PrairieThunder signs championship goalie
Published on July 16, 2009 under International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Bloomington PrairieThunder News Release
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -Goalie Paulo Colaiacovo, who has two championships on his resume, has signed to play for the Bloomington PrairieThunder in the 2009-10 season, head coach Jarrod Skalde announced Thursday.
Colaiacovo, whose twin brother Carlo is a defenseman for the St. Louis Blues of the NHL, helped the Colorado Eagles of the CHL and the Tilburg Trappers of the Netherlands win championships.
The 6-foot-2, 220-pound Colaiacovo has logged 4,988 minutes in four professional seasons. He has a 43-17-5 record with a .912 save percentage (excluding statistics in Tilburg). His best season was in 2005-06 with Colorado when he posted a 30-11-3 record and a .917 save percentage. He allowed only 2.58 goals per game.
"Paulo is a big, strong goalie, who will give us a chance to win every night," said PrairieThunder coach Jarrod Skalde. "The important thing for me is that he is a confident guy, who is a proven winner."
The 26-year-old Colaiacovo, a native of Toronto, led Colorado to the CHL Ray Miron President's Cup championship in 2004-2005. He added the National Cup and Dutch Cup championships to his credit with Tilburg in 2007-08.
He was named to the CHL all-star team in 2006 and was the Goaltender of the Year in 2004 with the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League, the top Junior League in Canada.
Colaiacovo, who will attend the Peoria Rivermen training camp in September, sat out last season while rehabilitating a knee injury.
"Paulo hurt his knee just before heading to training camp with Phoenix of the ECHL," said Skalde. "He could have returned later in the season, but decided to take the year off and focus on rehabilitation. He is in top shape and ready for this season to begin."
The signing of Colaiacovo brings the PrairieThunder preseason roster to 11. Per team policy, terms of the contract were not released.
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