3 additional players join Utah Grizzlies

WEST VALLEY CITY — Utah Grizzlies coach Kevin Colley announced Wednesday defenseman Andy Sertich and forwards Joel Rechlicz and Vladimir Nikiforov have joined the team from the AHL's Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

Sertich enters his third year in Utah after playing one game with Bridgeport this year. He played 28 games with the Sound Tigers in 2007-08, tallying three goals and six assists after being promoted from Utah on Dec. 31 after scoring three goals and adding 14 assists for 17 points in 29 games. Sertich led the Grizzlies with 40 assists during the 2006-07 season, his only full year in Utah when he was also named an ECHL All-Star.

Nikiforov, a rookie, played four games with Bridgeport this season. Last year, during his final year of junior hockey, he tallied 67 points (25 goals and 42 assists) in 51 games with Sarnia and Barrie. In three total years of junior hockey, the New York native, who is currently 21, had 63 goals and 110 assists for 113 points in 179 games.

Rechlicz, also 21, played in 25 games with the AHL's Albany River Rats in 2007-08, tallying one assist and 106 penalty minutes in 25 games. He played junior hockey in the QMJHL and the USHL.