Published: March 03, 2009 11:49 pm      

Additions bolster Chiefs’ roster

The Johnstown Chiefs will have a different look when the Wheeling Nailers visit tonight in the first of three consecutive games between the North Division rivals.

Coach Ian Herbers didn’t make a blockbuster trade to shake up his roster. Instead, a few healthy bodies are trickling back into the lineup, and another key player returned from the American Hockey League.

On Tuesday, veteran defenseman Mike Knight and former ECHL all-star forward Andy Contois each came off the injured reserve list, and all-star goaltender Kris Mayotte practiced with the Chiefs after being reassigned to Johnstown by the AHL’s Hershey Bears.

“Kris Mayotte is a steady presence in goal,” Herbers said Tuesday afternoon.

“Mike Knight brings that physical edge and the experience on the back end that we’ve been lacking. He’s another guy to put in key situations.

“He loves to block shots and throw the body around. He has a big shot. With Contois, it’s nice to have that speed on the wing again. You’ll see him on the penalty kill, 5-on-5, 4-on-4. We’ll be able to roll over three lines and wear teams out. We have four games in five nights. This gives us depth to bring guys in and out. We won’t be relying on the same players night in and night out, which is key this time of the year.”

Contois and Knight each officially were placed on the IR on Jan. 18.

Knight suffered an upper body injury during a 3-2 loss to visiting Elmira on Jan. 16. The next day, Contois went down with a hand injury during a 2-1 win over Dayton at Cambria County War Memorial Arena.

“It’s been a long six weeks,” said Contois, who frequently joined Knight in watching home games from the arena press box. “Definitely I’m ready to get back out there and play. The hardest thing was being around the guys and seeing how hard they worked and not being able to be a part of the success or help the team win.”

Contois has been skating with the Chiefs in recent weeks, but is anxious to get back into a game situation.

“I definitely feel my hand is as good as it could get,” said Contois, who scored six goals and 17 points in 17 games. “I was cleared to play. That part of it is good. My timing is the next question mark. You can’t really tell any of that stuff until you get into the games. For both me and Mike, timing is the next thing.”

A fifth-year pro, Knight had a goal, 11 points, 59 penalty minutes and a plus-5 in 28 games with the Chiefs this season. He is a steady presence on the blue line.

Mayotte appeared in four games with the Bears after his Feb. 4 call up.

He went 1-1-1 in the AHL. With Johnstown, Mayotte had 18 wins, a 2.90 goals against average and .912 save percentage. He twice earned ECHL Goaltender of the Week honors and was the American Conference starter in the ECHL All-Star Game in Reading.

The Chiefs placed Jason Spence (seven-day) and David Schulz (three-day) on the injured reserve to make room on the roster.

The injection of healthy players comes at a pivotal time for Johnstown, which is in a three-way tie for second place in the tight North Division. Cincinnati leads the division with 69 points, four more than the Chiefs, Elmira and Wheeling. Fifth-place Trenton is two back of Johnstown with 63 points, and sixth-place Dayton has 59. Only four teams advance to the playoffs.

“It’s a great time to come back,” Contois said. “There are 15 or 20 games left. It’s playoff hockey from here on out. That’s the kind of hockey everyone loves to play. There is no better time to play than this time of the year.”

Notes: The Chiefs will hold their second Pups and Pucks night. Fans may bring their dogs to tonight’s game and sit in a designated section of the arena, where the canines will receive a treat bag. Last year, approximately

30 dogs and their owners participated.