Kent-native Gallagher eyes roster spot as goalie

He is one of the three goalies seeking two spots on the SteelHounds' roster.
By TOM WILLIAMS
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
CANFIELD -- When the Youngstown SteelHounds ice hockey team opens training camp on Monday, nobody will want to see Ohio's newest professional sports team succeed more than goalie Brian Gallagher.
Gallagher, who played collegiate club hockey for Ohio University, is a native of Kent.
"Last year I played in Finland, so it's good that my parents and hopefully my grandparents will get a chance to see me play," said Gallagher, a 2000 graduate of Kent Roosevelt High School.
The 23-year-old player is one of the three goalies SteelHounds coach Jean LaForest introduced on Wednesday who will be contending for two roster spots.
The others are David St. Germain, 25, who was the goalie for the Topeka Tarantulas of the Central Hockey League last year, and Simon St. Pierre, a Montreal native who played for Bentley College.
"We're very fortunate to have three qualified individuals vying for two spots," said LaForest, who expects to have most of his roster determined by the team the SteelHounds journey to Toledo on Oct. 15 to play an exhibition game against the Toledo Storm of the East Coast Hockey League.
"That will be a true test of where we are at," LaForest said, adding that the SteelHounds are the only CHL team that will play an exhibition contest against a team from another league.
"I will have my team pretty much cut down by then and I am looking very forward to having our team compete strongly against an East Coast Hockey League team which is at the same level as our hockey club."
Exhibition game
The exhibition game comes six days before the SteelHounds make their professional debut by opening their CHL season on Oct. 21 in Tulsa, Okla., against the Oilers.
The SteelHounds will make four other stops on their first trip to the Desert Southwest: Bossier-Shreveport, La., on Oct. 22; Memphis on Oct. 28; Fort Worth, Texas, on Oct. 29.; and Corpus Christi, Texas, on Oct. 30.
The SteelHounds' first home games at the Youngstown Convocation Center will be Nov. 4-5 against the Oklahoma City Blazers.
Wednesday's press conference was held at Harley Davidson Buell of Youngstown because the SteelHounds are partnering with the Canfield Township shop to create the "Youngstown Harley Hound Pound" located in section 219 of the Youngstown Convocation Center.
Compared to Cleveland
Touting that SteelHounds hockey games will be a "fun, family and affordable" experience, General manager George Manias compared the "Hound Pound" to a legendary seating section in Cleveland.
"This is going to be the place that fans will want to sit," Manias said. "Locally and across the country, sports fans are familiar with the Dawg Pound at Cleveland Browns football games and that is a similar atmosphere we are trying to create for this particular section at our games.
"It is placed in a perfect spot where the SteelHounds will shoot twice so the visiting goaltender will have a lot to think about when teams visit Youngstown," Manias said.
Tickets for the Hound Pound will cost $10 and may be purchased at Harley-Davidson Buell.
Tickets for all 32 SteelHounds home games are on sale and may be purchased by visiting the City Center One Building (located at 100 Federal Plaza East) or by calling the SteelHounds at (330) 747-PUCK.
Tickets also may be purchased online at www.steelhounds.com or at www.GetTix.net. Tickets also are on sale at the Austintown Skate Connection and USA Cinema in Niles.
williams@vindy.com