Arvai, Fornataro and Nimmo Named to All-Star Team

December 29, 2007 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Amarillo Gorillas News Release


Amarillo, TX - The Central Hockey League (CHL) today announced the Southern Conference reserves for the 2007-08 all-star game, and three Gorillas were selected to the squad. Rookie defensemen Shaun Arvai and Nate Fornataro, along with fellow rookie David Nimmo were all selected to appear in the game which will take place on Wednesday, January 16th in Broomfield, Colorado at the Broomfield Events Center, home to the Rocky Mountain Rage.

Forward David Nimmo, a product of the University of Alabama-Huntsville, has been stellar for the Gorillas all season long, and currently leads the team in scoring with 31 points on 18 goals and 13 assists. The St. Albert, Alberta native has scored more goals than any other rookie in the league, and his point total is second among rookies, trailing only Arizona's Mark Kolanos (33 pts). Among all players in the league, the diverse forward's 18 goals are second best behind only Odessa's Dominic Leveille and his 31 points are 17th best in the league.

Defenseman Shaun Arvai also hails from the University of Alabama-Huntsville, and has been a key component on the Gorillas defensive corps all season long. Totaling 4 goals and 13 assists, his 17 points are tops among Gorillas defenseman, and third best among rookie blue-liners. The West Lorne, Ontario native has been especially important on the power-play unit, as his ten power-play assists are tops on the team, and tops among all rookies in the league.

The third member of the Gorillas named to the all-star team is defenseman Nate Fornataro, also a rookie who joins the Gorillas after four years of collegiate hockey at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. Fornataro has posted great numbers for the Gorillas this year, scoring 15 points on 4 goals and 11 assists, and all 15 points have come in the past 15 games. Fornataro's best game came against the Texas Brahmas on December, 8th when he registered four assists in the Gorillas 7-4 win over the Brahmas, the only time this year that a Gorilla has posted four assists in a game. Fornataro, who hails from Calgary, Alberta has been stellar defensively as well, leading the team in +/- with a rating of +6.

The reserves for the Southern conference were selected by Arizona Sundogs head coach Marco Pietroniro who will coach the team, as his Sundogs have the highest winning percentage in the conference. The rest of the reserves are as follows:

2008 CHL Southern Conference All-Star Reserves Position - Player, Team (Appearance/Note) Forward - Alex Leavitt, Arizona (1st/ Active leader in CHL with 43 points) Forward - Konrad Reeder, New Mexcio (1st/ Leads CHL with four SHG's) Forward - Sebastien Thinel, Odessa (5th/ T-6th in CHL with 40 points) Forward - Brent Howarth, Corpus Christi (1st/ 3rd among CHL rookies with 27 points) Forward - Travis Banga, Rio Grande Valley (2nd/ Makes 2nd straight all-star appearance) Forward - David Nimmo, Amarillo (1st/ 2nd among rookies with 31 points) Defenseman - Vladi Hartinger, New Mexico (2nd/ 8th among defensemen with 23 points) Defenseman - Nate Fornataro, Amarillo (1st/ 4th among rookie defensemen with 15 points) Defenseman - Shaun Arvai, Amarillo (1st/ 3rd among rookie defensemen with 17 points) Defenseman - Jason Tessier, Austin (4th/ 5th among defensemen with eight goals) Goaltender - Alexandre Vincent, Odessa (1st/ 8-2-4 record with a league-best .939 save%) Goaltender - Andrew Martin, New Mexico (1st/ 5-6-1 record with a .912 save%)



Central Hockey League Stories from December 29, 2007


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