CHL Central Hockey League

Shots from the Point (all-Star Edition)

Published on January 10, 2011 under Central Hockey League (CHL) News Release


The 2011 CHL All-Star Game is set for Wednesday, January 12 at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center Arena in Rapid City, SD (face-off is scheduled for 6:35 PM-MST). All of the action from the game can be seen LIVE on CHL-TV for just $7.00. The format of this season ‚¬â„¢s mid-season battle features the host team and defending CHL Champion Rapid City Rush facing-off against a team of CHL All-Stars. Since the CHL has adapted the unique format of the home team comprising the opponent for the CHL All-Stars, the host club has won each time with Colorado defeating the CHL All-Stars, 8-4, in 2009 and the South Texas All-Stars (players from Laredo, RGV and Corpus Christi) winning last year ‚¬â„¢s game, 9-4.

The Players The CHL All-Star team is made up of 19 skaters who are all seeing action in their first CHL All-Star Game, with the exception of Sebastien Thinel who is making his sixth all-star appearance. The collection of first-time stars means the game will feature the youngest collection of players in the game ‚¬â„¢s history (average age is 26.2 year-old). The starters for this year ‚¬â„¢s game, as voted by CHL Coaches, CHL Communication ‚¬â„¢s Staffs and select media members from around the CHL, are forwards David Rutherford (BOS), Neil Trimm (LAR) and Thinel (ODE), defenseman Nathan Lutz (MIS) and goaltender Kyle Jones (COL). Rio Grande Valley ‚¬â„¢s Darcy Campbell was the top vote getter but an injury will force him out of the game and the starting line-up. Allen ‚¬â„¢s David Strathman will replace Campbell in the starting six.

CHL All-Star Roster

The Coaches The coaches for the CHL All-Stars are Allen ‚¬â„¢s Dwight Mullins and Missouri ‚¬â„¢s Scott Hillman. The pair both earned their spots by having the highest win percentage in their respective conferences on December 24. The irony of these two former CHL players-turned coaches is that they both are guiding teams who are in their second seasons as CHL franchises. The bench boss for the Rush is 2010 CHL Coach of the Year Joe Ferras. His assistant coach is former CHL All-Star defenseman Mark DeSantis.

Missing The Game Three CHL All-Stars will not be able to attend this year ‚¬â„¢s game and have been replaced on the roster. RGV ‚¬â„¢s Darcy Campbell is out with an injury and was replaced by the Killer Bee ‚¬â„¢s Aaron Lewicki. Allen ‚¬â„¢s Bruce Graham is on personal leave from the Americans and unable to play and was replaced by Colton Yellow Horn and finally, Quad City ‚¬â„¢s Mike McLean is out with an injury with his spot in the line-up taken by teammate Darren McMillan.

Numbers Game 7- The number of Rapid City players who will be competing in an all-star game for the second and/or third times. Scott Wray and Vladimir Hartinger will both be playing in their third all-star games, while Jay Birnie, Les Reaney, Danny Battochio, Andrew Smale and Gio Flamminio will be playing in their second all-star contets. 8- The record number of all-star appearances for defenseman Hardy Sauter who played in the mid-season contest every year between 1998-2005. 4- The number of goals scored in the 2009 CHL All-Star Game by the newest Rush skater, Konrad Reeder, who also was named the All-Star Most Valuable Player of that game. Reeder ‚¬â„¢s performance marks the last time a hat trick or better was scored in a CHL All-Star Game. 14- The record for the most goals scored by one team in an all-star game, done three times. The most recent 14-goal effort was in the 2005 game in Laredo which also marked the largest combined goal effort when the North beat the South 14-13. 19- The record number of all-star points that current Colorado Eagles assistant coach Greg Pankewicz scored during his five all-star appearances. Pankewicz scored an all-star record nine points (5-4=9) in the 2006 game.

Slap Shots -One of the newest features of the all-star contest was the CHL Facebook Fan Vote which allowed fans to vote between four candidates for the 19th and final all-star roster spot. The winner of the contest was Missouri ‚¬â„¢s Nick Sirota who edged out Colorado ‚¬â„¢s Riley Nelson, Bossier-Shreveport ‚¬â„¢s Justin Aikins and Odessa ‚¬â„¢s Todd Robinson in the voting that took place over two days. -Other all-star editions this year are equipment manager Tony Deynzer (COL) and athletic trainer Stuart Nichols (TUL) who both earn their appointments for the CHL All-Star team thanks to earning the yearly awards at the end of the 2009-10 season. The four CHL broadcasters selected to bring fans the action are Rapid City ‚¬â„¢s Daniel Nieves and Mississippi ‚¬â„¢s Bob Bakken who will carry the radio broadcast and Odessa ‚¬â„¢s Brien Rea and Quad City ‚¬â„¢s Brian Lavelle who will cover the action on CHL-TV.

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Central Hockey League Stories from January 10, 2011


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