BY: Brian Tosti, Greenville Swamp Rabbits
Greenville, SC – The Greenville Swamp Rabbits announced that Matt Aiello, the team’s athletic trainer, has accepted a position in the American Hockey League with the Hartford Wolf Pack. The Swamp Rabbits are also pleased to announce the filling of both the equipment manager and athletic trainer vacancies. Brian Riedel has accepted the role of Head Athletic Trainer while Shawn Thorns will join the team as Head Equipment Manager.
Aiello, 29, enters his first AHL season after spending the past two years in Greenville. This past season he took home both ECHL honors for Athletic Trainers including an All-Star Classic selection and the 2018 Athletic Trainer of the Year. Aiello has worked more than 450 games behind the bench and was the first Greenville trainer to garner the Athletic Trainer of the Year award.
The Cary, Illinois native has over seven years of experience in the field since earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Athletic Training from Illinois State University. Aiello began his career in the Central Hockey League with the Bloomington Prairie Thunder. Over the next five seasons, he held the Athletic Trainer position for the CHL’s Bloomington Blaze, SPHL’s Bloomington Thunder, and USHL’s Bloomington Thunder.
Riedel, 24, has spent the last year with the Peoria Rivermen as the Head Athletic Trainer. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in May 2017, he accepted his position with the Rivermen and became the club’s second trainer in the SPHL era. In college, Riedel worked closely with the Pointers men’s hockey team. The Sun Prairie, Wisconsin native is also an authorized official in the USA Hockey program.
Thorns, 22, held the Head Equipment Manager position with the SPHL’s Macon Mayhem during the 2017-18 season. He was also an assistant equipment manager for four seasons with the South Carolina Stingrays from 2013 to 2017. The Charleston, South Carolina native grew up around the game of hockey, playing as a goaltender and also spending time as an assistant coach of the Wando High School hockey team.
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