Majors in the minors

February 15, 2005 - International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2) News Release


LAKE ST. LOUIS, MO – National Hockey League (NHL) talent isn't new to the United Hockey League (UHL) and the caliber of hockey is far from ‘minor.'

"Players with NHL backgrounds don't come to the UHL to keep in shape. They come to stay competitive, to challenge themselves and to be challenged," stated UHL President/CEO Richard Brosal.

"The quality of play in this league has more than exceeded my expectations. I have the utmost respect for all of the players and their abilities in the league. It's great to play hockey again," stated River Otter and St. Louis Blue Ryan Johnson.

Prior to the signing of Detroit's Derian Hatcher, Chris Chelios, and Bryan Smolinski; St. Louis's Barret Jackman and Ryan Johnson; Los Angeles's Sean Avery, and New Jersey's Michael Rupp, a number of former NHLers have filled UHL roster spots.

Rob Valicevic of the Flint Generals joined the league after seven games with the Dallas Stars in 2003-04. He has recorded 28 goals and 20 assists in 193 NHL regular season games.

Kalamazoo's Ryan Barnes had a stint with the Detroit Red Wings and long-time roster seats with the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins and Cincinnati Mighty Ducks.

Danbury's Jeff Daw spent eight seasons in the AHL, including time in the IHL, and has seen game action in the NHL with the Colorado Avalanche.

Brent Gretzky, who is currently in his sixth season with the UHL, appeared in 13 regular season games with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Mario Larocque also played five games with Tampa Bay.

Danbury's Rumun Ndur has posted two goals, three assists, and 137 penalty minutes in 69 NHL regular season games with the New York Rangers, Atlanta Thrashers, and Buffalo Sabres.

Blake Bellefeuille is in his first season with the UHL after splitting four seasons with the AHL Syracuse Crunch, Providence Bruins, Norfolk Admirals and NHL Columbus Blue Jackets.

Richmond's Dennis Vial joined the UHL after playing 242 NHL regular season games with the Ottawa Senators (1993-96, 1997-98), Detroit Red Wings (1990-93), and New York Rangers (1990-91).

Terry Hollinger is in his second season with the Quad City Mallards and has played seven NHL regular season games with the St. Louis Blues.

Port Huron's Daniel Berthiaume has played eight seasons in the NHL with the Winnipeg Jets, Minnesota North Stars, Los Angeles Kings, and Ottawa Senators.

Francis Belanger of the Richmond RiverDogs played in 10 games with the Montreal Canadiens in 2000-01.

Muskegon's Jeff Nelson had stints in the NHL with the Washington Capitals and Nashville Predators while playing in the AHL and IHL. He has recorded three goals and eight assists in 52 NHL regular season games.

"In the NHL you have the top players in the world coming at you every night, and here you're going to have some of the top players in this league coming at you. When you're challenged you become a better player...People criticize us for coming down and playing in this league, but we're just looking to improve ourselves. This is our job - we are hockey players, and we are a part of the team," stated River Otter and St. Louis Blue Barret Jackman.

"It is our hope that the players who enter the UHL leave with the same skill, dedication, and intensity of those who have made it to the NHL," stated UHL President/CEO Richard Brosal.

NHL players have chosen to donate their salaries to a number of charitable foundations. Chris Chelios's salary will go to the Children's Leukemia Foundation of Michigan, and Barret Jackman and Ryan Johnson's to the Dream Factory and Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital Foundation.

AROUND THE LEAGUE

Adirondack Frostbite - (2-2-0) – Center Koehler is on a four-game point-scoring streak...Left wing Hugo Belanger and center David Burgess are each on three-game point-scoring streaks...Friday night the Frostbite scored their quickest goal in a game this season, only 16 seconds into the first period from Hugo Belanger...Adirondack is 23-2-3 when scoring first and 23-0 when leading after two periods...In the second period the Frostbite have outscored their opponents this season by a total of 23 goals...Adirondack completed the season series against Kalamazoo 2-0-1 and 1-0 against Rockford.

Danbury Trashers - (0-3-0) – Danbury's current three-game losing streak is the longest in club history...Opposing teams are 9-30 with the man-advantage this month against Danbury, while the Trashers are just 4-43 on the power-play in February...Last week's UHL Sher-Wood Player of the Week, Bruce Richardson, tallied three points in a three-game week...He leads the Trashers in points this month with 11 on four goals (7a) in seven games...Forward Greg Goodnough registered the first multi-goal night by a rookie in team history, with two goals and an assist on February 6th against Port Huron. Rookie winger Alex Goupil registered the second multi-goal night by a Danbury rookie in the Trashers 6-2 loss to Richmond on February 9th...With the signing of NHL's Michael Rupp, Danbury has had nine players dress this season with current or prior NHL regular season experience (Michael Rupp, Garrett Burnett, Stephen Peat, Blake Bellefeuille, Rumun Ndur, Brent Gretzky, Mario Larocque, Jeff Daw, Frank Bialowas).

Elmira Jackals - (0-2-0) –Left wing Jamie Thompson is currently riding a five-game road point scoring streak. In his last five away games, Thompson has scored six points, beginning on January 28th in Adirondack...Right wing Nathan Gillies is on a three-game goal scoring streak, tying him with Richmond's David Hymovitz for the UHL's current best. Gillies has scored three goals since February 5th...Elmira and Richmond tied Flint and Danbury for the highest combined goals scored in one game this season in the UHL. The Jackals and RiverDogs scored 14 goals (8-6 Richmond) on Saturday; The Generals and Trashers accomplished this on January 15th (8-6 Danbury)...Center Eddy Lowe scored five points in two games this week (2g, 3a) giving him 28 points for the season. Lowe is now just five points behind Randy Murphy (219 pts) for first on the Jackals all-time scoring list. He has scored 110 goals and 104 assists for 214 pts in 339 careers games in a Jackals uniform.

Flint Generals - (0-3-1) – The Generals are 3-11-3 in the last 17 games and have a road record of 2-8-3 in their last 13 games...In 2005, Flint has a record of 6-12-3. Since January 1st, the Generals have lost seven games by one goal (including three shootout losses), and four games by two goals...When right wing Bobby Reynolds scores one goal in a game, Flint's record is 10-0-3. When Reynolds scores two or more goals, the Generals record is 0-2...When forward Rob Valicevic scores two or more goals per game, the team record is 7-2-0. When Valicevic scores only once, the Generals record is 2-5-0...The Generals return to home ice for two games this weekend against Richmond on Friday, and Kalamazoo on Saturday...Flint has been on the road for six consecutive games posting a record of 1-4-1 since February 4, 2005.

Fort Wayne Komets - (2-2-0) – Right wing Chris Grenville has recorded 599 career points...Komet head coach Greg Puhalski has registered 298 UHL wins...Right wing Dustin Virag has posted 197 career UHL (and Komet) points...Left wing Blake Stewart scored his first goal as a Komet, and Josh Piro his first career tally in the 4-1 win over Adirondack on Wednesday...Friday night the Komets defeated the Outlaws at Kansas City 4-1 for their fifth straight road win and season-high eighth straight win overall...Chris Grenville extended his point streak to seven games with the first goal on Friday night...Center Colin Chaulk dished a pair of assists on Friday to hit the 50-assist mark for his third consecutive season...Kevin St. Pierre, in his 30th appearance of the season, registered his eight straight win on Friday with 30 saves in his 12th straight start.

Kalamazoo Wings - (2-1-0) – Center Yannick Carpentier is on a five-game point and assist streak. Both streaks tie the K-Wings season high. With three-points on Saturday, Carpentier has moved into second place on the K-Wings all-time points list with 117...Kalamazoo has won four of their last five games...Left wing Andrew Luciuk is four points shy of 400 on his career...Right wing Tyler Willis tied a K-Wings season high for most points in a game (2g, 2a) against Flint Saturday night...Kalamazoo hosted Rockford on Monday in the 5th Annual Pink Ice Game... Kalamazoo is 11-9-2 against their own division...The K-Wings are 22-10-2 when they outshoot their opponents...Kalamazoo is 22-3-1 when they score first...The K-Wings are 12-6-3 in one-goal games.

Kansas City Outlaws - (1-1-1) – The Outlaws are three games into their six-game home stand...Defenseman Jami Yoder scored his first goal as an Outlaw on Sunday versus Quad City...The Outlaws are 2-2-1 in their last five home games... Center Mark Lee is fourth among rookies in scoring (36pts) and second among rookies in assists (27a)...The Outlaws had two shootouts last week. Before that, their last shootout was on January 12th at home against Motor City. Kansas City is 6-3 in shootouts for the season...Kansas City will not play Motor City or Muskegon for the remainder of the season...The Outlaws won their season series against the Fury 4-3-0, and their season series against the Mechanics 3-1-1... The Outlaws are 5-4-2 when they outshoot their opponent...Kansas City will play 12 of their next 15 games against the Western Division.

Missouri River Otters - (4-0-0) – Left wing Charlie Blyth moved into fourth place on the River Otters all-time scoring list with two goals against Fort Wayne on Sunday. He has 169 points in a River Otters uniform...Jason Tapp's shutout Saturday against Fort Wayne tied him with Brian Regan for the River Otters shutout record in one season (7)...Missouri's four-game winning streak is the longest current winning streak in the league...Defenseman Barret Jackman has assists in four straight games, the second-longest current assist streak in the league...The River Otters are 9-0-0 when leading after two periods on the road... The River Otters registered their tenth shutout of the season Sunday against Fort Wayne, setting a new UHL record for shutouts in one season. The Kalamazoo Wings set the previous record of nine in 2003-04.

Motor City Mechanics - (2-1-0) – Bryan Smolinski netted two goals and tallied an assist on Sunday against Port Huron...Newly acquired NHL center Sean Avery netted two goals, including the game winner, in the Mechanics 3-2 win over the Port Huron Beacons on Friday night...Defenseman Kyle Kos scored the lone goal on Saturday versus Muskegon... In the last ten games, the Mechanics have posted a 5-5-0 record...Within the Central Division, the Mechanics are 6-13-3 and 9-19-3 outside of their division...Center Blair Manning leads the Mechanics with 39 points...Right wing Joe Burton has recorded nine power play, two shorthanded, and three game-winning goals on the season...Netminder Rod Branch is third among UHL goaltenders in saves (1,119).

Muskegon Fury - (3-0-1) – The Fury's undefeated streak has reached six. They have outscored the opposition 19-9 with a goals against average of 1.50...The Fury record within the Central Division is 21-3-0 for a .875 winning percentage...The Fury are 29-4-3 at home...In the first period on home ice, they have outscored the visitors by a 3-to-1 margin of 30-10 through 27 home games...Last year after 55 games, the Fury had posted a record of 35-13-7 for 77 points; this year, they are 34-15-5 for 74 points...Clayton Pool has the best winning percentage in the UHL with a 16-3-3 record (.795 percent)...In his last three starts, goaltender Sylvain Daigle has posted a perfect 3-0-0 record with one shutout, a 0.67 goals against average, and a .979 save percentage...Center Todd Robinson marked his return to the Fury lineup after 44 games with the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins by scoring the game-winning goal and assisting on a shorthanded goal in their 3-1 triumph Saturday night at Motor City.

Port Huron Beacons – (1-2-1) – Center Aaron Brand is only 23 points behind Michel Beausoleil for third all-time on the Beacons scoring list after notching seven points this week. Brand currently sits at 51 goals and 63 assists for 114 points in 114 games played...Port Huron is 12-2-0 when leading after two periods...Left wing Josh Tataryn reached a career high in goals (20) when he scored Sunday against Motor City...Forward Andrew McPherson tied his career high in points (37) with a goal Saturday versus Danbury.

Quad City Mallards - (2-1-1) – Defenseman Troy Smith scored his first goal as a Mallard on Wednesday at Missouri. Smith's goal tied the game with just 4:51 left...Right wing Joe Dusbabek scored as time expired to tie Saturday's game versus Kansas City. Dusbabek has five points (4g, 1a) in six games since returning from injury...Forward Mike Kompon scored his 15th goal on Sunday versus Adirondack. The rookie is now tied for the team lead in goal-scoring...The Mallards 4-2 win over Adirondack on Sunday improved the team's record to 3-0-0 versus Eastern Division teams...The Mallards are 11-1-3 when right wing Greg Barber records a point.

Richmond RiverDogs – (3-0-0) - Richmond has scored 20 goals in their last three games. The 'Dogs have scored six or more in four of their last five...The 'Dogs play four games in five nights in four cities on the road this week...The 'Dogs equaled a season high with eight goals Saturday versus Elmira. The 'Dogs and Jackals combined for a season high of 14 goals in that game...Richmond fired a season high 48 shots Wednesday versus Danbury...The 'Dogs are averaging 44 shots per game in their last three contests...Over the last 10 games, Richmond is 13 for their last 37 (35.1%) on the power play and 40 for their last 45 (88.9%) on the penalty kill. The 'Dogs are 7-3 over that stretch...The 'Dogs out-shot Elmira by a season high 26 Friday...Left wing David Hymovitz, center Ryan Prentice, and right wing David Brosseau have points in six straight games...Defenseman Luch Nasato and left wing Francis Belanger have points in three straight games...Netminder Brent Belecki has registered three wins in three straight starts...Goaltender Nathan Grobins snapped a three-game losing streak Saturday.

Rockford IceHogs - (2-1-0) – Center Alex Kim notched a point in three-straight games and registered a point in six of his first ten games as an IceHog...Center J.C. Ruid has a goal in three-straight games, marking the third time this season the veteran center has had a streak of three or more. With his next goal, he will become the seventh IceHogs skater to reach the 30-goal plateau in one season...On Friday night, the IceHogs accumulated 11 points (by 11 different players) in their 4-1 win over the Generals...The IceHogs topped 100,000 fans for the sixth straight season over the weekend...Rockford leads the league with 329 power play opportunities...Defenseman Nathan Lutz received his second call-up to the AHL this season...Saturday was the first time this season that the Hogs have lost after scoring first. The Hogs are now 28-1-2 when scoring the game's first goal.

SHER-WOOD PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Richmond left wing David Hymovitz completed the week with nine points (5g, 4a) and a plus-five rating in three games. On Wednesday he posted two goals and an assist against the Trashers. In Friday and Saturday's back-to-back match-up against the Jackals, he tallied three assists and three goals. His power play goal on Friday night brought his total to seven for the season. He is currently riding a six-game point streak, has two shorthanded goals and four game-winning goals on the season. He is currently tied for third among leading scorers with 68 points (24g, 44a).

He was drafted in the ninth round of the 1992 NHL Draft by the Chicago Blackhawks. The last five seasons he played in the AHL with Binghamton, Grand Rapids and Lowell before coming to Richmond. He also spent time in the now defunct IHL with Houston and Indianapolis. He broke into professional hockey by scoring 39 goals for the ECHL's Columbus Chill in 1996-97. The 30-year-old Randolph, Massachusetts native is in his eighth professional season and first in the UHL with the Richmond RiverDogs.

Other players nominated for the Sher-Wood UHL Player of the Week include: Adirondack center Greg Koehler, Danbury forward Bruce Richardson, Elmira center Eddy Lowe, Flint right wing Mike Kinnie, Fort Wayne left wing P.C. Drouin, Kalamazoo center Yannick Carpentier, Kansas City right wing Jay Murphy, Missouri center Jim Montgomery, Motor City forward Sean Avery, Muskegon center Jeff Nelson, Port Huron center Aaron Brand, Quad City center Marty Standish, and Rockford center Alex Kim.

SOUTHERN SPORTS SUPPLY UHL GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK

Muskegon's Sylvain Daigle finished the week with a 3-0-0 record, 0.67 GAA and .979 save percentage. On Friday night, he recorded a 4-0 shutout against the Trashers tying him with Joe Dimaline for the most career shutouts in Fury history (8). On Saturday at Motor City, and on Sunday against Flint, Daigle allowed only one goal between the pipes. He rejected 93 of 95 shots for the week posting a season record 6-4-0, with a goals against average of 1.89 and .934 save percentage. The 28-year-old St. Hyacinthe, PQ native has also tallied an assist in his eleven appearances.

Returning for his ninth professional season and fifth with the Fury, Daigle rejoined Muskegon after playing overseas for the London Racers. In his career he split time with the Mississippi Sea Wolves (ECHL), Las-Vegas Thunder (IHL), Springfield Falcons (AHL), and Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL). He is the Fury's two-time team MVP, 2001-02 UHL Goaltender of the year, and the 2004 Playoff MVP. In 2003-04, he set the UHL single season record for most saves (1,961) and minutes played (3,918). Daigle was selected by the Winnipeg Jets in the sixth round of the 1995 NHL Entry Draft.

Other players nominated for the Southern Sports Supply UHL Goaltender of the Week include: Adirondack's Kris Tebbs, Danbury's Ryan McIntosh, Elmira's Kevin Kurk, Flint's Marco Emond, Fort Wayne's Kevin St. Pierre, Kalamazoo's Chad Alban, Kansas City's Tim Knudsen, Missouri's Jason Tapp, Motor City's Rod Branch, Port Huron's Daniel Berthiaume, Quad City's Jeff Reynaert, Richmond's Brent Belecki, and Rockford's Michel Robinson.

ON THE UP AND UP

Kalamazoo left wing Ryan Barnes continues to play for the Grand Rapid Griffins with eight points (4g, 4a) in 39 games played...Kalamazoo center Kory Karlander has been with the Griffins since late September posting one goal and two assists in twenty-five games played...Kalamazoo left wing Nick Bootland, who was reassigned to the Cleveland Barons in late September, has four goals and six assists (50gp) with a plus-one rating...Kalamazoo's Greg Labenski has been reassigned to the Cleveland Barons playing twenty-five games and tallying three assists...Rockford defenseman Tim Wedderburn has played in thirty-nine games with Chicago posting a plus-eleven rating with five assists...Rockford defenseman Kevin Klein returned to the Milwaukee Admirals in early December notching eleven points (4g, 7a)...Rockford's Seamus Kotyk has played fifteen games in net for the Milwaukee Admirals posting a 8-4-0 record and tallying one assist... Danbury forward John Morlang has played twenty-three games with Bridgeport tallying one goal and four assists... Flint left wing Jay Henderson who was called-up to the Providence Bruins at the start of the UHL season, has notched five goals and six assists in fifty games played...Danbury's J.F. David has played in two games with the Hershey Bears...Quad City right wing Greg Barber has posted one goal and two assists in twenty-four games with the Hershey Bears...Rockford defenseman Nathan Lutz has played in one game with the Milwaukee Admirals.



International Hockey League 2 Stories from February 15, 2005


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