All-Star Game Coaches Announced

December 17, 2002 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release

PRINCETON, N.J. – The East Coast Hockey League on Tuesday announced that the coaches for the 2003 Compuware/ECHL All-Star Game would be Atlantic City's Mike Haviland and Toledo's Claude Noel for the Northern Conference and Arkansas' Chris Cichocki and Florida's Gerry Fleming for the Southern Conference.

The ECHL also announced that Cincinnati equipment manager Mark Mills and Peoria athletic trainer Greg Eberle were chosen to represent the Northern Conference and that Pee Dee equipment manager Damion Parmelee and Columbia athletic trainer Dave Zeis were selected to represent the Southern Conference. Florida athletic trainer Todd Wisocki, who worked the 2002 ECHL All-Star Game, and Florida equipment manager John Jennings were also chosen to work the game.

The All-Star coaches were chosen in a vote of ECHL coaches while equipment managers and trainers were also selected by their peers.

The 2003 Compuware/ECHL All-Star Game will be played at 7:30 p.m. ET on January 21. The game and the skills competition on January 20 will be hosted by the Florida Everblades at TECO Arena in Estero, Florida.

The starting lineup and roster for the Northern Conference All-Star Team will be announced on Wednesday, and the starting lineup and roster for the Southern Conference All-Star Team will be announced on Thursday.

In his second season as the head coach and director of hockey operations, Haviland has Atlantic City tied for the ECHL lead with 38 points and atop the Northeast Division with a 16-6-6 record. In his first season in 2001-02, he led the Boardwalk Bullies to a 42-22-8 record in the regular season and a berth in the 2002 Kelly Cup Playoffs where Atlantic City won the Northwest Division and advanced to the Northern Conference Finals, earning Coach of the Year honors from The Hockey News. He joined Atlantic City after two seasons as an assistant coach with Trenton, helping the Titans advance to the Northern Conference Finals of the 2000 Kelly Cup Playoffs in their inaugural season and to the 2001 Kelly Cup Finals.

In his first season as head coach and director of player personnel, Noel has Toledo in first place in the Northwest Division with 36 points and a 17-6-2 record. He is in his 15th season as a coach, including the past four as an assistant with Milwaukee in the American Hockey League. He was head coach of Roanoke in the ECHL in 1990-91 and was head coach of Dayton from 1991-93. He also served as head coach of Michigan in the International Hockey League.

It will be the second All-Star coaching appearance for Cichocki, who helped coach the Southern Conference All-Stars to a 9-5 win in the 2001 ECHL All-Star Game, hosted by Arkansas at Alltel Arena. In his third season as head coach and director of hockey operations, Cichocki has Arkansas in third place in the Southwest Division with 35 points and a 15-9-5 record. The RiverBlades advanced to the 2001 Kelly Cup Playoffs in their second season, beating Baton Rouge in the first round before losing to eventual Kelly Cup Champion South Carolina in the quarterfinals. Prior to joining the RiverBlades, Cichocki spent three seasons with Cincinnati in the IHL.

Fleming is in his second season as head coach and director of player personnel, having guided Florida to a 37-27-8 record in 2001-02 and the 2002 Kelly Cup Southeast Division Semifinals. He made his head coaching debut with Tallahassee in the ECHL in 2000-01, guiding the Tiger Sharks to a 38-27-7 record, the third best record in team history. Prior to Tallahassee, he was an assistant coach for two seasons with the AHL affiliate of Montreal after seven seasons as a player in the Canadiens organization.

• Discuss this story on the ECHL message board...

ECHL Stories from December 17, 2002

• Bombers to Help out in Toys for Tots Distribution - Dayton Bombers
• Pilots drop IceGators in OT in another one-goal game - Louisiana IceGators
• ECHL Transactions - ECHL
• Grrrowl Beat Augusta, 4-2, at the BI-LO Center - Greenville Grrrowl
• Louisiana game notes at Pensacola, 12/17 - Louisiana IceGators
• Jackal Bites - Elmira Jackals
• Emond Continues Stellar Play, Wins UHL Goaltender of the Week - Elmira Jackals
• Pederson, Koenig Get Weekly Honors - San Diego Gulls
• Storm Acquires Kris Waltze and Trades Chad Wilchynski - Toledo Walleye
• Head Coach Claude Noel Selected As All-Star Coach - Toledo Walleye
• Boardwalk Bullies' Haviland Named ECHL All-Star Coach - Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies
• ECHL Suspends Trenton's Joseph for Two Games - ECHL
• ECHL Announces Disciplinary Action Against Peoria, Johnstown - ECHL
• ECHL Suspends Pensacola's Cruickshank for Five Games, Mississippi's Cava for One Game - ECHL
• Compuware/ECHL All-Star Game Coaches Announced - ECHL
• All-Star Game Coaches Announced - ECHL
• Pride's Parmelee to work All-Star Game - Myrtle Beach Thunderboltz
• Cichocki to coach Southern All-Stars - Arkansas RiverBlades
• Charles Howell III Tees It Up With The Lynx - Augusta Lynx
• Pratt Assigned from Springfield - Pensacola Ice Pilots
• Motivational Youth Day Monday - Bakersfield Condors
• All Along The Coast - ECHL
• Anchorage Winning on and off the Ice - Alaska Aces

The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.