July 21, 2009

Scott Returns to Killer Bees

HIDALGO, TEXAS --- The Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees of the Central Hockey League (CHL) today announced that former Cornell forward Topher Scott has signed with the team for the 2009-10 season.

Scott, who turns 24 on Thursday, was originally acquired by RGV from the Texas Brahmas on January 5 in a four-for-one trade for Travis Banga. In 33 games with the Killer Bees last season, he posted 19 points (5-14-19) and finished with a plus-10 rating. He became a key part of the team’s penalty-killing unit that erased 121-of-136 (89.9%) opponent power play opportunities in the team’s final 24 regular season games.

“Topher is a natural leader and the type of player that epitomizes the way I expect our team to play,” Killer Bees head Coach Chris Brooks explained. “He has been a captain at many levels and I expect him to be a critical part of building the culture of our team. My expectations and his expectations match. He will be critical to our success.”

The 5-foot-6, 155-pound native of Buffalo Grove, Ill., also appeared in 13 games for the Brahmas last season and posted four points (2-2-4). After wrapping up his college career, Scott got his first pro experience at the end of the 2007-08 season with the Elmira Jackals (ECHL).

“I’m excited about coming back and building on last season’s success,” Scott said. “It’s a great place to play. We have a good group of guys returning and solid new players coming in to help us reach our goal of a championship.”

Scott played four seasons of Division 1 college hockey at Cornell University (Ithaca, N.Y.) from 2004-08 and also spent four seasons with the Chicago Steel of the United States Hockey League from 2000-04. His college totals include 107 points (25-82-107) in 137 games, while he collected 104 points (38-66-104) in 134 USHL games. The USHL is the only Tier 1 hockey league in the United States.