IceDigger Alumni

Peterson continues to climb the hockey ladder

By CHRIS DOBROWOLSKI

News Sports Editor

Erik Peterson continues to climb the hockey ladder.

After four years spent playing with the Alpena IceDiggers, Peterson is making the jump to minor league hockey, signing a contract this week to play with the Missouri Mavericks of the Central Hockey League.

For Peterson, the former Alpena High standout and the IceDiggers' leading scorer for the past two years, the deal with the Mavericks keeps his hopes of getting to the NHL or a European league alive for the upcoming years.

"(IceDiggers coach) Jack Fritsche's old agent Pat Henry called a bunch of teams and he's friends with (Mavericks coach) Scott Hillman," said Peterson. "We started talking in June and they sent me a contract two weeks ago."

The pact solidifies a hockey future for Peterson that has been in limbo since his eligibility with the IceDiggers ended following the 2008-09 season.

"I wasn't sure if I was going to play hockey," said Peterson. "I was thinking about going back to school. (Henry) said he was pretty sure he could find me a team, but it wasn't certain."

The Mavericks are an expansion squad in the 18-team CHL and are based out of Independence, Mo. They play at the 5,800-seat Independence Events Center. Other teams in the league are primarily from states in the southern part of the country, but teams also are located in Colorado, Kansas and South Dakota.

"It's basically two levels below the NHL," said Peterson. "They love their hockey there. It's pretty much like Alpena."

Fritsche, who coached Peterson for one season in Alpena, thinks the Mavericks will be a good fit for his top scorer.

"He's worked so hard. I'm very optimistic about how well he'll do out there," said Fritsche. "Petey sees the ice very well. It will be interesting to see how he performs. He's in the best shape he's every been in. He's got himself in top condition. I think he'll do well."

For the past two years Peterson has drawn interest from an impressive list of collegiate hockey teams, including Michigan State, Bowling Green and Northern Michigan. But a hang-up with the NCAA Clearinghouse over a course he took in high school would've forced him to put in two years at Alpena Community College before moving on to a Division I program. Getting a chance to play in the CHL proved to work out well, however.

"It's equal or above," Peterson said. "It's like jumping two levels (from juniors) pretty much."

While it is a big step up from the junior level, Fritsche said the kind of players Peterson will be playing with should mesh well with his goal-scoring ability.

"He's getting an opportunity to play with guys who can really move the puck," said Fritsche. "It's a different level from junior hockey, but he's playing with a lot of other very smart players."

Peterson is in the process of working out to get ready for training camp, which starts on Oct. 5. The team's first game is Oct. 16 against the Rapid City Rush. While getting himself in top hockey shape, Peterson will help as an assistant coach with the IceDiggers until it's time for him to depart for Missouri. Adding strength and increasing his speed are two areas he's going to be focusing on over the next six weeks.

The Mavericks have told Peterson he'll be playing left wing for them. One of the other players recently signed by the team is forward Jeff Christian, the 2007 CHL Most Valuable Player. Christian, who has 18 games of NHL experience under his belt, was the 23rd pick in the 1988 NHL draft.

Peterson joined the IceDiggers after his junior year of high school and had a productive four-year career with the team after it relocated to Alpena from Toledo prior to the 2005-06 season. In the last four seasons Peterson tallied 72 goals and 121 assists, good for 203 points. His best scoring year came in 2007-08 when he tied for seventh in the NAHL with 71 points and helped lead Alpena to the postseason. The IceDiggers reached the playoffs in three of the four years Peterson was on the squad.

"It was the best four years of my life, by far," said Peterson. "It was the funnest four years of hockey. It was a great time; I'll miss it."

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