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AHL Manchester Monarchs

Hickey and Zatkoff Named Eastern Conference AHL All-Stars

January 4, 2012 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release


SPRINGFIELD, MA - The American Hockey League and Manchester Monarchs, the primary affiliate of the Los Angeles Kings, announced on Wednesday that goaltender Jeff Zatkoff and defenseman Thomas Hickey were named to the Eastern Conference All-Star Team at the 2012 AHL All-Star Classic to be played at the end of the month at Boardwalk Hall, in Atlantic City, New Jersey on January 29-30, 2012.

Zatkoff, 24, owns a 10-4-1 record for the Monarchs this season, including a 6-0-1 mark on home ice and currently ranks third in the AHL with a 2.04 goals-against-average and second with a .935 save percentage. Zatkoff was recently awarded as the Reebok/AHL Goaltender Of The Month for December. In seven appearances during the month, Zatkoff went 5-2-0 with a 1.70 goals-against-average and a .946 save percentage. The Detroit, Michigan native is in his fourth professional season and is 41-32-6 with five shutouts in 87 career AHL appearances. This will be his first All-Star appearance.

Hickey, 22, has appeared in all 35 games for the Monarchs this season and currently is tied for sixth in the AHL with a plus-15. On the season, the Calgary, Alberta native has tallied 11 points (1-1011) and 15 penalty minutes. This will be Hickey's first All-Star appearance.

Each team comprises of 24 players - 13 forwards, eight defensemen and three goaltenders. AHL fans determined the starting lineups via on-line balloting at theahl.com, while a committee of AHL coaches selected the remainder of the rosters. All 30 AHL teams are represented by at least one All-Star.

The 2012 squads feature 34 first-time AHL All-Stars, 13 rookies and 20 players who have skated in the National Hockey League already this season, including standout first-year players Cam Atkinson of the Springfield Falcons, Andy Miele of the Portland Pirates, Cade Fairchild of the Peoria Rivermen and Gustav Nyquist of the Grand Rapids Griffins. A total of 13 former first- and second-round draft picks were also named All-Stars, among them are Monarchs Hickey, Milwaukee Admirals Ryan Ellis, Syracuse Crunch's Kyle Palmieri, Bridgeport Sound Tigers Calvin de Haan, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Simon Despres, Oklahoma City Barons Alex Plante and Toronto Marlies Joe Colborne and Nazem Kadri .

Players returning to the AHL All-Star Classic include AHL leading scorer Keith Aucoin of the Hershey Bears and reigning AHL MVP Corey Locke of Binghamton Senators, both of whom will tie an AHL record with their sixth career All-Star appearance.

St. John's IceCaps Head Coach Keith McCambridge and Oklahoma City Head Coach Todd Nelson will guide the Eastern and Western Conference All-Stars, respectively, after their teams finished play on Jan. 1 with the best records in their conferences.

From Jan. 5-23, fans will have the opportunity to vote for the starting line-ups for the 2012 AHL All-Star Game by visiting theahl.com or facebook.com/theahl and completing the official Reebok AHL All-Star Fan Ballot . Voters will also be entered to win a grand prize of a team-signed authentic 2012 AHL All-Star jersey, and five more winners will each receive a pair of tickets to the 2012 AHL All-Star Skills Competition and All-Star Game, courtesy of Insurance Office of America .

Tickets for the 2012 AHL All-Star Classic - which include admission to both the 2012 AHL All-Star Skills Competition at 3 p.m. on Sunday, January 29, and the 2012 AHL All-Star Game at 7 p.m. on Monday, January 30 - are on sale now at the Boardwalk Hall box office, all Ticketmaster locations, by calling (800) 736-1420 or at www.ticketmaster.com . Tickets are also available for the Post-Skills Party (January 29, 5:30 p.m.) and the 2012 AHL Hall of Fame Induction & Awards Ceremony (January 30, 11 a.m.) at Caesars Atlantic City.

The 2012 AHL All-Star Classic will feature the top young talent in the AHL competing in an internationally televised showcase from historic Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. Of the 562 players to take part in the AHL All-Star Classic since 1995, more than 93 percent have competed in the NHL, including Patrice Bergeron, Dan Boyle, Daniel Briere, Ryan Callahan, Brian Campbell, Zdeno Chara, Jimmy Howard, Miikka Kiprusoff, Ryan Miller, Zach Parise, Pekka Rinne, Bobby Ryan, Martin St. Louis, Jason Spezza, Eric Staal, P.K. Subban and Tomas Vokoun .

2012 Eastern Conference AHL All-Stars

Forwards

Cam Atkinson, Springfield Falcons

Keith Aucoin, Hershey Bears

Jonathan Audy-Marchessault, Connecticut Whale

Chris Bourque, Hershey Bears

Carter Camper, Providence Bruins

Cory Conacher, Norfolk Admirals

Boyd Kane, Hershey Bears ("C")

Corey Locke, Binghamton Senators

Colin McDonald, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

Andy Miele, Portland Pirates

Kyle Palmieri, Syracuse Crunch

Trevor Smith, Norfolk Admirals

Mats Zuccarello, Connecticut Whale

Defensemen

Mark Barberio, Norfolk Admirals

Calvin de Haan, Bridgeport Sound Tigers

Simon Despres, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

Thomas Hickey, Manchester Monarchs

Matt Irwin, Worcester Sharks

Paul Postma, St. John's IceCaps

Zach Redmond, St. John's IceCaps

Matt Taormina, Albany Devils

Goaltenders

Michael Leighton, Adirondack Phantoms

Tyson Sexsmith, Worcester Sharks

Jeff Zatkoff, Manchester Monarchs

2012 Western Conference AHL All-Stars

Forwards

Joe Colborne, Toronto Marlies

Philippe Cornet, Oklahoma City Barons

Jon DiSalvatore, Houston Aeros

Matt Fraser, Texas Stars

Darren Haydar, Chicago Wolves ("C")

T.J. Hensick, Peoria Rivermen

Nazem Kadri, Toronto Marlies

Krys Kolanos, Abbotsford Heat

Jon Matsumoto, Charlotte Checkers

Chris Mueller, Milwaukee Admirals

Gustav Nyquist, Grand Rapids Griffins

Brandon Pirri, Rockford IceHogs

Jerome Samson, Charlotte Checkers

Defensemen

Kevin Connauton, Chicago Wolves

Ryan Ellis, Milwaukee Admirals

Cade Fairchild, Peoria Rivermen

Brayden McNabb, Rochester Americans

Alex Plante, Oklahoma City Barons

Colby Robak, San Antonio Rampage

Frederic St. Denis, Hamilton Bulldogs

Clay Wilson, Abbotsford Heat

Goaltenders

Yann Danis, Oklahoma City Barons

Cedrick Desjardins, Lake Erie Monsters

Matt Hackett, Houston Aeros



American Hockey League Stories from January 4, 2012


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