Jaromir Blagr: The Hockey Blog

Aces sign forward, defenseman from Division III Utica College

The ECHL champion Alaska Aces announced a couple more signings today -- rookie forward Ridge Garbutt and rookie defenseman Mike Slowikowski are both fresh out of Division III Utica College.

You hardcores in the Cowbell Crew might recall that center Tim Coffman on last season's squad was also from Utica -- Coffman was released late in the regular season when the Aces' roster became too big.

Garbutt, 23, is a 5-foot-9, 180-pounder to last season led Utica in goals and was second in points with 12-12--24 totals and a +9 rating in 25 games. He led the team with three power-play goals and four shorties. In 78 career games, he put up 29-39--68 totals.

Slowikowski, 25, is big -- 6-6, 231. He had four or five assists in 25 games last season -- we saw conflicting stats on a couple sites -- and in 102 career games earned 15-27--42 totals.

The Aces have announced four signings. Previously, they reported the return of defenseman Corey Syvret and the addition of former Las Vegas Wranglers center Chris Francis.

In other Alaska-related news, the AHL's Hershey Bears have signed former Aces winger Tim Spencer to a one-year deal. He played last season for the Sheffield Steelers in the Great Britain-based EIHL.

Also, Tage Thompson, the son of former Aces bench boss Brent Thompson, who guided the Aces to the 2011 Kelly Cup and is currently head coach of the AHL's Bridgeport Sound Tigers, has been to the U.S. National Under-18 team.

Doyle Woody

Doyle Woody covered hockey and other sports for the Anchorage Daily News for 34 years.

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