Pages

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Providence Schedule Format Determined

P-BRUINS ANNOUNCE 2010-11 OPPONENTS
July 13, 2010

Providence, RI - The American Hockey League today announced its schedule format for the 2010-11 season. The Providence Bruins will play their current Atlantic Division rivals from the Eastern Conference and will make a trip out to Abbotsford and to Charlotte to face the newly added Checkers. All told, the 2010-11 competition for the P-Bruins features 12 different opponents, nine of which made the postseason in 2009-10.

While the schedule will not be announced until late in the summer, the P-Bruins' schedule format is as follows. In Atlantic Division competition, Providence will face all six teams, including the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, Hartford Wolf Pack, Manchester Monarchs, Portland Pirates, Springfield Falcons and the Worcester Sharks. In the East Division, the P-Bruins will battle the Albany Devils, Binghamton Senators, Charlotte Checkers, Hershey Bears, and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. In the Western Conference, the P-Bruins take on the Abbotsford Heat.

A complete breakdown of the P-Bruins' opponents and how many times they will face each other are as follows:

ATLANTIC DIVISION
PROVIDENCE BRUINS (Boston)
Bridgeport Sound Tigers (New York Islanders) - 5 H, 5 A
Hartford Wolf Pack (New York Rangers) - 5 H, 5 A
Manchester Monarchs (Los Angeles) - 5 H, 5 A
Portland Pirates (Buffalo) - 6 H, 6 A
Springfield Falcons (Columbus) - 5 H, 5 A
Worcester Sharks (San Jose) - 6 H, 6 A

EAST DIVISION
Albany Devils (New Jersey) - 1 H, 1 A
Binghamton Senators (Ottawa) - 1 H, 1 A
Charlotte Checkers (Carolina) - 2 H, 2 A
Hershey Bears (Washington) - 1 H, 1 A
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (Pittsburgh) - 1 H, 1 A

NORTH DIVISION
Abbotsford Heat (Calgary) - 2 H, 2 A

The AHL will continue to feature two conferences, now encompassing two seven-team divisions and two eight-club divisions. Two new teams are joining the AHL this upcoming season, including the Oklahoma City Barons and Charlotte giving the league a total of 30 clubs vying for the 2011 Calder Cup.

*Information gathered from www.providencebruins.com

Several Signings & Trade While I've Been Away

Bruins Sign Four Players
Boston signs Andrew Bodnarchuk, Gregory Campbell, Jeff LoVecchio and Adam McQuaid
July 15, 2010

General Manager Peter Chiarelli announced today that the club has signed defenseman Andrew Bodnarchuk to a 1-year contract, forward Gregory Campbell to a 2-year contract, forward Jeff LoVecchio to a 1-year contract and defenseman Adam McQuaid to a 2 -year contract. Per club policy, financial terms of the deals will not be disclosed.

The 22-year-old Andrew Bodnarchuk is a veteran of 5 NHL regular season games and registered 2 penalty minutes in those contests.

He skated 132 regular season games with Providence over the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons compiling a total of 6 goals, 19 assists, 25 points and 84 penalty minutes. He played his first NHL game on April 3rd, 2010 in Toronto where he was recalled to Boston and played in 5 scoreless games. He spent most of his 2009-10 season with Providence with 5-10=15 totals and 51 PIM in 70 AHL Bruins games. He was also called up for the 2010 playoffs but did not dress in any games.

The 5’11”, 185-pound native of Drumheller, AB, Canada was originally selected by Boston in the 2006 entry draft (5th round, 128th overall).

The 26-year-old Gregory Campbell skated in 60 games for Florida last season and registered 2-15=17 totals. He skated in 363 games over six seasons in his NHL career – all with Florida – and has tallied 29-56=85 totals and 312 penalty minutes. Campbell’s best season statistically came in 2008-09 when he registered career highs in goals (13), assists (19), points (32), and penalty minutes (76) in 77 games.

The 6’0”, 199-pound native of London Ontario was originally drafted by the Panthers in the third round (67th overall) of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. The Bruins acquired Campbell on June 22, 2010 along with Nathan Horton in exchange for Dennis Wideman and the 15th overall pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft (15th overall pick traded by Florida to Los Angeles on Draft Day, Los Angeles selected Derek Forbort).

Campbell is a former Memorial Cup champion, as he helped the Kitchener Rangers to the title in 2002-03 after posting 22 goals, 33 assists and 116 penalty minutes in 55 regular season games. He then added 15 goals, four assists and 34 penalty minutes in 21 Memorial Cup postseason contests.

The 24-year-old Jeff LoVecchio is a veteran of two minor league seasons, both played with the Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League. In those two seasons, he has played in 79 games scoring 18 goals and 11 assists for 29 points to go along with 38 penalty minutes. In six postseason contests, all played during the 2007-2008 postseason with Providence, he scored one assist and had two penalty minutes.

Last season, LoVecchio skated in 65 games for Providence, with 15-9=24 totals along with 32 penalty minutes, all career highs for the left-winger. He also managed 128 shots on net in those 65 games.

The 6’2”, 205 pound Chesterfield, Missouri native made his pro debut with Providence on March 14, 2008 and recorded his first career pro points with a goal and an assist the next night against San Antonio.

While he missed the entire 2008-2009 season with a concussion he sustained in July 2008, LoVecchio came back to finish the 2009-2010 season ranked ninth in points on the Bruins AHL affiliate.

LoVecchio played his college hockey at Western Michigan University, where he was named captain in just his second season with the team. There, he recorded 35-38=73 totals in 113 games and 98 penalty minutes in three seasons with the Broncos.

Originally signed to an amateur tryout agreement by Providence on March 14, 2008 after going undrafted, he was then signed as a free agent with Boston on March 18. He has yet to make his NHL debut.

The 23-year-old Adam McQuaid is a veteran of 19 NHL regular season games and registered 1 goal and 21 penalty minutes in those contests. He split the 2009-2010 season between Boston and Providence.

He skated 32 games with Providence this past season compiling 3 goals, 7 assists, 10 points and 6 penalty minutes. He was recalled on five occasions to Boston and skated in 19 regular season games. He played his first NHL game on December 19th in Toronto. He scored his first career NHL goal with the game winning goal on February 7th in Montreal which came in his 12th career NHL game. He skated in 9 post-season games with Boston with 6 penalty minutes. His first NHL playoff game was on April 15th in Buffalo in the 2010 conference quarterfinals.

During his 2008-2009 campaign with Providence, he set career-highs in goals (4), assists (11), points (15), penalty minutes (141) and games (78). He suited up in career- best 16 playoff games, adding three assists. He also received the P-Bruins Hendricks Memorial Fan Appreciation Award.

The 6’5”, 209-pound native of Charlottetown, PE, Canada was originally selected by Columbus in the 2005 entry draft (2nd round, 55th overall). He was acquired by Boston from Columbus on May 16, 2007 in exchange for a 2007 fifth round draft pick.

* The above press release is courtesy of the Boston Bruins


BRUINS SIGN McIVER, SCHAEFER
Boston Inks Depth Defenseman and Goaltender
July 5, 2010

Boston, MA - Boston Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli announced today that the club has signed defenseman Nathan McIver to a two-year contract and goaltender Nolan Schaefer to a one-year contract. Per club policy, financial terms of the deals will not be disclosed.

The 25-year-old McIver is a veteran of 36 NHL games, splitting his time between the Vancouver Canucks and the Anaheim Ducks. Last season, McIver scored one goal and had four assists for five points while skating in 44 games with the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League. He has also added 109 penalty minutes.

McIver made his NHL debut in 2006-2007 season, appearing in one game for the Canucks and totaling seven penalty minutes. He then appeared with Vancouver in 2007-2008, going scoreless for 17 games but registering 52 penalty minutes. He was acquired by Anaheim in 2008-2009 off waivers and skated in a career high 18 NHL games, scoring his first career point on an assist in a game against the Los Angeles Kings. He was then traded back to Vancouver for winger Mike Brown.

The 6'2", 195-pound native of Summerside, Prince Edward Island, was originally selected by Vancouver in the eighth round (254th overall) of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.

The 30-year-old Schaefer is a veteran of 7 NHL games, all played with the San Jose Sharks during the 2005-2006 season where he posted a 5-1-0 record with a 1.87 Goals Against Average and .920 Save Percentage. Last season, Schaefer spent the season with HC CSKA Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League in Russia after spending the previous three seasons in the AHL. In 22 appearances for Moscow, he recorded six wins, 10 losses, and one overtime loss (6-10-1) while carrying a .895 save percentage and 2.66 goals against average. He also registered two assists.

Schaefer played collegiate hockey at Providence College in Rhode Island, where he set the school record with 2,848 saves in 99 appearances with the team.

The 6'2", 195-pound native of Yellow Grass, Saskatchewan, was originally selected by San Jose in the fifth round (166th overall) of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft. He is the younger brother of former Bruin, Peter Schaefer.

* The above press release is courtesy of the Boston Bruins


BRUINS SIGN VETERAN JEREMY REICH
Former P-Bruins Captain Returns to Fold
July 1, 2010

Boston, MA - Boston Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli announced today that the club has signed forward Jeremy Reich to a one-year contract. Per club policy, financial terms of the deal will not be disclosed.

The 31-year-old Reich is a veteran of three NHL seasons, two of which he played for Boston from 2006-2008. He has skated in 99 NHL regular season games, registering 2-4=6 totals and 161 penalty minutes. He made his NHL debut in the 2003-04 season with the Columbus Blue Jackets, playing 9 games and registering 1 assist during a call-up.

In September of 2005, the Bruins signed him as a free agent. He scored his first NHL point with the Bruins against his former team, Columbus, in December 2007.

He skated 199 games with the Providence Bruins over three seasons, totaling 33-35=68 and 479 penalty minutes. On June 2, 2009 Reich was signed as a free agent by the New York Islanders where he then went to play 33 games last year with their American Hockey League team, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, totaling 12-8=20 with 24 penalty minutes.

The 6'1" 203-pound native of Craik, Saskatchewan was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks in the second round (39th overall) of the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. In the two years Reich spent in Boston (2006-2008) he played in 90 games and totaled 2-3=5 with 141 PIM.

* The above release release is courtesy of the Boston Bruins.


B'S TRADE SOBOTKA FOR WARSOFSKY
Vladimir Sobotka Sent to St. Louis for Unsigned BU Defenseman
June 26, 2010

Boston, MA - Boston Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli announced today that the club has acquired unsigned draft choice David Warsofsky from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for forward Vladimir Sobotka.

The 20-year-old Warsofsky is currently a junior defenseman at Boston University and a native of Marshfield, Massachusetts. He has played in 79 career games during his first two years with the Terriers, registering 15 goals and 31 assists for 46 points and 75 penalty minutes. Last season, he played in 34 games and scored a career high 12 goals while tying his career high with 23 points. He has scored 23 points in each of his first two collegiate seasons, registering 3-20=23 totals during his freshman campaign. Warsofsky also played for the United States National Development team in 2007-2008, recording 4-2=6 totals while skating in 15 games.

The 5'9", 170-pound defenseman was originally drafted 95th overall in the fourth round of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft by St. Louis.

The 22-year-old Sobotka completed his third NHL season in 2009-10, all with the Bruins. He posted career highs in goals, points and games played last season and matched a career high in assists, registering 4 goals and 6 assists for 10 points in 61 games. He also appeared in 6 games for the Providence Bruins, also finishing with 4 goals and 6 assists for 10 points. For his NHL career, Sobotka has skated in 134 games with six goals and 16 assists.

The 5'10", 183-pound native of Tredic, Czech Republic was selected by Boston 106th overall in the fourth round of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. He had spent his entire career within the Bruins organization.

*Information gathered from http://www.providencebruins.com/


BOSTON GIVES BOYCHUK TWO-YEAR EXTENSION
AHL's 2008-09 Eddie Shore Award Winner Returns to Boston
June 24, 2010

Boston, MA - Boston Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli announced today that the club has signed defenseman Jonny Boychuk to a two-year contract extension. Per club policy, financial terms of the deal will not be disclosed.

Last year marked Boychuk's first full-time NHL season and he registered 5 goals, 10 assists for 15 points and 43 penalty minutes in 51 games for Boston. Boychuk added 2-4=6 totals and 6 penalty minutes during the 13 playoff games he appeared in last postseason. Prior to last season, the 26-year-old Boychuk had skated in five regular season NHL games, splitting those contests between the Colorado Avalanche and the Bruins.

In total, Boychuk has appeared in 56 regular season NHL games while compiling 5-10=15 totals.

He was named the American Hockey League's top defenseman (Eddie Shore Award) in 2008-09 after leading all AHL defensemen in scoring with 20 goals and 45 assists in 78 games as a member of the Providence Bruins.

The 6'2", 225-pound native of Edmonton, Alberta was selected by Colorado in the second round (62nd overall) of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. He was then traded by the Avalanche to the Bruins for Matt Hendricks on June 24, 2008.

* The above press release is courtesy of the Boston Bruins.