Icemen Acquire Brandon Puricelli; Harris & Houser Head to AHL

JACKSONVILLE, FL – The Jacksonville Icemen, proud ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres and the AHL’s Rochester Americans announced the following roster transactions today:

The Icemen have acquired forward Brandon Puricelli (pictured above) in a trade with the Cincinnati Cyclones, to complete the future considerations terms of a Novemeber 21st trade when the Icemen sent forward Nick Isaacson to Cincinnati.  

In addtion, goaltender Michael Houser has been recalled by AHL Rochester, while forward Brendan Harris has been loaned to the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters. 

Puricelli, 26, joins the Icemen having posted 20 points (9g, 11a) in 56 games split between the Cyclones and the Allen Americans this season.   Last season, the 5-10, 181-pound rookie forward concluded his four-year collegiate career at Lake Superior State University where he totaled 56 points (28g, 28a).   The Ellisville, Missouri resident was the NAHL’s Midwest Forward & MVP of the Year in 2019 while playing for the Springfield Jr. Blues. 

Harris, 27, earns his first AHL call-up after recording career highs in in points (56), goals (19) and assists (37) in 58 games played with the Icemen this season.  Harris has produced 17 multi-point games this season, and recently moved into third All-Time in Jacksonville Icemen history in scoring with 135 points.    The 5-8, 168-pound forward was acquired by the Icemen from the Wheeling Nailers during the 2021-22 season. Prior to beginning his professional career, Harris finished second in scoring with 23 points during his senior season at Bemidji State University in 2020-21.  He completed his four-year collegiate career with 56 points. 

Houser, 31, heads back up to Rochester after earning his second shutout of the season on Sunday against the Greenville Swamp Rabbis.  Houser has established himself as an accomplished netminder during his professional career at all levels, totaling 196 career wins and 17 shutouts.  Houser has earned 141 ECHL victories and was named the ECHL Goaltender of the Year for the 2018-19 season while with Cincinnati.  In addition, Houser has been named ECHL Goaltender of the Month twice, ECHL Goaltender of the Week five times, and was an ECHL All-Star in 2018.   Houser has also appeared in six NHL contests with the Buffalo Sabres from 2021-2022, posting a 4-2-0 record with a 2.73 goals-against average and a 0.925 save percentage in those contests. 

The Icemen continue their homestand with three games this week. On Wednesday, the Icemen play host to the Trois-Rivieres Lions and duel the Greenville Swamp Rabbits on Friday and Saturday.  Game time for all three games is set for 7:00 p.m.

Icemen full and partial ticket packages for the 2024-25 Season are currently on sale!  Payment plans are also available. Contact the Icemen office at 904-602-7825, or visit www.jacksonvilleicemen.com for more information.

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