USA HOCKEY INVITES ANDY ROACH TO 2005 U.S. OLYMPIC CAMP

Andy Roach, a former two-time All-American at Ferris State University and a two-time (2004-05) World Cup of Hockey participant, is among 39 players to be invited to the 2005 U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Orientation Camp which will be held Sept. 5-8 in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Former Ferris All-American Andy Roach will make his NHL debut this season with the St. Louis Blues.

The camp, which isn't being conducted as a tryout camp, is designed to assist in the preparation of the 2006 United States Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team that will compete at the XX Olympic Winter Games from Feb. 10-26 in Torino, Italy.

Roach is among 14 defensemen selected to the orientation camp roster, which features representatives from 21 different National Hockey League (NHL) teams. The 5-11, 181-pound Roach will play the 2005-06 season for the NHL’s St. Louis Blues, who exercised their rights to pick-up the option on Roach. The native of Mattawan, Mich., totaled three points (all assists) in seven outings at the 2005 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Men’s World Championships.

Last season, Roach skated for Lausanne HC of the Swiss National League and appeared in 14 regular-season contests where he collected nine points on four goals and five assists. He spent the previous five seasons in the German Elite League, including the last four (2000-04) with Adler Mannheim. Roach posted 32 points on 11 goals and 21 assists to go with a +15 efficiency rating.in 46 appearances for the Mannheim Eagles during the 2003-04 campaign.

In the 2004 IIHF World Championships at Prague, Czech Republic, Roach guided the United States Men's National Team to the bronze medal with the game-winning goal in a 1-0 shootout victory against Slovakia. Roach, who received second-team All-America honors twice (1995-96 and 1996-97) by the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) during his four-year (1993-97) FSU career, was the lone player on the 2004 U.S.A. roster for the World Cup of Hockey with no NHL playing experience.

While at Ferris State, Roach compiled 129 career points with 42 goals and 87 assists in 138 games. Roach, who currently ranks 17th among the Bulldogs' all-time leaders in scoring and 14th in assists, garnered All-Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) First-Team accolades twice (1995-97) while receiving second-team laurels in 1994-95 and league all-rookie plaudits in 1993-94. He was named the CCHA's Best "Offensive" Defenseman in the 1996-97 season after attaining runner-up honors the previous campaign (1995-96). Roach, who was selected FSU's Most Valuable Player in both the 1995-96 and 1996-97 seasons, presently owns the distinction of being the Bulldogs’ top goal scorer among the program’s all-time defensemen and is second in career points.

Following his Ferris career, Roach played three seasons in the International Hockey League (IHL) with three different teams – San Antonio Dragons (1997-98), Long Beach Ice Dogs (1998-99), and Utah Grizzlies (1998-99) before venturing overseas to play for Krefeld Pinguine in the German Elite League.