Tifu, Beaudoin Named to 2008 All-Star Team

December 20, 2007 - ECHL (ECHL)
Dayton Bombers News Release


Dayton, OH- The Dayton Bombers, with the ECHL, today announced that Yannick Tifu and Matt Beaudoin have been selected to the 2008 American Conference All-Star Team. Tifu has been selected as a starter.

"They are both very deserving of this honor," Bombers General Manager Don MacAdam said. "Matt is proving to be one of the best first-year players in the league, while Yannick has shown for the past two seasons what an excellent offensive player he is."

Tifu, 23, leads the ECHL in scoring with 42 points (8G, 34A) and is on a career and ECHL season-high 15-game point streak. The Bombers alternate captain is currently on loan to the Albany (N.Y.) River Rats of the "AAA" American Hockey League.

"I'm really excited," Tifu said of his first All-Star selection. "This is a great honor. I'm happy for Beaudoin too, and for the Bombers. I'm proud for my organization and my teammates."

The Brossard, Quebec, native has had 14 games with multiple points, nine games with multiple assists and two games with two goals this season.

Tifu finished fourth in voting for ECHL Most Valuable Player last season after finishing third in the ECHL with 88 points and fourth with 60 assists in 78 games. He led the Bombers with 26 goals, 50 assists and 76 points in 65 games after being acquired from Phoenix in October 2006.

Beaudoin, a 23-year-old native of Rock Forest, Quebec, is tied for second in the league in scoring with 38 points (17G, 21A) and leads all rookies. Beaudoin was called up to the AHL's Iowa Stars on Monday, his first promotion of the season.

"This is a huge honor," said Beaudoin. "I think I owe part of this to Yannick, who made a lot of plays for me this year."

The first time All-Star leads all rookies and is third overall with eight power-play goals and 22 power-play points while his 14 power-play assists and 17 goals are second among first-year players and tied for fourth overall. He is tied for second among rookies and for fifth overall with three game-winning goals while his 21 assists are second among first-year players and sixth overall.

Beaudoin, who has an eight-game point streak (7G, 9A), began the season with Las Vegas and had one assist in one game before being acquired by Dayton on October 22.

"It's great to be representing the Bombers and to be able to be recognized by my peers," Beaudoin said.

He played four seasons at Ohio State University where he had 89 points (52G, 37A) and 118 penalty minutes in 149 games from 2003-07. After completing his season in 2006-07, he signed with Arizona in the Central Hockey League and had three points (2G, 1A) and 14 penalty minutes in 14 playoff games.

"I'm very happy for both of them," said Bombers Head Coach Bill McDonald. "They work hard and have got a vision to move up, which is why they're both in the American League as we speak."

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.

The starting lineups are determined in voting by American 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 16 teams having a representative.

There are 13 rookies on the American Conference and only two of the 21 players have played in an ECHL All-Star Game.

The Bombers return to action at the Ervin J. Nutter Center on Saturday, December 29 to take on the Wheeling Nailers at 7:00 p.m. Team posters, sponsored by Kettering Sports Medicine Center and Cincinnati Bell, will be given away to the first 2,000 fans. A special Skate with the Bombers will take place immediately following the game.

Pro-rated full and partial season ticket packages for the Bombers' 2007-08 campaign are on available, starting as low as $99! Discounted tickets for groups of 10 or more and individual game tickets are sale now! For more information, please contact the Bombers at (937) 775-4747 or visit www.daytonbombers.com.



ECHL Stories from December 20, 2007


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.

OurSports Central