CORPUS CHRISTI, TX – The Corpus Christi IceRays have sent another member of the team to the United States Hockey League, this time behind the bench. Assistant coach, and former IceRays forward Ryan Bennett has been named the assistant coach for the Des Moines Buccaneers in the USHL.

Bennett returns to Des Moines where he played two seasons with the Buccaneers. “It feels good to be going back to Des Moines. I loved my time there when I played and it was the beginning of my hockey career and it opened up a lot of doors for myself as a player. Going back now as a coach and having the opportunity to help these kids that are in the position I was back then is exciting to me.”

With the Buccaneers, Bennett scored 29 goals and 28 assists in 61 games played. In his time spent on the ice in Corpus Christi, the Glens Falls, NY native scored 35 goals and assisted 75 others in two years.

“Ryan's presence will be missed around Corpus Christi,” said head coach Justin Quenneville. “However this was opportunity for him to open an even larger door.”

Even though Bennett departs, he praised the organization that he feels has a very bright future. “The IceRays in just two year have already positioned themselves as one premier organizations in the NAHL. They have a great reputation in the junior hockey circles and have already sent several kids to D1 and D3 schools. I think the Corpus organization is moving in the right direction and are going to have a very successful 12-13 season.”

“I would also like to thank Tim & Cassidy Lange, along with Pat Dunn for bringing me to Corpus Christi and giving me the opportunity to play and coach in a great organization. In addition, I would also like to thank Coach Quenneville, Chris Mei and George Escamilla for all there support the past 4 years.”

The low-scoring nature of the series hasn’t totally surprised O’Handley, despite the fact the Gamblers (4.43 goals per game) and the Black Hawks (4.30) were the top two goal-scoring teams in the playoffs prior to the start of the championship series.

“Surprised a little bit because both teams have good goal-scorers,” O’Handley said. “But I think the goaltending has been a factor and going back to an earlier comment, neither team wants to give an inch and both want to win awful bad.”

A native of New Lenox, Ill., Broadhurst was the Blackhawks' seventh-round draft pick last June. He plans to finish the USHL season before making a firm decision on his future.

He could return to Green Bay next season in hopes of getting into UNO or sign with the Ontario Hockey League's London Knights, who invested a second-round pick in Broadhurst's rights during last month's priority draft.

Not only do these two USHL squads share six players ranked by NHL Central Scouting as top prospects for the upcoming NHL Draft, but both teams also have a pair of 2011 NHL Draft picks on their roster; Green Bay defenseman Andy Welinski (3^rd round, 83^rd overall to Anaheim Ducks) and forward Alex Broadhurst (7^th round, 199^th overall to Chicago Blackhawks), along with Waterloo forward Tony Cameranesi (5^th round, 130^th overall to Toronto Maple Leafs) and defenseman Eddie Wittchow (6^th round, 154^th overall to Florida Panthers).

“The fact that these two guys could play a year in the League and continue to hone their skills, and the patience from the colleges they’re going to and the encouragement from Florida and Toronto is tremendous, said Black Hawks head coach P.K. O’Handley. “It gives that player that much bigger of an advantage when it’s time to go. It gives them more experience and more of an opportunity to draw on the learning moments in this league that you just can’t match. The learning experiences that players go through on every team in the USHL – the things they have to learn to adapt and deal with – are immeasurable.

“The league is very competitive and they’ve done a good job of keeping it small, which means they are the undisputed top league in the United States,” Gadowsky said. “There are only 16 teams so whether you are from the East Coast or West, you want to be in the USHL. That’s why they get the very best.

“That’s why so many USHL players go on to Division I hockey and [sometimes] further to the NHL,” Gadowsky said.

As for the Force, of the 15 players they drafted last year eight – or more than half – are no longer affiliated with the team. That means either their rights were traded or released by the Force.

One of the oldest and one of the youngest players on the Waterloo roster are the only skaters to appear in all 60 regular season games, plus each of twelve playoff contests. James Hansen and Taylor Cammarata have skated in 72 meaningful games for the Black Hawks with the potential to play in three more. They are two of the 14 Hawks who have been in the lineup every time the Waterloo has taken the ice in the playoffs.

Galiev helped lift the Sea Dogs to their second straight President Cup title in a four-game series win over the Rimouski Oceanic. In the series-clinching game last Thursday night he recorded his second five-point game of the playoffs scoring a hat-trick and adding two assists as first star of the 8-0 victory. He also picked up a goal and an assist last Wednesday in the 6-4 Game 3 win. The Sea Dogs will compete in their second straight MasterCard Memorial Cup and will look to defend their 2011 title beginning Saturday May 19 when they open competition against the London Knights.