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Spots filled for IceDiggers main camp

July 28, 2006 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Alpena IceDiggers News Release


For Alpena IceDiggers prospects looking to earn a spot at the team's main camp, Friday was a make or break day.

But while a few hopefuls played their way into the three-day main camp, which begins Sunday, there were a few others who saw their chance to make the 2006-07 team squashed at the tryout camp all-star game at Northern Lights Arena.

"There were a few surprises, like Robert Johnson scoring four goals and getting an assist," said IceDiggers head coach Kenny Miller. "Some guys I thought would have better games, but didn't. This was the most important game (of the tryout camp) for those guys."

Six veteran players sat out the end of the all-star game, giving the players on the bubble one more shot to impress the coaches.

"That gave six more guys a chance to show us something, so it worked out for us and them," said Miller. "A couple of guys played their way into main camp."

One of those players was Johnson, who last played with the Flint Junior B team, and made the decision to include him on the main camp roster a no-brainer for the Alpena staff. His five points stood out well above the crowd in a one-sided all-star game where only one other player had more than one point. The Blue team destroyed the Red team 9-1, which was a bit perplexing to Miller.

"It's tough to try and put teams together like that," said Miller. "We tried to do it as evenly as possible. It probably shouldn't have been one-sided, but there were a few turnovers and a few soft goals."

Nick Kuelske let in the first five goals and Peter O'Hara led in the next four. Those goals came on 33 shots. Conversely, the Blue team's goaltending was solid, with Alpena High School alum Justin Marzean stopping all 16 shots he faced. Shawn Hunwick gave up the lone Red team goal, but came up with 16 saves.

Marzean, who had a rough start to the tryout camp, bounced back nicely and ended the camp on a high note with his shutout performance in net Friday.

"I just tried to treat it like Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals," said Marzean. "Every game could be your last. You've just got to play the best you can. Every save is important. Every goal you let in people see it."

Thirteen players from last year's IceDiggers team earned a spot for the main camp. One of those was forward Erik Peterson, who was joined by three other Alpena products - Marzean, Zach Birmingham and Alex Senchuk.

The 40 players on the main camp roster who are still in the hunt for a roster spot include 24 forwards, 12 defenseman and four goalies. After three days of main camp the number of players will be trimmed to 25.

While Friday was disappointing for the players who were cut, Miller is excited to see this year's team taking shape.

"We narrowed it down quite a bit (Thursday)," he said. "Today was even more exciting. Once we get through the tough part (letting the players know who has been cut), I'm sure they will all be excited to get started Sunday afternoon."



North American Hockey League Stories from July 28, 2006


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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