Blaze sign familiar defenseman

The Bloomington Blaze, presented by Mid-Illini Credit Union, has signed their first defenseman and another familiar face to their 2012-13 roster.

Joining forwards Jon Booras and Matthew Larke is Aaron Dawson, who returns for his second year with the Blaze. He maintained a spot on the 2011-12 roster for the entire 66-game season.

Last year with the Blaze, Dawson received 79 penalty minutes. Despite that time spent in the penalty box, he contributed 24 points (9 goals, 15 assists) in 63 games played. This will be the third season in Bloomington for the Peoria, Illinois native. He played in 50 games with the PrairieThunder team that made the playoffs in 2011. During their brief playoff run, Aaron contributed with two assists.

Dawson played college hockey for the University of Prince Edward Island and junior hockey for the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey League. He began his professional career in 2009 with the Idaho Steelheads of the ECHL.

“Aaron is a tremendous leader and big presence on the blue line,” Head Coach Brian Gratz explains of one of last year’s Blaze captains. “He is a difficult player to play against and is a strong two-way defenseman.”