CENTRAL HOCKEY LEAGUE SteelHounds are set in goal

`Training camp opened Monday and the team is down to two goaltenders.
By TOM WILLIAMS
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- Amid some extra dust, unopened boxes and a few unassembled seats, the Youngstown SteelHounds hit the Youngstown Convocation Center ice for the first time with a big decision already solved.
Coach Jean LaForest invited three goaltenders to compete for the first-year franchise's two jobs during his nine-day training camp, saying that he expected a good battle.
But Monday, the first-year minor-league team released Kent native and former Ohio University player Brian Gallagher from his Central Hockey League contract.
Gallagher's release means that David St. Germain, 25, of Brossard, Quebec, and Simon St. Pierre, 24, will be the team's backstops for the 64-game CHL season.
"I feel very fortunate to have two players such as David and Simon to go into the season with," LaForest said. "David is an experienced goaltender who has seen play at higher levels and whose confidence will help the demeanor in the locker room."
Recruited here
LaForest recruited St. Germain to come to Youngstown. St. Germain, who is expected to be the team's top goalie, became available after Topeka folded its CHL franchise last spring.
In 45 starts for the Tarantulas during the 2003-04 CHL season, St. Germain posted an 11-28-3 record with a 3.63 goals against average and one shutout.
LaForest said the former New York Islanders prospect has some American Hockey League experience, but has played the majority of his four professional seasons in the ECHL, seeing action in Trenton (N.J.) and Charlotte.
In 102 ECHL games, the Brossard, Quebec, native registered a 45-35-15 record with a 2.79 goals against average and a .905 save percentage
St. Pierre, 24, was the starter in each of his four seasons at Bentley College where he compiled 33 career wins and a school record 3.48 goals against average.
"Simon has already shown in a short time that he can be counted on and he will see a lot of action," LaForest said. "I trust having both goaltenders in the mix and feel they will both be solid contributors to this hockey team."
At Ohio University, Gallagher was named the American Collegiate Hockey Association's 2004 Division I Player of the Year. Gallagher went 23-2-1 with a 1.63 goals against average and six shutouts. He led the Bobcats to the 2004 NCAA club hockey national championship.
Finishing touches
With construction workers applying finishing touches throughout the 6,000-seat arena that opens on Oct. 29 with a 3 Doors Down concert, LaForest sent 17 players on to the ice for the team's first official workout.
The SteelHounds have 18 players on the roster, but Rob Ouimette has not yet arrived. He is expected to be on skates by Wednesday.
Among the players relocating to Ohio is center Paul Vincent, who is beginning his 11th season as a professional hockey player.
"This rink here is phenomenal and the way that the office staff treats us is professional," Vincent said. "For a guy who has played as long as I have, what really bothers me is when they ask for your heart and soul but give you nothing.
"Here is a situation where they are giving everything to us right away so we have no other choice but to give [hard work] back."
First time in Ohio
Darryl Lloyd, a second-year professional, is preparing for a climate adjustment after playing last season with the Laredo Bucks of the CHL.
"This is my first time in Ohio," Lloyd said. "Texas was a different experience, right on the border of Mexico, so I'm going to have to get used to the weather again, start wearing sweaters again."
The CHL contains a roster cap of 17 players and a salary cap of $8,500 per week.
The SteelHounds will practice each morning through Friday, then travel to Toledo Saturday to play an exhibition game against the Toledo Storm of the East Coast Hockey League.
After final cuts are made Sunday, the SteelHounds will practice twice next week before boarding a bus Oct. 19 that will take them to Tulsa, Okla., for their Oct. 21 franchise opener against the Oilers.
williams@vindy.com