McAuley Returns from Hershey, Aksiantsiuk Reassigned to Texas

BOISE, Idaho – Forward Colby McAuley has returned to the Idaho Steelheads following his PTO release from the Hershey Bears, and forward Yauheni Aksiantsiuk has been reassigned by the Dallas Stars to the Texas Stars, Steelheads Head Coach & Director of Hockey Operations Everett Sheen announced on Friday.McAuley, 25, played five games with AHL Hershey after signing his PTO on December 28 and posted one assist with six penalty minutes. The Sherwood Park, Alb. native has earned 11 points (4-7—11) with 42 penalty minutes in 41 career AHL games between AHL Hershey and the San Jose Barracuda, where he made his AHL debut on Apr. 8, 2017 and saw action in 36 games. He returns to the Steelheads with eight goals and six assists for 14 points through 22 games with 38 penalty minutes and three power play goals.The 6-foot forward and defenseman was second on the team in power play goals and third in both goals scored and power play points (six) when he earned his AHL PTO. Prior to his professional career, McAuley posted 96 points (44-52—96) over 191 games with the Prince George Cougars, serving as an assistant captain for two seasons and leading the WHL in penalty minutes in 2015-16.Aksiantsiuk, 20, has played 28 games with the Steelheads in his rookie season in North America, boasting 16 goals and 13 assists for 29 points with four power play goals and a plus-six rating, The Brest, Belarus product is second on the team in goals, third in points and tied for fourth in power play points (nine). He was named Howie’s Hockey Tape ECHL Rookie of the Month for October with a nine-point campaign and earned his first hat-trick on November 26 against Allen. He has appeared in three games with AHL Texas this season.The 5-foot-8 forward played two non-concurrent seasons in the Belarusian Extraleague before coming to North America and also appeared in one season with the Flint Firebirds (OHL) to close his junior career, tallying 78 points (33-45—78) in 58 games before being selected 162nd overall (6th Round) by the Dallas Stars in the 2020 NHL Draft. He also earned a silver medal with Belarus at the 2019 IIHF U20 Division 1A World Junior Championships.The Steelheads meet the Kansas City Mavericks tonight at 6:05 p.m. from Cable Dahmer Arena and return to Idaho Central Arena on Wednesday, Feb. 23 at 7:10 p.m. hosting the Worcester Railers. Single-game tickets are available for all home games during the 2021-22 regular season by going to idahosteelheads.com or calling 331-TIXS! Make sure to secure your FloSports subscription for the 2021-22 season to lock in all Steelheads games and action from around the ECHL.