FERRIS STATE HOCKEY SIGNS FIVE TALENTED NEWCOMERS

Bulldogs Fill Position Needs With Early Signings

The Ferris State University men’s ice hockey program will welcome five newcomers beginning with the 2005-06 season as the five have signed national letters of intent to attend FSU and join the Bulldogs as announced by 13th-year head coach Bob Daniels.

The group consists of goaltender Mitch O’Keefe (Almont, Ontario), the 2003-04 Central Junior A Hockey League’s Most Valuable Player, along with forwards Cory Couturier (Traverse City) (pronounced Ko-cheer-e-ah), Justin Lewandowski (Naperville, Ill.), and Dan Riedel (Rochester Hills) (pronounced Rye-dell). Riedel committed with the Bulldogs during last season’s early-signing period but elected to defer and will commence playing for the Bulldogs starting with the 2005-06 campaign. On defense, Ferris State has secured Chris Zarb (Waterford), who was selected by the Philadelphia Flyers in the June 2004 National Hockey League’s (NHL) Entry Draft. All with the exception of O'Keefe are presently skating for United States Hockey League (USHL) affiliated teams.

“Overall, assistant coaches Drew Famulak and Derek Lalonde have once again done an excellent job of bringing in players who fill our needs,” said Daniels, who picked up his 200th career win last Saturday (Dec. 4) against Western Michigan and also holds the distinction of being the program’s all-time winningest coach. “I believe it’s a group who can step in and immediately make a positive impact on our team. They all have the talent capable of developing into impact players for us in the future.”

Couturier, a 6-0, 180-pound right shot forward, is in his third season with the Green Bay (Wis.) Gamblers of the USHL. This season in 16 outings to date, Couturier has registered eight points with two goals and six assists after producing a 22-point total on six goals with 16 assists in 60 contests for the 2003-04 campaign. In his first year with the Gamblers, Couturier tallied five goals and seven helpers for 12 points in 53 games.

“Cory is a strong power forward and an honest two-way player,” said Daniels. “He works extremely hard and is courageous on the ice.”

Lewandowski, the younger brother of former Ferris State skater Phil Lewandowski (1999-03), has notched seven points on two goals and five assists in 14 contests this campaign as a member of the USHL’s Chicago Steel. A 2003-04 teammate of current FSU freshman defenseman Alex Spezia, the 5-9, 180-pound Lewandowski turned in a 22-point season performance for the Steel in 2003-04 by recording eight goals to go with 14 assists in 52 outings. He competed in 27 2002-03 contests en route to finishing with seven points on four goals and three assists in his initial campaign with the Steel.

“Justin is a tenacious player with excellent quickness,” said Daniels. “He’s a strong competitor and one that will need to add strength to be an effective offensive threat at the collegiate level.”

A 6-3, 215-pound goaltender, O’Keefe is presently midst his second season with the Central Junior A Hockey League’s (CJHL) Gloucester (Ontario) Rangers and suffered an injury this summer which has sidelined him until this Christmas. Last season, O’Keefe compiled a 29-16-5 overall record with a 2.70 goals against average and a league-best .917 saves percentage in 53 appearances to receive both CJHL Most Valuable Player and first-team all-star honors. O’Keefe, who also had a league-record six shutouts last season, led Gloucester to the 2003-04 CJHL Playoff Finals before losing to Nepean in the series’ championship game. He then was picked up by the CJHL’s Nepean (Ontario) Raiders where the talented netminder helped them to the Eastern Canadian Fred Page Cup Championship title with a shutout in the tourney’s final contest. O’Keefe then played an integral role in leading Nepean to the semifinal-round of the RBC Royal Bank Cup, which is the Tier II Junior Canadian National Championship.

“Mitch is a big, standup goaltender who plays the angles well,” said Daniels. “We’re expecting him to come in and compete for playing time right away provided he improves his level of conditioning. He’s an athletic netminder for his size and moves exceptionally well in between the posts.”

Riedel, a 5-10, 185-pounder, is skating for the second straight season with the Lincoln (Neb.) Stars of the USHL. Riedel, who was traded to the Stars in mid-January 2004, currently is tied for ninth-place among this year’s USHL’s scoring leaders with a squad-high 23 points on nine goals and 14 assists in 22 outings. The left-shot performer began the 2003-04 campaign with the North American Hockey League’s (NAHL) Springfield (Ill.) Jr. Blues where he accumulated 39 points with 20 goals and 19 assists in 29 games before being dealt to Lincoln. Riedel went on to produce 10 goals with nine assists for 19 points with the Stars in 25 contests. A season ago (Nov. 4) with Springfield, Riedel was chosen the NAHL North Division’s Offensive Player of the Week. In 2002-03, Riedel was honored as the NAHL’s Rookie of the Year after pacing the Jr. Blues and league rookies in scoring with 67 points (third overall in the NAHL) on 29 goals and 38 assists. He was also recognized as the NAHL/Michigan Hockey Player of the Month for March 2003.

“Dan is a gifted offensive player who possesses a NHL-caliber shot,” Daniels said. “We’re hopeful Dan can continue doing what he does best and that’s scoring goals. While his offensive talents are noteworthy, Dan needs to show improvement on the defensive end and in his conditioning level which will allow his skills to come through.”

Zarb, who presently skates for the USHL’s Tri-City Storm,.has four goals with seven assists for 11 points in 22 games this season. His season point total is fifth best on the team and the highest among the squad’s defensemen. Zarb was drafted by Philadelphia in this summer’s NHL Entry Draft through a pick obtained from the Minnesota Wild. The 6-4, 185-pound defender entered the draft ranked 37th among North American players on the NHL’s Central Scouting Service and was the highest of the 29 USHL players to be ranked. Zarb totaled 24 points with four goals and 20 assists in 43 contests a season ago. His season points total was 11th best on the squad and was second highest among the Storm’s defensemen. He went on to post four points (all assists) in 11 playoffs contests last season. Zarb, who was featured on the cover of a USA Junior Hockey Magazine issue this spring, helped Tri-City capture its first-ever Anderson Cup as the USHL’s regular-season champions. Tom Rudrud, who skated collegiately at Ferris State from 1979-83, is presently an assistant coach with Tri-City.

“Chris is a big, offensive defenseman with excellent mobility for his size,” said Daniels. “He sees the ice well, is a good puck handler and has an excellent shot. Chris should step in and help create offense.”

Ferris State is currently 5-10-1 overall and 2-7-1 in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) this campaign. The Bulldogs will graduate six players this season – forwards Jeff Legue, Derek Nesbitt and Carter Thomson, defensemen Skip Renauld and Matt York, and goaltender Mike Brown.

Name, Position Hometown

Corey Couturier, Forward -- Traverse City, Mich.
6-0, 180 lbs., Shoots: Right, Date of Birth: 2/2/85
2004-05 team: Green Bay Gamblers, United States Hockey League

Justin Lewandowski, Forward -- Naperville, Ill.
5-9, 180 lbs., Shoots: Right, Date of Birth: 11/9/85
2004-05 team: Chicago Steel, United States Hockey League

Mitch O'Keefe, Goaltender -- Almont, Ontario
6-3, 215 lbs., Catches: Right, Date of Birth: 3/29/84
2004-05 team: Gloucester Rangers, Central Junior A Hockey League

Dan Riedel, Forward -- Rochester Hills, Mich.
5-10, 185 lbs., Shoots: Left, Date of Birth: 4/23/85
2004-05 team: Lincoln Stars, United States Hockey League

Chris Zarb, Defenseman -- Waterford, Mich.
6-4, 185 lbs., Shoots: Right, Date of Birth: 1/11/85
2004-05 team: Tri-City Storm, United States Hockey League