Amarillo, TX - The Amarillo Gorillas are pleased to announce their first signing under Head Coach Tom Coolen. Second-year pro Brian Bicek of Downers Grove, Illinois will be the first player added to the Gorillas forward corps in 2008-09. The speedster played seven games last season for the Elmira Jackals of the East Coast Hockey League, scoring a goal and an assist.
Prior to his first professional experience with Elmira, Bicek played four seasons of collegiate hockey at Western Michigan University. He tallied 53 points and collected 110 penalty minutes over 145 games with the Broncos. Eight of the 22-year-old's 29 goals came while on the power play.
During his junior career, Bicek proved he could put up impressive numbers. While with the Cleveland Barons of the North American Hockey League in 2003-04, he finished second in league scoring with 71 points. In addition, he won league Rookie of the Year honors that season, concluding the season averaging 1.27 points-per-game.
"Brian brings youth and speed to the Gorillas for the 2008-09 season. We feel that his signing is just the first step to assembling a championship-caliber team here in Amarillo," said Gorillas Owner Randy Sanders.
Bicek also has valuable experience in the playoffs, after participating in three collegiate playoff games in 2004-05 and again in 2006-07.
The signing marks the first under the tenure of Coolen, after the coach joined the Gorillas in May of this year.
