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Manchester awarded 2005 AHL All-Star Classic

November 18, 2003 - American Hockey League (AHL) News Release


MANCHESTER, NH ... American Hockey League President and CEO David Andrews announced today that the Manchester Monarchs and the city of Manchester, N.H., have been awarded the 2005 AHL All-Star Classic, to take place February 13-14, 2005. The announcement was made at a press conference at Manchester's Verizon Wireless Arena.

"The Monarchs have quickly become one of the top organizations in professional hockey," said Andrews. "The community has embraced the franchise, and we are proud to reward the people of Manchester with the 2005 AHL All-Star Classic."

The Verizon Wireless Arena opened its doors in the fall of 2001 and was immediately recognized as one of the premier event facilities in New England. The arena seats nearly 10,000 fans for hockey, and the Monarchs have become one of the biggest draws in the AHL, leading the league in average attendance last season (8,986 fans per game) and again so far in 2003-04. The Monarchs are owned by and affiliated with the NHL's Los Angeles Kings.

"The Monarchs organization is honored to be chosen as the host for the 2005 AHL All-Star Classic," said Jeff Eisenberg, president of the Manchester Monarchs. "We're especially happy for our tremendous fans, who have demonstrated unbelievable support for our team. Without them, we would not be able to host an event of this magnitude."

Also unveiled at the press conference was the logo for the event. In Monarchs colors of purple, gold and silver, the logo features a large star incorporating an outline of the state of New Hampshire and Manchester's team identity mark, the head of a snarling lion wearing a crown. The logo can be seen on theahl.com.

The 2005 AHL All-Star Classic will feature the top young talent in the American Hockey League, competing in the AHL All-Star Skills Competition and the AHL All-Star Game. Of the 295 players to take part in the AHL All-Star Classic since 1995, more than 91 percent have competed in the NHL, including Tyler Arnason, Daniel Briere, Andrew Brunette, Anson Carter, Zdeno Chara, Pavol Demitra, Mike Dunham, Patrik Elias, Brendan Morrison, Vaclav Prospal, Dwayne Roloson, Marc Savard, Martin St. Louis, Steve Sullivan and Tomas Vokoun, as well as current L.A. Kings Derek Armstrong, Joe Corvo, Jason Holland, Mattias Norstrom and Jon Sim.

The 2004 Pepsi AHL All-Star Classic is set for February 8-9 in Grand Rapids, Mich., and will be broadcast live on regional AHL television partners in North America, including Rogers Sportsnet across Canada.

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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.


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