Iron City Opens Season, Hosting Thousand Island Raiders

VALENCIA, PA - The Iron City Forge will host the Thousand Island Raiders this weekend, Saturday October 18th and Sunday October 19th, to kick off the APHL regular season.

The Forge completed the preseason with a 1-1 record and are entering their 2nd season of APHL play, and their first at Frozen Pound Arena.

The Raiders are entering their first season of APHL hockey and held an 0-1 record in preseason falling to last year's champions, the Buffalo Tempest 3-2.

The Forge are bringing back 11 players from last year's roster including some of the top APHL scorers including Dennis Beaulieu, Captain Ryan Dickson, and Benny Cunningham. 2nd year forward Michael Keller tallied 4 goals in the preseason and looks to be a heavy candidate for the APHL scoring race. The Forge also are bringing back veterans Joe Coulter, Devin Sudomerski, Isaac Stephens, and Johnny McGuire. Rounding out the forward crew are rookies Richard Doyle, Ricky Crum, Noah Kris, Chase Frye, Jacob Sakulsky, and Anthony Bellman. Defensively, team owner and GM Matthew De Lozier and Assistant Coach Daniel Schmitt headline the returners. Rookies Talon Rifenburg, Jake Ochwat, Alec Krause and Garrett Rupert look to provide stability and speed to this new look core. Goaltender Kodey Silvis returns for another tour of duty with Iron City sharing duties with rookie Carsen Burkhart and former pro goaltender Freddie Dorman.

Tickets are available on IronCityForge.com/tickets or can be streamed live on YouTube.