Aces Place Three on National Conference All-Star Team

Published on December 30, 2008 under ECHL (ECHL)
Alaska Aces News Release


ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The Alaska Aces have landed three starters on the National Conference All-Star team, as the ECHL announced Tuesday that goaltender Jean-Philippe Lamoureux, right winger Colin Hemingway, and defenseman Matt Shasby had earned starting spots.

The selections mark the first time that three Aces will start in the game, although Alaska has placed three of its top performers on the all-star team previously, when rookie prospect Alex Leavitt joined starters Ryan Gaucher and Chris Beckford-Tseu at the 2006 ECHL All-Star Game in Fresno, Calif. Lamoureux is among the 13 rookies on the National Conference roster, while Hemingway and Shasby will be appearing in an all-star game for the first time at the professional level.

Lamoureux remains tied for the league lead with 14 victories and three shutouts while ranking second in minutes (1,439) and saves (711). Hemingway leads the ECHL with 27 assists and ranks second with 41 points while Shasby is tied for fourth among defensemen with 20 points (5g-15a). Victoria defenseman Dylan Yeo and forward Wes Goldie, along with Idaho forward Steve Gainey, round out the National Conference starting lineup.

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 46 players from the All-Star Game who have gone on to play in the National Hockey League, including 29 since 2002 when the lineups began having players who coaches felt were prospects to move up to a higher level.

The starting lineups are determined in voting by National Conference coaches, team captains, media directors, broadcasters and media members. Coaches also submitted the top prospects from within their conference to determine the final roster with each of the nine teams having a representative.

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.

The Aces (17-12-1) open a three-game series against Stockton tomorrow night at 7:15 p.m. The Thunder fired head coach Chris Cichocki Monday and replaced him with former Fresno bench boss Matt Thomas, who had led the Falcons into first place in the Pacific Division when Fresno abruptly ceased operations December 22.

Four former Falcons, as well as assistant coach Ryan Mougenel, already have signed contracts with Stockton (10-17-4), a team that has never beaten Alaska in regulation at Sullivan Arena but did manage a 4-3 win at home November 28 in the only previous meeting between the two clubs this season. The Aces and Thunder meet again Friday and Saturday at 7:15 p.m. All three games will be broadcast live on KFQD AM 750, with coverage beginning 15 minutes prior to the opening face-off.

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ECHL Stories from December 30, 2008


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