On Tuesday November 24th, the Jacksonville Icemen announced the signings of Derek Lodermeier and Jacob Panetta. The two parties agreed to terms on standard player contracts for the upcoming season.
Lodermeier, 25-years-old, joins the Jacksonville Icemen as a rookie forward. The winger spent four seasons playing in the NCAA, doing so with the Vermont Catamounts. In 138 career games, the left-handed shooter racked 18 goals along with 40 assists which made for 58 points.
Standing tall at six-foot-two, he also added on 90 penalty minutes. The native of Brooklyn Center, Minnesota will add size and speed to the team’s lineup this season. On the backend, Panetta, from Belleville, aims to bring stability to the hockey club’s defensive core.
The 24-year-old played college hockey with the Colgate Raiders in the NCAA. Doing so over four seasons, the lefty amassed 25 points, racking up nine goals along with 16 assists. In 136 games, he also added 54 penalty minutes.
Lodermeier joins forwards Abbott Girduckis, Adam Dauda, Ara Nazarian, Brendan Warren and Cameron Critchlow. This also includes Nathan Perkovich, Craig Martin, Wacey Rabbit, Ian McKinnon and Matt Marquardt. Panetta joins defensemen Dalton Thrower, Jacob Cederholm, Jarod Hilderman, Kevin McKernan and Luke Shiplo.
The Icemen are one of the 13 teams who will return to the ice on December 11th. An estimated five more teams will join the season in January after clearance from the government. As a result of the novel coronavirus, eight teams have opted out of play for the season. Jacksonville is hoping to start the season with limited capacity seating, according to the team’s press releases.