CHL Central Hockey League

Unger to Coach All-Stars

Published on December 17, 2002 under Central Hockey League (CHL) News Release


One half of the Central Hockey League's All-Star coaching equation has been determined, as Tulsa's Garry Unger has secured his position as coach of the Northern Conference for the January 23rd contest in Oklahoma City. All-Star Coaches are selected based upon highest team winning percentage following all games played December 21st, and Unger's Oilers cannot be caught at this point. Unger previously coached the Eastern squad in the 1998 WPHL All-Star Game while with the New Mexico Scorpions, claiming an 11-5 win.

Tulsa has dominated play in the first two months of CHL action, claiming victories in 20 of 25 games. With the honor of coaching the Northern All-Star Team, Unger also will select the non-starting members of the club, along with the CHL's Hockey Operations Department. Balloting will take place in the coming weeks to select the respective conference starting lineups.

In the Southern Conference, Austin's Brent Hughes will most likely coach the Southern All-Stars, assuming his Ice Bats can muster a single point in their two scheduled games this weekend. Odessa's Don McKee is the only other possible candidate as the Southern All-Star Coach, but would need to win both Jackalope home games this week (against Indianapolis and Bossier-Shreveport) and have Austin drop road contests in San Angelo and Corpus Christi. A single point earned by Austin would make Hughes an All-Star Head Coach for the third consecutive season after leading the South last season in Corpus Christi and the East at the WPHL All-Star Game in Odessa in 2001.

This season's contest will pit the most talented players from the CHL's Northern Conference against their counterparts from the Southern Conference. Last season in Corpus Christi, the North claimed a 7-4 victory behind four-point outings from Amarillo right wing Dorian Anneck and Memphis right wing Don Parsons, who also claimed both regular season and playoff Most Valuable Player honors after leading the CHL with 54 goals during regular season play and 27 points in the post-season, where Memphis claimed their first-ever CHL title.

Pointstreak PRO Performance of the Week:

Austin defenseman Mike Gaffney was recalled by Bridgeport of the American Hockey League December 12th, and appeared in three straight contests for the Sound Tigers on the 12th, 13th and 14th. He returned to the Ice Bats Sunday, December 15th, and led Austin to a 4-3 overtime win against Memphis despite playing his fourth game in four nights. Gaffney scored two goals (including the OT winner) and added an assist in a rematch of last season's President's Cup Finals.

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Central Hockey League Stories from December 17, 2002


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