BEARS, ROYALS SWAP PLAYERS

December 30, 2013

HERSHEY, Pa. – The Hershey Bears announced today that the club has recalled forward Dustin Gazley and goaltender Riley Gill from the ECHL’s Reading Royals.  Additionally, defenseman Brett Flemming has been reassigned to Reading.  The announcement was made by Bears President/GM Doug Yingst.
 
Gazley, 25, joins the Bears for the first time this season.  With the Royals, Gazley is tied for second on the team in scoring with 18 points (eight goals, 10 assists) in 25 games played.  His eight goals rank second on the squad.
 
The 5-9, 154-pound native of Novi, Michigan began 2012-13 with the ECHL’s Elmira Jackals and piled up 49 points (14 goals, 35 assists) in just 37 games played, holding the league scoring lead at the time of his first AHL recall.  He went on to record nine points (four goals, five assists) in 29 games with the AHL’s Binghamton Senators.
 
Gazley became the fifth rookie in ECHL history to lead the league in scoring when he posted 85 points (25 goals, 60 assists) in all 72 regular-season games with Elmira in 2011-12.  Prior to turning pro, Gazley played four years of collegiate hockey with Michigan State University (CCHA), where he totaled 73 points (30 goals, 43 assists) in 153 career games.
 
Gill, 28, served as backup goaltender in five Hershey contests but has not seen game action to date.  In 16 games with Reading this season, he has posted a record of 10-6-0, a goals-against average of 2.23 and save percentage of .922.  His goals-against average ranks tied for ninth among all ECHL goaltenders, while his save percentage ranks tied for eighth overall.
 
The 6-1, 215-pound native of Northfield, Minnesota spent most of the 2012-13 season with the SPHL’s Louisiana IceGators.  Despite joining the Bears’ ECHL affiliate Reading Royals in February, Gill finished the season as the SPHL leader in shutouts (five) and tied for the league lead in victories (25).  In 14 appearances in the Royals net, Gill finished with a mark of 10-3-1 and three shutouts, and became the first Royals goaltender to earn Reebok Hockey ECHL Goaltender of the Week honors in back-to-back weeks.  He was also selected as the Warrior Hockey ECHL Goaltender of the Month of March. 
 
The Royals later captured the franchise’s first Kelly Cup championship behind Gill, who went on to earn the ECHL Playoff MVP honor after posting a 13-3-1 playoff mark and four shutouts.
 
Prior to turning pro, Gill played four years of collegiate hockey at Western Michigan University (CCHA).
 
Flemming, 22, returns to Reading where has recorded four points (one goal, three assists) and nine penalty minutes.
 
The 5-11, 184-pound native of Regina, Saskatchewan was also a member of the Royals’ championship team, leading all Reading defensemen with five playoff goals, and finishing tied for fifth in postseason scoring with 12 points in the Royals’ 22-game run to the title.  In the 2012-13 regular season, Flemming posted 15 points (two goals, 13 assists), 77 penalty minutes and a plus-four rating in 50 games.
 
Flemming also appeared in 11 games with the Bears last season, registering one assist.
 
Prior to turning pro, Flemming played in 147 games in his junior career with the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors (OHL), totaling 105 points (nine goals, 96 assists) and 288 penalty minutes.  His plus-60 efficiency rating in 2009-10 set a Majors franchise record and led the OHL, the same season in which he helped Mississauga to a berth in the Memorial Cup finals.
 
Flemming was originally selected by the Washington Capitals in the fifth round (145^th overall) in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.