Road Warriors Release Former Vernon Viper Santana:

The East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) Greenville Road Warriors have released former Vernon Vipers forward Ryan Santana.  The Road Warriors signed Santana on November 22nd 2014 before being released after going pointless in two games.

Santana played his first professional hockey career last year with the ECHL Reading Royals & South Carolina Stingrays before signing with the ECHL Tulsa Oilers this season.  The Oilers signed Santana on October 11th 2014. Santana never played a game with Tulsa before being released on October 15th 2014.

Santana finished four years at Boston University before signing his first pro contract with the East Coast Hockey League Reading Royals on August 6th 2013. After playing in just 12 games with the Royals (going pointless) Santana was released on March 6th 2014 before being re-signed on March 9th 2014 and just three days later was released on March 12th 2014 for a second time last season. Santana was picked up off waivers on March 15th 2014 by the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) South Carolina Stingrays where he would finish the season. In 12 games last season with South Carolina Santana collected two assists.  Santana played one season in Vernon (2008-2009) In 56 games with the Vipers collected (12-goals-13-assists-25-points).

Ryan Santana's Player Profile:

http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=38021

This is posted on the Warriors website:

Warriors Receive McCarthy From Hartford

Greenville returns Spinell to Wolf Pack, release Santana

Nov 25th, 2014

Wheeling, WV - The Greenville Road Warriors, proud ECHL affiliate of the New York Rangers and the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack, today announced winger Chris McCarthy has been assigned to Greenville from Hartford, while defenseman Steve Spinell has been recalled the Wolf Pack. In addition, forward Ryan Santana has been released.

A second-year pro, McCarthy played eight games with the Road Warriors earlier this season before his call-up to Hartford on November 13th. In eight games, the 23-year old earned six points (2g, 4a), four penalty minutes and a +2 rating. He also recorded one goal in five games with the Wolf Pack this season.

Under contact with Hartford, McCarthy made his professional debut last season and played eight games with the Wolf Pack following a stellar five-year career at the University of Vermont (Hockey East). Playing in 150 games for UVM, the Collegeville, Pennsylvania native notched 114 points (46g, 68a) and 69 penalty minutes. In 2013-14, he earned the John C. Cunningham Award and was recognized as the team’s Most Valuable Player for the second straight season.

A 6’1, 190-pound forward, McCarthy was also a member of the United States National Team Development Program (USNTDP) Under-18 Team in 2008-09.

Spinell, 24, played six games with the Road Warriors this season and registered two points (1g, 1a), 11 penalty minutes and a +1 rating. He also made 12 appearances with Hartford and produced 15 penalty minutes.

Under contract with the Wolf Pack, Spinell saw action in seven AHL games with the Providence Bruins during his rookie campaign last season and notched a pair of penalty minutes. He also skated in 58 games with the South Carolina Stingrays and earned nine points (1g, 9a), a +3 rating and 108 penalty minutes, which was tops among the team’s defensemen. In addition, the Vernon Hills, Illinois native produced 70 shots on goal, the second-highest total among Stingrays’ blueliners.

Before entering the pro ranks, Spinell spent four seasons at Miami University (Ohio), where he served as team captain his senior year.  In 149 career CCHA games, the 6’2, 216-pound defenseman notched 36 points (4g, 32a) and 234 penalty minutes.

Santana, 26, made two appearances with the Road Warriors this season and went scoreless.

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