Central Hockey League’s best prepare to shine in Laredo

LAREDO , Texas – The Central Hockey League’s finest have gathered for the 2010 All-Star Game in Laredo, Texas. The game will be held at the Laredo Entertainment Center and will feature the teams from South Texas ( Laredo, Corpus Christi and Rio Grande Valley) against the remaining CHL teams.
 
The starters were selected by the South Texas coaching staff made up of head coach Terry Ruskowski from Laredo and assistant co-coaches Brent Hughes from Corpus Christi and Chris Brooks from Rio Grande Valley. 
 

The Laredo Bucks have two players on the starting unit including forward Darryl Smith and defenseman Adam Rivet. Smith was o ne of the co-Most Valuable Players of the 2009 CHL All-Star Game and was also the league’s 2009 Rookie of the Year. He has 26 points (14 G, 12 A) in 32 games this season. He had a goal and an assist in last year’s game. Rivet will also be playing in his second CHL All-Star Game. This season, he has contributed 20 points (6 G, 14 A).
 
Bucks’ Goaltender Jean-Philippe Levasseur, a first-time CHL All-Star, was called up to the Springfield Falcons of the American Hockey League and will not play in the game.  Left wing Jesse Bennefield and defenseman Nathan Ansell will represent the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees.  Bennefield has been among the league’s top goal scorers all season and is currently in sixth place with 42 points (18 G, 24 A). Ansell is ninth among defensemen with 24 points (4 G, 20 A). Both players are participating in their first CHL All-Star game. Rounding out the starters and making his second CHL All-Star appearance is Corpus Christi Ice Rays center Justin Quenneville who has tallied 27 points (13 G, 14 A) this season.
 
The CHL All-Stars will be coached by Colorado Eagles head coach Kevin McClelland. Players were selected via voting by CHL head coaches, CHL Communication’s Departments and select media members from CHL cities. 
 
The league’s top team, the Odessa Jackalopes, will be represented by  Goaltender Joel Martin and defenseman Alex dunn. It will be the first CHL All-Star appearance for both players. Martin leads the league with a 2.26 goals against average and is third with a .922 save percentage. Dunn leads all CHL defensemen in scoring with 31 points (10 G, 21 A). 
 
Colorado Eagles defenseman Aaron Schneekloth earned his fourth all-star selection (third straight) and his teammate, center Riley Nelson earned his third all-star appearance. Schneekloth is second among all CHL defensemen with 30 points (11 G, 19 A) and his +24 plus/minus rating leads all CHL players. Nelson has tallied 48 points (18 G, 30 A) and is second among all CHL players with a +23 plus/minus rating. He will captain the CHL All-Stars.
 
Tulsa forward Rob Hisey, who was the top vote-getter, appearing on 30 ballots, is currently tied for the lead in the CHL with 19 goals. He was called-up to the American Hockey League by the Springfield Falcons on December 28 and will not play in the game. His all-star roster spot is being filled by teammate T.J. Caig, who has scored 38 points (15 G, 23 A), currently leading all Tulsa scorers.
 
The final forward voted to start the all-star game is center Justin Bowers from the expansion Allen Americans. His 44 points (15 G, 29 A) leads the Americans in scoring and ranks fourth in the CHL. 
 
The South Texas All-Star reserves were selected by the South Texas coaching staff.
 
Of the 12 reserves, nine will be playing in their first CHL All-Star Game. Corpus Christi defenseman Jason Tessier (fifth CHL All-Star Game) and Laredo Bucks forward Jeff Bes (fourth CHL All-Star Game) serve as the elder statesmen. 
 
Other reserves from Laredo include forward Evan Schwabe and defenseman Jarred Mohr.  There are four additional players from the Ice Rays on the team including goaltender Kevin Nastiuk, forwards Ryan Garbutt and Jereme Tendler and defenseman Kyle Peto, all making their first CHL All-Star appearances. Other Killer Bees on the team include forwards Sean Muncy and Grant Goeckner-Zoeller, defenseman Tom Sawatske and goaltender Andy Franck. For Franck, it will be his third consecutive CHL All-Star appearance as he started both the 2008 and 2009 CHL All-Star Games while a member of the Youngstown SteelHounds and Oklahoma City Blazers respectively.
    
The CHL All-Star reserves were chosen by McClelland and the CHL Hockey Operations Department. 
 
Of the 12 reserves, seven will be playing in their first CHL All-Star Game. Defenseman Derek Landmesser ( Mississippi) has the most seniority and is playing in his seventh All-Star Game. Other veterans of the CHL All-Star Game joining Landmesser are Bossier-Shreveport goaltender Ken Carroll (sixth appearance), Missouri forward Jeff Christian (fourth appearance), Odessa forward Dominic Leveille (fourth appearance) and Colorado forward Kevin Ulanski (second appearance).
 
The Rapid City Rush have two reserves that will appear in the game. Rookie goaltender Danny Battochio earned one of the three goalie spots and forward Les Reaney was selected to his first CHL All-Star Game.  The remaining players on the roster are Texas Brahmas forward Jordan Cameron, Allen forward Bruce Graham, Wichita defenseman Jim Jorgensen, Amarillo defenseman Andrew Smale and Arizona defenseman Jon Landry.       
 
The game begins at 7:00 p.m. CST and can be viewed  nationally on America One http://www.americaone.com/  and their partner affiliates, making the broadcast available in close to 10 million homes nationwide. 
 
Additionally, fans can watch the game online via pay-per-view through CHL-TV. For more information, visit http://chltv.insinc.com . 
 
The game will also be available via the CHL Radio Network which initiates from the Bucks flagship radio station (Imagen 94.1-FM) and will be carried locally by select CHL markets.
 
Contact the author at robert.keith@prohockeynews.com