CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS – The Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL) have recalled former IceRays goaltender Pheonix Copley from the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League, Capitals senior vice president and general manager Brian MacLellan announced on Friday. Copley is the first IceRays junior player to make the NHL and joins Ryan Garbutt of the Dallas Stars as the only two players in franchise history to earn a NHL roster spot.
Copley, 22, played 11 games with the Bears this season, recording a 6-3-1 record with a 2.00 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage. The North Pole, Alaska native earned his first career win in his AHL debut on Oct. 13 against the Norfolk Admirals, saving 29 of 31 shots. Copley posted his first AHL shutout in a 15-save effort on Oct. 19 against the Hartford Wolfpack and stopped 26 shots in his next start on Oct. 26 against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms to earn his second career shutout. He signed with Washington as a free agent on March 19, 2014.
The 6-foot-4, 196-pound goaltender appeared in 42 games with the Corpus Christi IceRays in 2010-11, recording a 14-23-4 record with a 4.17 goals-against average and a .880 save percentage. Copley played the next two seasons in the United States Hockey League (USHL) before joining the collegiate ranks at NCAA Division I Michigan Tech for two seasons. In 54 games with the Huskies, Copley earned a 18-28-7 record with a 2.82 goals-against average and a .895 save percentage. Following his sophomore season, the former IceRay joined the South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL and played three games to close the 2013-14 season.
The IceRays begin a seven-game road trip on Friday, January 16 at 9:05 p.m. Central in the first of a two-game set against the Wenatchee Wild from Town Toyota Center. Coverage begins at 8:50 p.m. Central on SportsRadio Corpus Christi (KSIX) and FASTHockey.com.
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