Coralville, Iowa- After a disappointing weekend in Wichita, where the Iowa Heartlanders allowed the Thunder to earn comeback wins in both games, Head Coach and General Manager Derek Damon saw it was time to make some changes before the trade deadline.
As the Heartlanders return home for the first time in almost a month for three games with the Nailers, the team has announced that Nico Blachman has been signed from the Adirondack Thunder after being placed on waivers on March 4th.
Blachman, who turns 26 in April, is a right winger and center who will be joining the Heartlanders for his eighth ECHL tenure, playing for five eastern conference teams, Allen, and Kalamazoo. After wearing #22 for the Thunder, Nico will continue his legacy of wearing double numbers by taking the #77 in the buck and rose.
Blachman is tenth in the league in penalty minutes with 119, and is seventh in the league in penalty minutes per game for those who have played in at least 15 games with 3.72. Former Heartlanders Steven Leonard is just ahead of him with 3.78. Nico also has three goals and two assists in 32 games this season, and is quickly tied for eighth in plus/minus among active Heartlanders.
To make room for Blachman, former Army captain Anthony Firriolo was traded to the Tulsa Oilers. Firriolo played 21 games for the Heartlanders, mostly as an extra defender, and scored two goals with eight assists for the team. Firriolo will look to help keep Tulsa in the tight race for the third and fourth playoff spots in the Mountain Division. Ty Enns was also placed on Reserve for Evan Boucher, who has made an instant impact with two assists in two games for Iowa. You can relive his first Heartlander highlight here:
With the AHL/NHL player assignment deadline and the ECHL trade deadline just nine and ten days away, respectively, time will only tell what Derek Damon will do to bolster the roster to make an effort for the fourth playoff position in the central division.
Off the ice, fans have an exciting week and the remainder of the season to look forward to. As is common in many newer arenas, a grab-and-go station has been announced to ease the flow of traffic around the arena. Behind section 115 and next to Andale Andale, fans can now quickly purchase beverages at this recently redone stand without having to wait in longer lines. The food stand behind section 102 may also be re-opened as a grab-and-go stand as well. Wednesday home games will also feature Happy Hour Pricing, featuring major discounts on beverages, pretzels, and hot dogs until 6:45 pm.
The team has also announced their first-ever online version of The Silo, Iowa’s official team store, which can be found here. The site is still not on par with the in-person store, but every item will be available online in the near future.
Iowa will host Wheeling on March 13th, 15th, and 16th to open the first weekend of their six-game homestand. Fans can enjoy new features immediately, as well as a visit from the Kelly Cup and St. Hat Trick’s Night on March 16th, featuring the popular misprint Bobbleheads for the first 500 fans in attendance.
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