Cichocki to coach Southern All-Stars
December 17, 2002 - ECHL (ECHL)
Arkansas RiverBlades News Release
RiverBlades' head coach Chris Cichocki was selected today to coach the Southern Conference All-Star team at the 2003 ECHL All-Star Game in Estero, Florida, on January 21st.
Cichocki, 39, a native of Detroit, Michigan, is in his third season behind the Blades' bench. Under Cichocki, Arkansas has posted an 80-64-29 record, including a 15-9-5 mark so far this year. In 2000-01, Cichocki engineered a 43-point improvement from the 1999-00 season, the third-biggest turn-around in ECHL history. That year, Arkansas defeated Baton Rouge in their first-ever playoff series before losing to the eventual Kelly Cup Champion South Carolina Stingrays. Cichocki was also co-coach of the Southern Conference in 2001, a game played at the Alltel Arena.
"It is an honor to be selected to the All-Star Game," Cichocki said. "It means even more to me since the voting was done by my peers. I want to thank my players, because a coach is only as good as the guys who go to battle for him every night."
Cichocki's professional playing career spanned 12 seasons, including stints with the Detroit Red Wings and New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League. The majority of his playing career was spent in the International and American Leagues, where he scored over 30 goals in a season five times. For his career, he finished with 280 goals and 294 assists for a total of 574 points in 875 games played.
Cichocki will be available for interviews today at 3:30 p.m. at the RiverBlades office, 425 West Broadway in North Little Rock.
Hosted by the Florida Everblades and sponsored by Compuware, the 11th annual East Coast Hockey League All-Star Game will be played at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, January 21, 2003, at TECO Arena in Estero, Florida.
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