After the flurry of activity over the past two weeks and a short week due to the Labor Day holiday, the league took a slight break this week. There has been a few signings and returning players around the league this week, and we'll get right to the action.
The Pensacola Ice Flyers get top billing this week when they announced their new jerseys for the upcoming season. Like the Rivermen, the Ice Flyers will feature three sweaters this season: A white jersey, a gray jersey, and this....
On the bright side, if the Bay Center loses power during a game, there should still be enough glow-power to keep on playing. Perhaps Pensacola is a southern hot-spot for Seattle Seahawks football fans. Opposing goalies will lose track of the puck due to the glare. Hopefully, Corey Banfield likes to glow in the dark. Pensacola just re-signed him for another season. Banfield was second in scoring last season with 61 points. He should be a lock for 70 this year in those sweaters. |
The Ice Flyers also announced the signings of a pair of rookies this week. Defenseman Nathan Bruyere played two seasons of college hockey in Canada with Lakehead (ON) University. Bruyere had 13 points in 18 games last season for the Thunderwolves. Right winger Blake Hietala comes to the Ice Flyers from Michigan Tech, where he scored 5 goals and 9 assists in 29 games during his senior season.
Columbus announced the least surprising signing of the off-season this week with the return of goalie - and possibly the league's most popular player - Shannon Szabados to the Cottonmouths. Szabados looks to get plenty of work in the pipes this season with the likely retirement of Andrew Loewen, and she should get these puppies broken in pretty quickly.
Over in Fayetteville, the FireAntz re-signed their captain, center Derek Elliott. Elliott will begin his fourth season in Fayetteville, and his first full season as captain. The Iowa native scored 14 goals and 19 assists in a difficult season, and he will anchor the team under new coach Jeff Bes.
Huntsville picked up two more rookies for their camp roster. Jordan Ruby completed his four years with NCAA Rochester (NY) Instutute of Technology, appearing in 65 games. In his senior season, Ruby had a 2.10 GAA with a .924 SV% and played one game with ECHL Toledo. Forward John McGinnis played four years with Division 3 Bowdoin (ME) College, and scored 9 goals and 14 assists in his senior season.
The RiverKings added a pair of players this week by re-signing winger Ryan Marcuz and newcomer Nick Duhn. Marcuz split time last season between the RiverKings and FHL Danville, and put up a total of 9 goals and 19 assists. Duhn, a center, spent the last four seasons playing for Carleton (ON) University, playing in 52 games and scoring 7 points during his collegiate career.
The Ice Bears re-signed defenseman Bo Driscoll, who was a solid late-season addition for Knoxville's run to the President's Cup. Joining Driscoll this week is Mattias Eriksson, a 6'7 blueliner from Sweden.
Peoria continued to bolster their impressive roster this week by re-signing high-scoring center Garrett Vermeerch. The former SPHL rookie of the year saw his production dip slightly last season, but still cracked the 40-point plateau with 18 goals and 24 assists. The Rivermen added two additional defensemen, former Fayetteville blueliner Brandon Greenside and collegiate player Mike Gunn. Gunn played in a couple of games for Peoria last season after completing his college career at Northeastern.
This blog's observant readers are probably thinking right now, "Isn't today Thursday?" Well done, I did release this recap a day early. We're heading to Pensacola on Friday to catch the Emerald Coast Beer Festival for a weekend of beer, beach, and shenanigans.
We'll try not to paint the town in day-glo green...
We'll try not to paint the town in day-glo green...