Marquette Rangers Hockey

Mar 13, 2008
Electricians, Rangers Form Alliance
Midget AAA, Junior Tier II teams will work to promote Marquette

In an effort to further enhance the identity and success of both organizations, the Marquette Electricians of the Midget AAA Midwest Elite Hockey League and the Marquette Rangers of the North American Hockey League (Tier II Junior) have announced a cooperative effort between the two clubs.

The announcement comes after several discussions between the two entities on how to continue to upgrade talent and how to best work together in the recruitment and placement of the nations' top players - both local and national.

The cooperative effort between the Electricians and the Rangers will offer age-eligible players the opportunity, when appropriate, to move between the two teams for up to six games per player through the NAHL roster freeze date in mid-February of every season.

The vast majority of midget AAA players will attempt to move on to junior hockey teams such as the Rangers as the next step toward advancing their hockey careers. In a similar way, Junior Hockey players try to move on to college or professional hockey as their next step of evolution.

"This is a real win-win for both of our organizations" said Glenn Andrews, chair of the Marquette Electricians Board of Directors. "Both the Electricians and the Rangers are in the business of promoting hockey in this area, so it would make sense that we do this together to try and attract the best players possible to play here."

"We have the unique situation of sharing a building, so it makes perfect sense that we would combine resources and work together to advance Marquette's reputation as a quality hockey town."

"It adds to our ability to draw top talent, with the players knowing that there's a Tier II Junior organization in the same building that they could play for during and after their midget career."

David Saint-Onge, President and General Manager for the Rangers, agrees it's a best-case scenario for both organizations. "In the competitive environment of recruiting talent, you need to look for and implement the best strategy to achieve your goal. For the Rangers, the benefits of a local affiliation are obvious. We know we can help one another tremendously, and we're excited at the opportunity of working together."

"This program is governed by USA Hockey and should help both clubs recruit talented players, whether they are local, national or international," said Saint-Onge.

The alliance between the two clubs was finalized March 3 at the Electricians Board of Directors meeting and will be effective immediately.

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