bittle recently committed to play college hockey next season for Robert Morris of the CHA (College Hockey America).
MacIntyre has still yet to lose a game in regulation this season and stopped a combined 45 of 46 shots in two wins against the Cleveland Barons this past weekend. His shutout on Saturday was his 3rd of the season and he boasts an NAHL-low 1.71 goals-against average. MacIntyre has a stellar 24-0-2 record and a .929 SVPCT in 28-games this season for the Indians. MacIntyre was also recently named January's Player of the Month in the NAHL.
For Tickets Call 906-635-4956 or 906-635-RINK
Skate The Web at WWW.SOOINDIANS.COM
North American Hockey League Stories from February 18, 2004
- US National Team dominates game in Toledo - U.S. National Team
- Indians Forward Commits to Robert Morris - Soo Indians
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.
