Giants recruit Saurette to cover injured Fournier

by UK American Sports Fans

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Another injury has forced the Stena Line Belfast Giants to add an import forward to the lineup for this weekend’s key games against the Coventry Blaze and Sheffield Steelers.

The Giants have signed Kevin Saurette from ESV Kaufbeuren in Germany on a short-term contract.

Saurette is a speedy right wing who has consistently put up numbers in Germany, scoring 155 points in 170 Bundesliga games. He is currently Kaufbeuren’s leading scorer and will bring added offense to the Giants forward unit.

Doug Christiansen is delighted with the addition stating: “Kevin was one of our targets this summer and when I learned that he might be available, we jumped at the chance. He skates extremely well and is a player who can help us on the powerplay and penalty kill. We expect him to be in the lineup Friday Night against Coventry.”

The flip side to news of Saurette’s signing is that high-flying forward Andrew Fournier will undergo surgery on Friday for a shoulder injury picked up earlier this month. Fournier has been scheduled for surgery for a couple of weeks and decided to play last weekend to help out his short-staffed team despite not being at full strength. He scored two goals in three games last weekend to help lead the Giants to wins over Cardiff and Hull, a gutsy performance from a player who has been solid for the Giants all season scoring 11 goals and 19 assists in 24 games so far this season.

Doug Christiansen commented on the loss of Fournier: 
”Fournier played with tremendous courage last weekend. We knew before the weekend that he was going to need surgery. He was in a lot of pain all weekend but played through it to help the team. We will miss him in our lineup. It is expected that he will be able to play in March. I am sure everyone at the Giants will help support him as he has surgery an ocean away from home at Christmas.”

Kevin Saurette will make his debut tomorrow night against the Coventry Blaze. Face-off is 7:30pm at the Odyssey Arena. Saurette will wear number 22 for the Giants, a number previously worn by Curt Bowen, who left the Giants as the leading scorer in franchise history at the time of his departure.