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National Conference Announced For Chase Chevrolet All-Star Game

Published on December 21, 2007 under ECHL (ECHL) News Release


PRINCETON, N.J. - The ECHL on Friday announced the starting lineup and roster of the National Conference for the 2008 Chase Chevrolet ECHL All-Star Game presented by Jackson Rancheria and Bud Light.

Hosted by the Stockton Thunder and the City of Stockton at Stockton Arena, the 2008 Chase Chevrolet ECHL All-Star Game presented by Jackson Rancheria and Bud Light will be played on Jan. 23 with the 11th edition of the Chase Chevrolet ECHL All-Star Game Skills Competition being held on Jan. 22.

There are 12 rookies on the National Conference and only four of the 21 players have ever been selected to an ECHL All-Star Game.

National Conference Starters
G - Julien Ellis, Victoria (13 gp, 9-2-1, 1 shutout, 2.89 GAA, .920 save pct.)
D - Darrell Hay, Idaho (26 gp, 5g, 11a, 16 pts)
D - Bryan Miller, Alaska (24 gp, 5g, 13a, 18 pts)
F - Ash Goldie, Victoria (24 gp, 15g, 13a, 28 pts)
F - Peter Ferraro, Las Vegas (24 gp, 13g, 18a, 31 pts)
F - Greg Rallo, Idaho (25 gp, 14g, 15a, 29 pts)

The starting lineups are determined in voting by National Conference coaches, team captains, media directors, broadcasters and media members. Coaches also submitted the top prospects from within their conference to determine the final roster with each of the nine teams having a representative.

It is the second straight year that Idaho defenseman Darrell Hay has been voted as a starter and it will be the second consecutive appearance for Idaho forward Greg Rallo, who was named as a replacement player and registered an assist a year ago. Rallo leads Idaho with 29 points (14g-15a) in 25 games while Hay has 16 points (5g-11a) in 26 games. It will be the first All-Star Game for Steelheads rookie goaltender Kellen Briggs, who is 5-4-1 with a shutout and ranks second in the ECHL with a goals-against average of 1.87 and fifth with a save percentage of .928.

It is the first start and second straight All-Star selection for Victoria goaltender Julien Ellis and the first start and appearance for teammate Ash Goldie. Goldie is tied for the league lead with nine power-play goals and he leads the Salmon Kings with 15 goals and 28 points in 24 games. The 21-year-old Ellis, who is under contract to Vancouver of the NHL, was unable to play in the game a year ago because he was with Manitoba in the American Hockey League. He is 9-2-1 with a shutout, a goals-against average of 2.89 and a save percentage of .920 in 13 games for Victoria.

Las Vegas will be represented by starting forward Peter Ferraro, rookie defenseman Tyson Strachan and rookie goaltender Daniel Manzato. Ferraro leads the Wranglers with 13 goals and 31 points in 24 games and is tied for second on the team in plus-minus rating (+13) with Strachan, who has six points (2g-4a) in 19 games. Under contract to Carolina of the NHL, the 23-year-old Manzato is 11-0-0 and tied for the league lead with a save percentage of .938. His 11 wins and two shutouts are tied for second in the ECHL while his goals-against average of 1.97 is third.

Representing Alaska will be starting defenseman Bryan Miller and rookie forward Josh Soares, who are both under contract to Peoria of the AHL. Miller is tied for sixth among league defensemen with 18 points (5g-13a) in 24 games while Soares, who is currently in the AHL with Peoria, leads the Aces with 14 goals, 16 assists and 30 points in 24 games which is tied for third among league rookies.

All-Star Game host Stockton has rookie forwards Jacob Micflikier and Ryan O'Marra and defenseman Brad Farynuk. The 23-year-old Micflikier, who is under contract to Springfield of the AHL, leads ECHL rookies and the Thunder with 22 assists while his 30 points in 25 games lead the team and tie him for third among league rookies. The 20-year-old O'Marra was the 15th player selected in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft and is under contract to Edmonton of the NHL. He leads the Thunder with seven power-play goals and 11 goals while ranking third with 18 points in 22 games. Farynuk, who is under contract to Springfield of the AHL, leads Stockton defensemen with nine assists and 11 points in 22 games.

Representing the Fresno Falcons will be rookie forwards Oren Eizenman and Igor Gongalsky and rookie defenseman Kenny MacAulay. The 22-year-old Eizenman leads Fresno with five power-play goals and 14 goals while his 23 points in 24 games are tied for the team lead. The 21-year-old Gongalsky leads the team in plus-minus rating with +11 while ranking third with 10 goals and 21 points in 21 games. MacAulay is tied for the team lead among defensemen with three goals and ranks second among Fresno blue liners with 13 points in 25 games.

Phoenix will be represented by rookie forward Peder Skinner and defenseman Brian Yandle. The 21-year-old Skinner leads RoadRunners rookies with 10 assists and 17 points in 26 games while Yandle leads Phoenix defensemen with five goals and 16 points in 26 games.

Representing Utah will be rookie forwards Micheal Haley and Trevor Smith. The 22-year-old Smith, who is under contract to the New York Islanders of the NHL, leads the Grizzlies with 25 points (11g-14a) in 22 games while the 21-year-old Haley, who is under contract to Bridgeport and currently playing in the AHL with the Sound Tigers, has 15 points (10g-5a) in 22 games.

It is the second consecutive appearance for Todd Griffith of Bakersfield, who has 12 points (6g-6a) in 13 games after missing the first 14 games of the season because of injury.

ECHL
The ECHL, celebrating its 20th Anniversary in 2007-08, is the Premier 'AA' Hockey League and the third-longest tenured professional hockey league behind only the National Hockey League and the American Hockey League.

ECHL began in 1988-89 with five teams in four states and has grown to be a coast-to-coast league with 25 teams playing 900 games in 17 states and British Columbia in 2007-08.

The league officially changed its name to ECHL on May 19, 2003.

The ECHL has affiliations with 26 of the 30 teams in the NHL in 2007-08, marking the 11th consecutive season that the league has had affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL.

There have been 337 former ECHL players who have gone on to play in the NHL after playing in the ECHL, including a record 47 in 2005-06 and 26 in 2006-07. There have been 192 former ECHL players who have played their first game in the NHL in the past five seasons.

There are 15 coaches in the NHL who have ECHL experience including former Wheeling coach Peter Laviolette, who is head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes, and former Mississippi coach Bruce Boudreau, who is interim head coach of the Washington Capitals.

The ECHL is represented for the seventh consecutive year on the National Hockey League championship team in 2007 with Anaheim assistant coach Dave Farrish, players Francois Beauchemin and George Parros and broadcasters John Ahlers and Steve Carroll.

The ECHL has affiliations with 26 of the 29 teams in the American Hockey League in 2007-08 and for the past 18 years there has been an ECHL player on the Calder Cup champion.

In each of the last two seasons there have been more than 225 players who have played in both the ECHL and the AHL and there were over 800 call-ups involving more than 500 players.

In the last five seasons the ECHL has had more call-ups to the AHL than all other professional leagues combined with over 2,000 call-ups involving more than 1,000 players since 2002-03.

Further information on the ECHL is available from its website at ECHL.com.

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ECHL Stories from December 21, 2007


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