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River Otters Add defenseman and goaltender

September 27, 2005 - International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Missouri River Otters News Release


St. Charles, MO --- The Missouri River Otters of the United Hockey League agreed to terms with Martin Vasut, who spent two years in the Czech Elite League, and Brenden Cuthbert, MVP of the 2005 Canadian Junior ‘A' Championships.

Vasut, 26, played ten games last season with Vsetin HC of the Czech Elite League. The 6'2'', 205-lb defenseman played from 2002-2004 with the Idaho Steelheads of the East Coast Hockey League. During that span he played in 89 games, scoring five goals, adding 22 assists, and amassing 83 penalty minutes. His first professional season was with Vsetin HC in 2001, when he scored two points and piled up 58 penalty minutes in 43 games.

"Martin is a physical defenseman who will add a lot of character to our team," River Otters Head Coach Kevin Kaminski said. "He plays hard, competes every night and will bring toughness to our defense."

Cuthbert, 21, led the Weyburn Red Wings to the 2005 Royal Bank Cup Championship in the Canadian Junior ‘A' Hockey League. The 6'3'', 170-lb netminder was named MVP of the Royal Bank Cup, posting a 5-0-1 record, a 1.85 goals-against-average, and a .939 save percentage. During the 2004-05 regular season with Weyburn, he went 10-9-5 with a 2.40 goals-against-average and a .917 save percentage. From 2001-2004 he played in the Canadian Major Juniors with the Seattle Thunderbirds, Medicine Hat Tigers, and the Saskatoon Blades of the Western Hockey League.

"Brenden is a big goaltender who has a lot of potential," Kaminski said. "He had a terrific season with Weyburn and we expect him to push Kevin Reiter for the starting goaltender job."

Vasut and Cuthbert join a growing roster of River Otters that include: goaltender Kevin Reiter; defensemen Tim O'Connell, Tyler Butler, Jared Newman, Brian Heckendorn, Mark Lindsay, and Leif Thorkelson; forwards Brad Church, Frank Littlejohn, Lars Pettersen, Mark Odut, Brad MacMillan, Dmitri Toupikov, Ryan Scapinello, and Richard Paul.

The Rivers Otters first exhibition game is scheduled for Friday, October 14 against the Mallards at the Quad City Sports Center with a face-off at 7 PM CDT. Tickets are $8 for adults and $4 for children 12-and-younger. On Sunday, October 16, the River Otters will host the IceHogs at the St. Louis Mills IceZone in an exhibition game. The game is scheduled to start at 6:30 PM CDT. General admission tickets will cost $6 and will be available at the IceZone starting at 10 AM the day of the game.

The River Otters start their 2005-06 Colonial Cup quest Friday, October 21 at the Family Arena against the Motor City Mechanics. The River Otters are proud sponsors of the 2006 UHL All-Star Classic on Wednesday, January 25. Tickets for the UHL All-Star Classic are scheduled to go on sale Friday, October 21.To order 2005-06 Missouri River Otters season or group tickets, please call the River Otters front office at (636) 896-4200, or visit the River Otters online at www.riverotters.com.



International Hockey League 2 Stories from September 27, 2005


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.

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