Patrick Wiercioch, who spent the 2006-07 season with the Burnaby Express, was called up and played his first NHL game Tuesday night with the Ottawa Senators in a 4-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.
The 6-foot-4, 192-pound defenceman wore #46 and played 9:23 in 15 shifts but was on the ice for two goals against. Wiercioch's presence brought the Sens' BCHL contingent to two for the game as Colin Greening, a Nanaimo Clippers product, played his 17th NHL game and scored his third goal.
Wiercioch had been summoned from the Senators' American Hockey League affiliate in Binghamton, NY where he'd put up four goals and 12 assists in his first season of pro hockey. He was called up in place of Sergei Gonchar who was out with a concussion.
The Maple Ridge native scored nine goals and 16 assists as a 16-year-old with the Express before heading to the USHL where he played for the Omaha Lancers. He was drafted in the second round, 42nd overall, by the Senators in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.
He played the last two seasons at the University of Denver where he tallied 18 goals and 44 assists in 75 games with the Pioneers.
