OHL Saginaw Spirit

Bissonnette Prepares for OHL All-Star Game

Published on January 26, 2004 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Saginaw Spirit News Release


Spirit defenseman Paul Bissonnette is in Peterborough preparing for Tuesday's OHL All-Star Game. Bissonnette is the team captain of the Spirit. The 18 year old native of Welland, Ontario is in his third year in the OHL.

The honor is the latest for Bissonnette, who was the Team Orr MVP in the 2003 Top Prospects game and earned gold medals with the Team Canada U-18 squads in 2002 and 2003.

OHL News Release:

The game will feature the OHL's Eastern Conference All-Stars against the Western Conference in the first Conference showdown format since January 2000 when the Western Conference defeated the Eastern Conference 8-5 in Mississauga.

The Peterborough Memorial Centre has recently been refurbished with $11.9 million in renovations and the Petes will open the 2003-04 season on October 16 against the Kingston Frontenacs.

The Western Conference All-Stars will be coached by Peter DeBoer, who guided the Kitchener Rangers to the J. Ross Robertson Cup as OHL champions and the Memorial Cup championship in Quebec City last May. The Eastern Conference All-Stars will be coached by Brian Kilrea, whose Ottawa 67's played in the OHL Championship Series against the Rangers last year. Kilrea will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on November 3, 2003.

The rosters will be selected by the management teams of Mike Vellucci, Plymouth Whalers and Mike Futa, Owen Sound (Western Conference) and George Burnett, Oshawa Generals and Ken Cook, Mississauga IceDogs (Eastern Conference).

The OHL All-Star Game was first played in 1977 in Sudbury when the Emms Division defeated the Leyden Division 6-5 in overtime. The Emms vs. Leyden format continued for nine seasons through 1985 following which the game was replaced by the OHL/QMJHL All-Star Challenge Series.

The Saginaw Spirit, Mid-Michigan's Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Franchise plays 34 home games from September to March. The OHL is part of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), which also includes the Western Hockey League (WHL) and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). The OHL is the official supplier to the National Hockey League (NHL). Visit the Spirit Website at www.saginawspirit.com.

Check out the Saginaw Spirit Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Ontario Hockey League Stories from January 26, 2004


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.

OurSports Central