Events, Competitors Announced for Compuware/ECHL All-Star Game Skills Competition

Published on January 16, 2003 under ECHL (ECHL) News Release

PRINCETON, N.J. – The East Coast Hockey League All-Stars will take to the TECO Arena ice on Monday at 7:30 p.m. for the Compuware/ECHL All-Star Skills Competition.

The Compuware/ECHL All-Star Game will be played at 7:35 p.m. on Tuesday at TECO Arena. Tickets for both events are available by telephone at (239) 948-7825 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.

The first event will be the Sher-Wood Puck Control Relay where each player must skate to the far face-off circle to pick up a puck and then carry it through the pylon course. When a player crosses the starting line the next player begins. If a player loses control of the puck, he must regain control and return to the point where control was lost. The team with the fastest time earns one point. The Northern Conference team will be comprised of Charlotte's Takahito Suzuki, Reading's Simon Tremblay and Toledo's Nick Parillo while the Southern Conference will be represented by Florida's Marty Johnston, Pee Dee's Mike Glumac and Arkansas' Buddy Smith. There will also be an individual race between Wheeling's Zenon Konopka and Columbus' Mike Bishai with the winner earning a point for his team.

The second event will be the CCM Fastest Skater where each player starts from a standing position three feet behind the red line and must complete one full lap around the ice surface. The player with the fastest time is the individual winner and earns his team a point while the team with the fastest average time will also earn a point. The Northern Conference will be represented by Cincinnati's Ryan Gaucher, Reading's Brian McCullough and Wheeling's Chris McNamara while the Southern Conference will have Arkansas' Buddy Smith, Columbia's Justin Morrison and Augusta's Patrick Yetman. The record for the event is 13.335 seconds by Jeff Lazaro of New Orleans at the 1998 ECHL All-Star Game in Lafayette, La.

The third event is the KOHO Hardest Shot where each competitor takes two shots into the net where a radar gun calculates the speed of the shot in miles per hour. The player with the highest speed for a single shot earns his point a team while the team with the highest average speed, taking each player's fastest shot, also earns a point. Competing for the Northern Conference will be Dayton's Andrew Ianiero, Johnstown's Pierre-Luc Courchesne, Peoria's Tyler Rennette, and Atlantic City's Kevin Colley while the Southern Conference will have Columbia's Corey Hessler, Pensacola's Ryan O'Keefe, South Carolina's Matt Desrosiers and Louisiana's Rod Sarich. Augusta's Jaroslav Obsut holds the record with a shot of 99.3 mph at the 1999 ECHL All-Star Game in Biloxi, Miss.

The fourth event is the Itech Rapid Fire competition where goaltenders face two shooters at a time, positioned 21 feet from each corner of the goal crease. Each shooter takes five shots on goal, with only slap shots and wrist shots allowed, with all 10 shots completed in 12 seconds. The team with the most saves earns a point will earn a point. In the first round, Atlantic City's Jim Henkel and Trenton's Dustin Wood will shoot against Pee Dee's Matt Underhill while Mississippi's Kent Davyduke and Greenville's Judd Medak will shoot against Richmond's Dan Lombard. The second round will have Roanoke's Jason Jaffray and Wheeling's Zenon Konopka shooting against Jackson's Adam Hauser while Pee Dee's Mike Glumac and Mississippi's Steffon Walby will shoot against Atlantic City's Scott Stirling. The final round will be Atlantic City's Kevin Colley and Richmond's Jon Zion shooting against Florida's Rob Zepp and Columbia's Rejean Stringer and Florida's Marty Johnston shooting against Lexington's Mike Smith. Maxime Gingras of Richmond set the record in the rapid fire event in 1999 when he stopped 17 of 20 shots.

The fifth event is shooting accuracy where each player is given eight attempts to break four targets that are set in each of the corners of the goal. The player hitting the most targets earns a point for his team and the team with the most targets hit also earns a point. Reading's Brad Rooney, Richmond's Jamie Herrington and Roanoke's Jason Jaffray will compete for the Northern Conference while the Southern Conference will have Baton Rouge's Joe Guenther, Columbus' J.J. Hunter and South Carolina's Aaron Schneekloth. Dave Seitz of South Carolina set the record in the shooting accuracy when he broke all four targets in five shots in 1999.

The sixth and final event is the Itech breakaway relay where six shooters skate in and attempt to score on an opposing goaltender in less than 45 seconds. Each goal scored is a point for the respective team while each save made is added to the respective goaltender's saves from the rapid-fire competition to determine the winner of the Itech Goaltender award. Facing off against Pee Dee's Matt Underhill will be Wheeling's Zenon Konopka, Atlantic City's Jim Henkel, Cincinnati's Ryan Gaucher, Charlotte's Takahito Suzuki, Wheeling's Chris McNamara and Dayton's Andrew Ianiero. Trying to score on Richmond's Dan Lombard will be Augusta's Patrick Yetman, Columbia's Justin Morrison, South Carolina's Matt Desrosiers, Mississippi's Steffon Walby, Arkansas' Buddy Smith and Pensacola's Ryan O'Keefe. In the second round it will be Jackson's Adam Hauser against Reading's Simon Tremblay, Toledo's Nick Parillo, Reading's Brian McCullough, Johnstown's Pierre-Luc Courchesne, Peoria's Tyler Rennette and Richmond's Jon Zion. Atlantic City's Scott Stirling will defend against Columbia's Rejean Stringer, Pee Dee's Mike Glumac, South Carolina's Aaron Schneekloth, Columbus' Mike Bishai, Columbia's Corey Hessler and Baton Rouge's Joe Guenther. The final round will have Florida's Rob Zepp in net against Reading's Brad Rooney, Greensboro's Geno Parrish, Roanoke's Jason Jaffray, Richmond's Jamie Herrington, Atlantic City's Kevin Colley and Trenton's Dustin Wood. Lexington's Mike Smith will try to stop Greenville's Judd Medak, Columbus' J.J. Hunter, Mississippi's Kent Davyduke, Louisiana's Rod Sarich, Mississippi's Jim Baxter, and Florida's Marty Johnston. Maxime Gingras of Richmond set the record in the breakaway relay when he stopped eight of nine shots in 1999.

2002 Skills Competition at Trenton, N.J.

Southern Conference 16, Northern Conference 8

2001 Skills Competition at North Little Rock, Ark.

Southern Conference 15, Northern Conference 5

2000 Skills Competition at Greenville, S.C.

Northern Conference 11, Southern Conference 8

1999 Skills Competition at Biloxi, Miss.

Southern Conference 13, Northern Conference 8

1998 Skills Competition at Lafayette, La.

Canada All-Stars 10, USA/World All-Stars 9

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