Springfield, MA - The Springfield Falcons, proud members of the American Hockey League, announced today that they have signed forwards Hans Benson, Kelly Czuy and defenseman Cleve Kinley to standard American Hockey League two-way contracts.
Benson spent the 2007-08 campaign with the AHL's Peoria Rivermen collecting three goals and four assists for seven points and a team-leading 265 penalty minutes in 44 games played. The 6-foot, 215-pound native of Menlo Park, California split the 2006-07 season between Peoria and the ECHL's Alaska Aces where he also led the Aces with 205 penalty minutes. Benson spent his first two professional seasons with the Central Hockey League's Laredo Bucks from 2004-2006 where he totaled eight goals and 19 assists for 27 points and 429 penalty minutes in 113 games.
Czuy enters his third full season of pro hockey after spending the entire 2007-08 campaign with the ECHL's Las Vegas Wranglers where he totaled 11 goals and 17 assists for 28 points and 73 penalty minutes. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound native of Edmonton, Alberta spent time with both Las Vegas and the AHL's Iowa Stars during the 2006-07 season. Czuy has played in 14 career AHL games collecting three assists and four penalty minutes. Prior to turning pro, Czuy spent four years with the University of Alaska-Fairbanks from 2002-2006.
Kinley enters his second full season of pro hockey after sharing time between the ECHL's Texas Wildcatters and AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins last year. During the 2007-08 campaign, Kinley ranked second on the Wildcatters in scoring among defensemen collecting six goals and 28 assists for 34 points in 60 regular season games. The 6-foot, 190-pound native of Surrey, British Columbia led Texas in scoring during the playoffs last season totaling five goals and eight assists for 13 points in nine post-season contests. Kinley has played in 11 career AHL games, all with Grand Rapids, picking up two assists and four penalty minutes. Kinley played his college hockey with UMass-Lowell from 2003-2007.