KESERICH RETURNS TO RIVERKINGS, SIMS WAIVED
Former RiverKings goalie comes back after spending last year in Johnstown
 
(Southaven, MS) --- Mississippi RiverKings Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations Kevin “Killer” Kaminski has announced that goaltender Tyler Sims has been waived and the RiverKings have signed goaltender Ian Keserich.
 
Keserich returns to the Mid-South after spending last season with Johnstown of the ECHL. With Johnstown, he played in 32 games earning a 13-14-2 record, a 3.14 goals-against-average and a save percentage of .902.
 
During his season with Johnstown, Keserich earned ECHL Goaltender of the Week honors for the week of February 9th through 15th. During that week, Ian won three games for a 2.00 goals-against-average and fashioned a save percentage of .936.
 
Kaminski had these comments about the addition of Keserich: “I liked the way this kid played when I was in Youngstown. I thought he played with a lot of confidence. He's big, takes up a lot of net and plays his angles well, and I like his intensity and focus.”
 
In the 2007-08 campaign, Keserich started with the CHL’s Colorado Eagles, playing in seven games and getting a 2-2-2 record, a 3.95 GAA, and a save percentage of .897. Ian was released by the Eagles and acquired by the RiverKings, where he played in 21 games, earning a 13.7.1 record, a goals-against-average of 2.64 and a save percentage of .916.
 
With the RiverKings, Keserich had a four-game winning streak and won seven of his last ten starts. He earned one shutout, coming in a 1-0 blanking of Oklahoma City on March 20th in his next-to-last start of the regular season. He did not play in the 2008 CHL playoffs.
 
Prior to pro hockey, Keserich played junior hockey with the Tri-City Storm of the United States Hockey League and with the Cleveland Barons of the North American Hockey League. He also played two seasons of NCAA collegiate hockey with Ohio State University.
 
Keserich was the most valuable goaltender for Team USA’s gold-medal winning team at the World Under-18 tournament played in the Czech Republic in 2003. He was drafted by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft in the seventh round, number 215 overall.
 
Sims leaves after playing two games for the RiverKings, posting a record of 0-2-0 record, a 5.17 goals-against-average, and a save percentage of .831.