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Ian Herbers to Coach American Conference All-Stars

January 6, 2009 - ECHL (ECHL)
Johnstown Chiefs News Release


JOHNSTOWN, Pa. - The Johnstown Chiefs, ECHL affiliate of the NHL's Colorado Avalanche and Columbus Blue Jackets, and the AHL's Lake Erie Monsters and Syracuse Crunch, announced today that Ian Herbers has been selected to coach the American Conference at the 2009 ECHL All-Star Game presented by Guardian Wear.

In his second season as the Chiefs head coach Herbers has led the team to a 21-11-2 record and 44 points. The 21 wins are tied for most in the conference while the 44 points are the second most in the North Division and the conference. Under Herbers' direction the 2008-09 Chiefs became the fastest team in club history to 20 wins when they beat the Elmira Jackals 6-5 in overtime on December 28.

Herbers will be making his first All-Star appearance along with Chiefs goalie Kris Mayotte and defenseman Jon Landry. Mayotte and Landry were chosen as starters for the American Conference on December 31. Herbers will be the second Chiefs coach to represent the team at the All-Star Game after Toby O'Brien became the first in 2004. The last time the Chiefs had two starters in an All-Star Game was 2000 with Derrick Walser and Joel Irving getting the nod.

The North Division will be duly represented on the bench at the All-Star Game as Herbers will coach alongside Wheeling's Greg Puhalski. Herbers was selected to coach in the game using a combination of votes from coaches within the American Conference and the team's win percentage while Puhalski was chosen by virtue of having the highest win percentage in the conference.

The Reading Royals, the City of Reading and the Sovereign Center will host the 17th Annual ECHL All-Star Game on Jan. 21, 2009 and the 12th Annual All-Star Skills Competition on Jan. 20, 2009.

There have been four coaches and 46 players from the All-Star Game who have advanced to the National Hockey League. Twenty-nine players from the All-Star Game have gone on to play in the NHL since 2002 when the lineups began having players who coaches felt were prospects to move up to a higher level.

The Stanley Cup and the Patrick J. Kelly Cup will both be on display throughout the event, marking the ninth time in the last 10 years that the NHL championship trophy and the ECHL championship trophy have been displayed together at the All-Star Game.

Ian Herbers Bio: Ian Herbers is in his second season as head coach of Johnstown having been named the team's eighth head coach on June 18, 2007. In his first season in 2007-08 the Chiefs were 36-30-6 and finished fourth in the North Division. The 36 wins are the most by a first-year coach in Johnstown as the Chiefs advanced to the Kelly Cup Playoffs for the third straight season. The 41 year old was an associate head coach for Saginaw of the Ontario Hockey League from 2005-07, helping the Spirit reach the postseason in back-to-back seasons while going 81-51-5. He was an assistant coach for Saginaw in 2004-05 after working as an assistant coach for former Johnstown coach Scott Allen with San Antonio of the American Hockey League in 2003-04. He played 12 years of professional hockey, including 65 games in the National Hockey League with the Edmonton Oilers, the New York Islanders, and the Tampa Bay Lightning. Selected in the 10th round (190th overall) by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft, the former defenseman helped Cape Breton win the Calder Cup championship in 1993 and helped Detroit win the Turner Cup in the original International Hockey League in 1997. He played seven seasons in the IHL where he had 90 points (25g-65a) and 758 penalty minutes in 420 regular season games and 22 points (5g-17a) and 151 penalty minutes in 76 playoff games with Detroit and Cleveland. He played three seasons in the AHL and had 57 points (15g-42a) and 355 penalty minutes in 166 regular season games and four assists and 28 penalty minutes in 15 playoff games for Cape Breton.

Mark your calendars! The Chiefs are back on home ice Friday, January 16th at 7:05 PM when they host the Elmira Jackals.

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