Returners Marsh, Turek And Imbeault Back For Aces (And A Bonus Item For The Cowbell Crew)

Depth keeps piling up on the Alaska Aces blueline -- the ECHL club today will announce the signings of returning defensemen Tyson Marsh and Ryan Turek, plus the return of center Alexandre Imbeault, who flourished in the Kelly Cup playoffs last spring.

Marsh, acquired by then-coach Keith McCambridge late last regular season, finished his regular-season campaign in the American Hockey League, then joined the Aces for the playoff run. He scored one goal in 19 Cup games and was -1, and he plays with an edge.

Turek joined the Aces in midseason after leaving Michigan State and teamed with Derick Martin to form Alaska's shutdown pairing on the back end. He went 3-3--6 and +7 in 35 regular-season games, then 1-6--7 and +9 in 19 playoff matches.

Imbeault racked 7-12--19 and -2 totals in 20 playoff games to tie for sixth in postseason scoring. In 64 regular-season matches, he earned 20-27--47 totals and a +7 rating. He also earned six games with Alaska's AHL affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen, and scored two goals in that span.

The additions of Marsh and Turek give the Aces nine D-men, all of whom played for Alaska at some point last season. The club previously announced Martin, T.J. Fast, Nick Tuzzolino, Bryan Miller, Lee Green and B.J. Crum. Plus, Alexander Hellstrom, who didn't make it out of Peoria's camp, is listed on the Aces' roster on the Web site.

If you've managed to read this far, you're probably a hard-core, Cowbell Crew-type fan, so as an added bonus, here's some info on who you'll be booing this season. The Stockton Thunder have re-signed pest Garet Hunt (brother of UAA defenseman Trevor Hunt), who last season as a rookie set a team record with 245 penalty minutes, second in the league to former Aces and UAA winger Justin Johnson (259 PIMs), who is back with the Aces. Hunt is the quintessential opponent opposing fans love to late. I like him, but then I've got a soft spot for smaller guys who will take on anyone, which is why I always liked Lance Galbraith even before he was an Ace, back when the Cowbell Crew loathed him in his Idaho Steelheads days. (Naturally, Hunt was voted "Fan Favorite'' by the Thunder faithful).