St. Louis Blues President John Davidson announced today that defensemen
Aaron MacKenzie and
Jeff Woywitka, along with rookie goaltender
Marek Schwarz, have been assigned to the Peoria Rivermen, the Blues’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate. The additions bring Peoria’s 2006-07 AHL Training Camp roster total to 26.
MacKenzie, 25, registered nine points (2g, 7a) in 51 games during the 2005-06 season. The 6-foot, 187-pound backliner, who missed a combined 29 games due to injury, served as one of the team’s alternate captains.
Woywitka, 23, collected two assists in 26 total games with the Blues last season over three reassignments, two early-season and one late-season. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound rearguard, in his fourth professional season, notched 15 points (1g, 14a) in 53 games in 2005-06.
Schwarz, 20, posted a 7-8-0 record with 2.57 goals against average (GAA) and .920 save percentage for HC Sprata Praha of the Czech Republic Elite League (Extraliga). The 6-foot, 180-pound native of Mlada Boleslav, Czech Republic, also saw time with the HC Berounsti Medvedi of the Czech First Division (1.liga) and HC Sparta Praha’s U-20 team.
With the arrival of MacKenzie and Woywitka, there are now 10 AHL Rivermen returnees from last season, including: veteran enforcer and forward/defenseman Rocky Thompson, who is entering his 10th professional season after leading the team in PIM (247) last season; goaltender Chris Beckford-Tseu; left wings Charles Linglet and Ryan Ramsay; and defensemen Doug Lynch, Zack FitzGerald, Patrick Wellar and Gerry Burke. Lynch, Beckford-Tseu and Wellar were part of the 2006 ECHL Kelly Cup Championship won by the Alaska Aces, Peoria’s ECHL affiliate.
Please
CLICK HERE for the current Rivermen Training Camp Roster. Please
CLICK HERE for a complete Training Camp Schedule, which includes four Rivermen preseason games.
The Rivermen host the Chicago Wolves in preseason action on Saturday, September 23 at 7:00 p.m. at Carver Arena in the front end of a home-and-home set between the clubs. And on Tuesday, September 26, Peoria faces off against the Iowa Stars at 7:00 p.m. at Carver Arena in the opening salvo of a home-and-home affair.
The Rivermen open the 2006-07 AHL regular season on Friday, October 6 against the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights at Carver Arena at 7:30 p.m. It’s Heritage Bank Magnet Schedule Night for the first 5,000 fans. On Saturday, October 7, Peoria welcomes the rival Chicago Wolves to Carver Arena at 7:00 p.m. on the first of two Maui Jim Sunglasses Nights, in which 25 random winners will receive a free pair of Maui Jim Sunglasses.
Rivermen season ticket plans are on sale now with 1) a Full Season package (40 games), 2) the 25th Anniversary package (25 games), 3) a 12-game package, 4) a seven-game package and 5) undated voucher books (denominations of 20 vouchers). Packages start at just $75 per seat.
For more information, please contact Director of Ticket Operations Jim Small at 309-676-1040 x 106 or via e-mail at tickets@rivermen.net. 
