Mavs Trade Bicek And McCready To Sundogs For Forward Kyle Hood And Future Considerations

The Missouri Mavericks announced Thursday the Central Hockey League (CHL) team has traded forward Brian Bicek and defenseman Matt McCready to the Arizona Sundogs in exchange for forward Kyle Hood and future considerations.  The Mavericks and Sundogs face each other tomorrow night at Independence Events Center.

“Today is a bittersweet day; we had to make a move as guys are getting healthy to get our numbers back within the league mandated 19-man roster limit,” said Mavericks’ President and General Manager Brent Thiessen.  “In this league, you have to give up quality to get quality and that was certainly the case today as we say goodbye to Bicek and McCready.  Those two gentlemen played well for us and we wish them the best of luck moving forward.”

Hood, 28 (5/28/84), is in his fifth professional season and played the previous four seasons with the Sundogs.  The Osoyoos, British Columbia native led the Sundogs in scoring in each of the previous three seasons including a career-high of 69 points (15-54=69) during the 2010-11 season.  The 5-foot-11, 190-pound forward returned to the Sundogs this season after a brief two-game stint with the Colorado Eagles in the ECHL.  Overall, Hood has 214 points (58-156=214) and 512 penalty minutes in 272 games played professionally.

“Kyle is a proven and well-known player in our league,” said Mavericks’ Head Coach Scott Hillman.  “He competes hard every night, and we believe he will help strengthen our power play in the quarterback position.  We are also impressed with his versatility as he has proven he can play both forward and defense with proficiency.”

Bicek finished with 19 points (4-15=19) in 21 games with the Mavericks and McCready had six points on a goal and five assists 20 games played.

“After placing five players on the injured reserve, we knew at some point we were going to have to make these difficult decisions,” added Thiessen.  “Unfortunately we will still have to make more tough decisions moving forward.  We believe we made our team better today.”

The Mavericks will host a pair of games this weekend on Friday, Dec. 14 and Saturday, Dec. 15 at Independence Events Center.  On Friday, the Mavericks will wear specialty “Give M Hell” jerseys that will be auctioned off after the game, and Saturday is the team’s annual Teddy Bear Toss presented by Mazuma Credit Union.  Tickets on are sale via Ticketmaster.com, by calling (800) 745-3000 or by heading to the Silverstein Eye Centers Box Office.  Parking is always free at Independence Events Center. For more information on the Missouri Mavericks visit www.MissouriMavericks.com.