GRIFFINS BRING UP PAIR FROM TOLEDO

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Griffins on Monday recalled defensemen Patrick McCarron and Kevin Tansey from the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye.

McCarron, 23, is skating in his first full professional season and has not appeared with the Griffins this year. The 6-foot-3, 205-pound blueliner ranks among the ECHL’s rookie defensemen leaders this season with seven goals (3rd) and a plus-12 rating (6th), while totaling 14 points and 12 penalty minutes in 42 appearances with the Walleye.

Prior to turning pro, McCarron played four seasons at Cornell University, where he accounted for 50 points (12-38—50) and 81 PIM in 123 career games from 2013-17. As an alternate captain his senior year, he placed among the ECAC’s leading defensemen with six goals (T8th), 19 assists (7th) and 25 points (T6th) in 35 games and was named to the All-Ivy League Second Team while helping the Big Red reach the NCAA Tournament.

A native of Toronto, McCarron joined the Griffins in the final month of the 2016-17 season and picked up an assist while making his pro debut in the team’s season finale at Milwaukee.

Tansey, 24, has posted 15 points (7-8—15) in 45 games with Toledo and ties with McCarron for the most goals among team defensemen. His 52 PIM place second on the Walleye.

A 6-foot-4, 220-pound defenseman, Tansey split the 2016-17 campaign, his first full professional season, between the Chicago Wolves and the ECHL’s Missouri Mavericks. He contributed three points (1-2—3) – including scoring his first AHL goal on March 17 at Grand Rapids – and 21 PIM in 19 regular season games with the Wolves and made his Calder Cup Playoff debut by skating in a pair of games. A 2017 ECHL All-Star Classic participant, Tansey appeared in 44 games with the Mavericks and ranked among the league’s rookie defensemen leaders with 31 points (T8th), 13 goals (T3rd), 18 assists (T15th) and 48 PIM (T13th).

In 30 career AHL games, including 11 games with the Binghamton Senators at the end of the 2015-16 season after completing a four-year career at Clarkson University (ECAC), Tansey has tallied three points (1-2—3), a plus-two rating and 30 PIM.

Prior to turning pro, the Hammond, Ontario, native appeared in 151 career games – one off the school’s all-time mark – with the Clarkson Golden Knights from 2011-16 and tallied 34 points (12-22—34) and 122 PIM. Tansey was named to the 2013-14 ECAC All-Academic Team and was nominated for the 2016 Hockey Humanitarian Award.

The Griffins have points in six straight games and begin a three-game homestand on Wednesday at 7 p.m. against the Western Conference-leading Manitoba Moose.

Single-game tickets are currently on sale. Fans can secure their full-season, select-season or group ticket packages by calling (616) 774-4585 ext. 2 or visit griffinshockey.com for more information.