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Idaho Steelheads

Laxdal-Led Stars Win NHL Tournament

September 18, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Idaho Steelheads News Release


BOISE, Idaho - The Dallas Stars, coached by Idaho Steelheads Head Coach Derek Laxdal, won the championship of the National Hockey League's Prospects Tournament with an 8-3 win over the Atlanta Thrashers Wednesday night. Held in Traverse City, Michigan, the eight-team Prospects Tournament featured top NHL draft choices, free agents and other players hoping to land a spot on NHL or American Hockey League rosters.

Dallas led 3-1 after the first period of the championship game, only to have Atlanta draw even at 3-3 about 6 minutes into the second frame. Jamie Benn, who led the tournament with five goals, netted the eventual game-winner at the 8:16 mark of the second, and Dallas scored the next four goals to win it. Former Steelhead Aaron Gagnon didn't score in the contest, but finished at +2. In the four games, the center was fourth in the tournament at +4.

While the emphasis for the Dallas organization was to develop players and expose them to top-level competition, Laxdal said he and the players challenged themselves to do more. "I talked with the players about this being a short-term competition and we all decided to treat it like it's the World Juniors. We were gunning for the gold medal, and we won the gold."

Dallas finished the tournament as the only undefeated team, and led all teams in scoring, averaging five goals a game. Goaltenders Matt Climie and Tyler Beskorowany each won two games, and Laxdal said there's a chance Dallas may assign Climie to the Steelheads at some point in the upcoming ECHL season.

Laxdal will now head to the Stars main training camp in Frisco, Texas, and will once again be behind the bench leading the Stars rookie squad in a preseason game against the St. Louis Blues' rookies on September 23. The Steelheads training camp opens the first week of October.

Link to Dallas Stars story: http://stars.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=382332

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