AHL San Antonio Rampage

Phoenix Recalls Lessard, Bickel Assigned To Bakersfield

Published on October 7, 2009 under American Hockey League (AHL)
San Antonio Rampage News Release


SAN ANTONIO (October 7, 2009) - San Antonio Rampage General Manager Brad Treliving announced today that the Phoenix Coyotes have recalled forward Francis Lessard. In addition, defenseman Stu Bickel has been assigned to the Bakersfield Condors (ECHL).

Lessard will serve the three regular season-game suspension he was issued by the National Hockey League on Sept. 23, which was the result of a game misconduct penalty in a preseason game versus the Anaheim Ducks on Sept. 18. His suspension included the Coyotes' final two preseason games and three regular season games, the first of which will be tonight versus the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Lessard, 30, recorded 2-2-4 in 59 games with San Antonio last season while leading the league with 324 penalty minutes (PIM) and becoming just the seventh player in AHL history to reach 2,000 career PIM.

The 6-foot-2, 230-pound Lessard has appeared in 91 career NHL games with the Atlanta Thrashers (2001 to 2006), recording 1-3-4 and 268 PIM. In 426 career AHL games with Philadelphia, Chicago, Hartford and San Antonio, the native of Montreal, Quebec has collected 22-39-61 and 2,068 PIM.

Lessard was originally drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes in the third round (80th overall) of the 1997 NHL Entry Draft.

Bickel enters his second professional season and recorded one assist in 21 games with the Iowa Chops in 2008-09. The 23-year-old native of Chanhassen, MN appeared in 45 games with the University of Minnesota during the 2007-08 season and collected seven points (1 goal, 2 assists).

The Rampage hit the road this weekend for a back-to-back series against Abbotsford for the Heat's AHL debut this Friday and Saturday. The Rampage will return home on Oct. 17 to host the Grand Rapids Griffins at 7 p.m. at the AT&T Center. Tickets start at just $10 and can be purchased by calling a representative at 210.444.5554 or logging on to sarampage.com.

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