Travis Roche

Travis Roche (born June 17, 1978 in Grande Cache, Alberta and raised in Whitecourt, Alberta) is a Canadian hockey player for SC Bern of the National League A of Switzerland.

An offensively gifted defenceman, Roche played two seasons for the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux. The Sioux defeated The University of Main and also Boston College in the Frozen Four (held in Providence, Rhode Island) to capture an NCAA title in his first season of play in the 1999–2000 season, and Roche was named to the WCHA All-Tournament Team.

The following season (the final season at “old” Ralph Engelstad Arena), the team captured the MacNaughton Cup as the WCIIA League Regular Season Champion with an 18–4–6 record. The team lost the Final Five Championship game to Saint Cloud State 6–5 in overtime, and the Sioux were defeated by Boston College 3–2 in the Frozen Four title game, with Roche named to the WCHA All-Tournament team, the NCAA Frozen Four All-Tournament Team and was honored as an NCAA West First Team All-American. Roche holds Fighting Sioux single game records for goals by a defenceman (3), points by a defenceman (6), and assists by a defenceman.

In his collegiate career, Roche appeared in 88 games, scoring 17 goals and 60 assists for a total of 77 points.

He was signed to a two-season contract by the Minnesota Wild on April 8, 2001, one day after the end of the Sioux's 2001 national championship run, appearing in the final game of the Wild's 2000–2001 season. He joined their AHL affiliate, the Houston Aeros for the better part of the 2001–02 season, finishing with 34 points (13G-21A) in 60 games while playing a handful of games with the parent club in Minnesota.

Roche returned to Houston for the better part of the 2002–03 season, establishing career highs in goals (14), assists (34) and points (48) and was a key player in the team's run to the 2003 Calder Cup title. In 2003–04, Roche spent the majority of season with the Houston while playing a handful of games with the Wild.

Roche signed with the Atlanta Thrashers in the summer 2004 and competed for the club's AHL affiliate Chicago Wolves for in the 2004–2005 and 2005–2006 seasons, and was named AHL First Team All-Star in 2005 with the team advancing to the AHL Finals.

Roche signed as a free agent with the Phoenix Coyotes in the summer of 2006, and after a strong training camp for head coach Wayne Gretzky, and with 17 games played, one goal and nine assists for the team's AHL affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage, Roche was called up by the Coyotes for the remainder of the 2006–2007 NHL season. Roche established NHL career highs for games played (50), goals (6), assists (13), points (19) and PIM (22) and also led the team in plus/minus ratio (+2). His first NHL goal came against Calgary on December 16, 2006, he had a multiple point game two weeks later, and he had a game winning goal against the Los Angeles Kings on January 20, 2007.

To date, Roche has played four seasons in the NHL, with 60 games played, 6 goals, 14 assists, 20 points and 24 PIM. He and his wife, Darcie live in the St. Paul, Minnesota area in the off-season.

Awards
BCHL Second All-Star Team (1997) BCHL Rookie of the Year Award (1997) BCHL Playoff MVP Award (1997) BCHL First All-Star Team (1998) BCHL Best Defenceman Award (1998) WCHA All-Rookie Team (2000) WCHA First All-Star Team (2001) NCAA West First All-American Team (2001) NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team (2001) AHL Yannick Dupre Memorial Award (2002) AHL First All-Star Team (2005)

Transactions

 * April 8, 2001 - Minnesota Wild: Signed Travis Roche as a free agent
 * October 10, 2001 - Minnesota Wild: Assigned Travis Roche to their AHL affiliate Houston Aeros of the American Hockey League
 * October 31, 2001 - Minnesota Wild: Recalled Travis Roche from their AHL affiliate Houston Aeros of the American Hockey League
 * November 4, 2001 - Minnesota Wild: Reassigned Travis Roche to their AHL affiliate Houston Aeros of the American Hockey League
 * January 26, 2002 - Minnesota Wild: Recalled Travis Roche from their AHL affiliate Houston Aeros of the American Hockey League
 * January 31, 2002 - Minnesota Wild: Reassigned Travis Roche to their AHL affiliate Houston Aeros of the American Hockey League
 * June 27, 2002 - Minnesota Wild: Re-signed Travis Roche to a muli-year contract
 * October 7, 2002 - Minnesota Wild: Assigned Travis Roche to their AHL affiliate Houston Aeros of the American Hockey League
 * July 14, 2004 - Atlanta Thrashers: Signed Travis Roche as a free agent.
 * October 1, 2004 - Atlanta Thrashers: Assigned Travis Roche to the Chicago Wolves, their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate
 * October 1, 2005 - Atlanta Thrashers: Assigned Travis Roche to the Chicago Wolves, their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate
 * July 20, 2006 - Phoenix Coyotes: Signed Travis Roche as a free agent.
 * November 28, 2006 - Phoenix Coyotes: Recalled Travis Roche from the San Antonio Rampage, their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate
 * September 24, 2007 - Phoenix Coyotes: Assigned Travis Roche to the San Antonio Rampage, their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate