GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Griffins on Thursday signed defenseman Alec McCrea (muh-CRAY) to a one-year contract for the 2019-20 season and assigned goaltender Pat Nagle to the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye.

McCrea, 24, recently concluded a four-year career at Cornell University, totaling 49 points (12-37—49), a plus-41 rating and 62 penalty minutes in 137 games from 2015-19. He helped the Big Red advance to the NCAA Tournament each of the last three seasons and capture the last two Cleary Cups, awarded annually to the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference’s regular season champion. This past season, the 6-foot-3, 202-pound blueliner tallied 12 points (3-9—12), a plus-eight rating and 26 PIM in 36 appearances.

As a junior in 2017-18, he was named the ECAC’s Best Defensive Defenseman and to the All-Ivy Second Team after tying for 19th in the country with a plus-18 rating and tying for the team lead with five power play goals among 12 points (5-7—12) in 32 contests.

A native of El Cajon, Calif., McCrea skated three seasons with the United States Hockey League’s Waterloo Black Hawks prior to college. From 2012-15, he produced 47 points (11-36—47) and 131 PIM in 168 regular season games and showed two points (0-2—2) in 12 Clark Cup Playoff contests. McCrea also spent one season with the Janesville Jets in the North American Hockey League in 2011-12, tallying two points (1-1—2) and 10 PIM in 50 games.

Nagle, 31, made his Griffins season debut last Saturday at San Jose, turning aside 20 shots in a 5-4 overtime defeat. A native of Bloomfield, Mich., Nagle has logged three career games with Grand Rapids, with his previous two coming during the 2014-15 campaign, and shows a 1-0-1 record to go along with a 2.58 goals against average and a 0.900 save percentage. Since 2012-13, the 6-foot-2, 195-pound netminder has appeared in eight AHL games between Grand Rapids, Syracuse, Rochester and Utica, going 1-4-1 with a 3.47 GAA and a 0.888 save mark.

In 41 games with the Walleye this season, Nagle has posted a 22-14-3 record, a 2.81 GAA, a 0.910 save percentage and three shutouts. Toledo begins play in the Kelly Cup Playoffs tomorrow against Fort Wayne in Game 1 of the division semifinals.

Nagle has appeared in 313 ECHL games since 2011-12 with Florida, Idaho, Fort Wayne and Toledo, amassing a 182-79-31 record, a 2.58 GAA, a 0.913 save percentage and 16 shutouts, and was named to both the ECHL All-Star Game and the All-ECHL Second Team in 2017-18. As a rookie with Florida, he helped the Everblades capture the Kelly Cup in 2012 after going 4-1 with a 1.42 GAA and a 0.941 save percentage in six games.

Prior to turning pro, Nagle played four seasons at Ferris State University (CCHA) from 2007-11 and compiled a 45-42-11 record alongside a 2.32 GAA, a 0.916 save mark and five shutouts in 101 games. As a senior in 2010-11, he was named a CCHA First Team All-Star after posting a career-high 18 wins, a 2.02 GAA and three shutouts.

The Griffins’ magic number to extend their franchise-record Calder Cup Playoff streak to seven years stands at one point. Grand Rapids hosts Manitoba tomorrow at 7 p.m. in its final home game of the regular season and can secure a playoff bid with at least a point or any Iowa loss against Chicago tomorrow.

Single-game tickets are currently on sale. Fans can secure their full-season, select-season or group ticket packages by calling (616) 774-4585 ext. 2 or visit griffinshockey.com for more information.

Photo by Cornell Athletics