McKEE TO OUR CITY

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League on Friday signed goaltender Dave McKee to a professional tryout.

McKee, 24, has spent the majority of this season with the ECHL’s Phoenix Roadrunners, earning a 3-4-2 record with a 3.37 goals against average and a 0.913 save percentage in 10 games. Earlier in the campaign, he appeared in two games with the AHL’s Iowa Stars, recording two losses, a 5.11 GAA and a 0.841%.

During his rookie 2006-07 season, he led the ECHL with six shootout wins and a 0.850 shootout percentage with Augusta, and he made his AHL debut by posting a 5-2 record with a 2.85 GAA, a 0.899% and one shutout for Portland.

The Irving, Texas, native had a stellar college career at Cornell, where he was a Hobey Baker Award finalist and the ECACHL Player of the Year in 2005, and the ECAC Co-Rookie of the Year in 2004. For two straight seasons (2004-06) he led the ECACHL in both wins and GAA, and he paced the circuit in shutouts in both 2003-04 and 2004-05.

McKee joins the Griffins due to an injury sustained by Jimmy Howard during Wednesday’s 5-4 shootout loss at Quad City. He will dress as the understudy to Adam Berkhoel tonight when Grand Rapids hosts Peoria at 7.