Insana, Cyr sign dotted line for Fury
September 21, 2006 - International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Muskegon Lumberjacks News Release
MUSKEGON, MI.--- The change of the seasons has come with the change of the calendar and with it comes the launching of another campaign for the United Hockey League's all-time top winning team, the Muskegon Fury. With the Fury's fifteenth training camp less than two weeks away, Muskegon has bolstered its pre-season player roster to seventeen with several more player commitments soon to gain fruition as well.
On this date, the Fury Team Owner and Club President Tony Lisman, in collaboration with Director of Hockey Operations / Head Coach Bruce Ramsay, has announced that the club has come to terms with two more players; namely one defenseman and one goaltender with both players expected to arrive for training camp on October 1st at Walker Arena. Returning to further fortify the Fury defense is JON INSANA and set to make his Muskegon debut is goaltender RYAN CYR. Each player has assented to one-year contracts. Adhering to club policy, terms of those contracts were not disclosed.
INSANA, 26, will be commencing his fifth pro campaign overall and his third in the UHL and with the Fury. Through his initial two seasons with the Fury, the former standout from Michigan State University has distinguished himself as one of the truly premiere, pre-eminent defenseman in the UHL while still leaving room for even more promise and prominence in getting ready for '06-07.
Last season, in 2005-06, the 6-1, 202lb right-hand shooting blue line ace actually saw playing service on three various fronts with the preponderance of his action transpiring right here in Muskegon. In 52-games with the home town team, he collected 23-points on 2-goals, 21-assists, recording 1-SHG, 63-PIM and a +6 rating. He culminated his second Fury season with an outstanding 11-games' performance in the Colonial Cup playoffs where he earned 3-points through 1-goal, 2-assists, garnering 6-PIM, +3 rating and 12-SOG. His lone post-season strike was an all-important, key GWG.
Due to his stellar play, the product of Mt. Clemens, MI earned two separate stints in the AHL, seeing duty in both Grand Rapids and in Cleveland with the Griffins and Barons respectively. In 13-combined AHL outings he was 13(1-2-3) with 12-PIM; Grand Rapids 8(1-2-3)6-PIM; Cleveland 5(0-0-0)6-PIM.
Having worked primarily with the Fury defense in his previous team capacity of playoffs' assistant coach, new head coach Ramsay is quite familiar with the Insana presence on the back line and how it translates so favorably for the Fury. "We're very excited to have Jon back in the Fury fold for another season. It has been proven in the past, that Jon Insana can be one of the premiere defensemen in this league. His outstanding performance for the Fury in the 2004-05 season, capped by his 2005 Colonial Cup Championship effort in which he led the league with a great +20 rating and was runner-up for the UHL Playoffs' MVP award demonstrate what he is capable of doing. Jon is gifted with tremendous speed and plays both ends of the ice superbly. We expect great things from him this season."
In the aforementioned '04-05 campaign, Insana emerged as one of the major luminaries in the Fury's grand sweep of the Central Division, Tarry Cup and Colonial Cup crowns. In 64-games, he registered 21-points with his 9-goals being foremost among his team's defense. In those playoffs he was 15(3-4-7) with 20-PIM and that UHL-best +20 rating. His 3-playoff goals tied for the league-lead among defensemen with two of those struck as the first two goals in the deciding Game #5 victory in the elimination game of the Finals at Fort Wayne. Originally drafted by the Fury in the fifth round of the 2002 UHL North American Amateur Draft, Insana starred for 4-years at Michigan State where he was a teammate of the Fury captain Rustyn Dolyny. At MSU, he captured the Dr. John Downs Best Defenseman Award in the 2001-02 season and in 2000-01 was named to the NCAA West Regional All-Tournament Team.
As for CYR, the 22-year-old net-minder will be marking his Muskegon debut in 2005-06. Though this will be his second pro season, the 6-0, 191lb human puck detour is still classified as a UHL first-year pro since he only played in 21-games last season when he played in the ECHL.
Dividing his time between Bakersfield and Phoenix, Cyr displayed some real promise and potential as he attained some impressive numbers for a pair of teams that were somewhat less than mediocre. Eventually becoming the top goalkeeper with expansion team Phoenix, he, nevertheless, produced a solid 3.30 GAA and .912 SPCT in 16-games with the Roadrunners.
Ramsay is thrilled to have Cyr signed, sealed and set for his first full pro season in Muskegon. "Ryan enjoyed a tremendous major junior 'A' career in the WHL and finished last season as the number one goalie on a bad team. However, despite such adversity, he still generated some excellent numbers for his Phoenix team. Once Ryan arrives here in Muskegon, we fully expect him to challenge Clayton Pool for the number one goaltending spot all season. Should he play to his potential, he could be one of the top goalies in the UHL."
Prior to his advent to the pro scene, Cyr played for five seasons in the WHL, including stints with Seattle. Lethbridge and Saskatoon. It was in the 2004-05 season that he came of age with his superior puck-stopping talents. Performing for the Saskatoon Blades, he flashed some real leather larceny to the tune of a 28-19-4 record in 53-games, sporting 4-shutouts, a 2.68 GAA and splendid .914 SPCT.
Today's signings of defenseman JON INSANA and goaltender RYAN CYR bring to 17, the number of players who the Fury have signed to contracts for the 2006-07 season. Previously, Muskegon announced the signings of goalie CLAYTON POOL; defensemen JOSH CHASE, TOM GALVIN, PHILIPPE PLANTE, JOE POMARANSKI, DAVE VAN DRUNEN; centers SCOTT BARNES, BILLY COLLINS, TODD ROBINSON; left wings RYAN BARNES, EVAN KOTSOPOULOS, DAVE NOEL-BERNIER; right wings ROBIN BOUCHARD, RUSTYN DOLYNY, KEN FELS.
International Hockey League 2 Stories from September 21, 2006
- IceHogs set preseason practice in Beloit - Rockford IceHogs
- Flags Release Training Camp Schedule - Port Huron Flags
- PrairieThunder announces website launch - Bloomington PrairieThunder
- Insana, Cyr sign dotted line for Fury - Muskegon Lumberjacks
- Generals announce radio partner - Flint Generals
- Former UHL official to make NHL debut - IHL 2
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