Linesman cut in throat by a skate in stable condition

Posted By Cory Smith, QMI Agency
on www.nugget.ca

WOODSTOCK — The linesman whose neck was sliced by an errant skate Tuesday night is in critical but stable condition in a London hospital.

Kevin Brown was taken to Woodstock General Hospital by ambulance during the third period of Tuesday's game between the Woodstock Renegades and New Hamburg Firebirds, leaving behind several pools of blood on the Southwood Arena ice as fans and players watched in horror.

He was later transferred to London Health Sciences Centre where he remains in the hospital's trauma unit.

"I saw the skate go up and he grabbed his neck right away," fellow linesman Bruce Byers said afterwards. "You knew he was leaking. I told the guys on the ice, 'It's done.'"

The game was suspended with 11:22 remaining.

Renegades trainer Bert Cowell, an Oxford EMS dispatcher and former paramedic, said Brown was semi-conscious when he was placed in the ambulance. There was no official word on Brown's condition at press time.

"He was starting to fade when he left," Cowell said. "He was pretty pale."

Woodstock's Craig Thomson had just scored to tie the game 4-4 and during the ensuing celebration got into a fight with New Hamburg's Reid Oliver behind the Firebirds net.

The pair traded punches along the boards as Brown and Byers watched.

Thomson threw Oliver to the ice, propelling Oliver's right leg through the air like a cartwheel and slicing Brown's throat beneath the chinstrap on the right side of his face.

Brown, initially oblivious to the injury, break up the fight as blood spurted from a severed artery and pooled at his skates.

When he realized the severity of what had happened, Brown, whom Byers said was from the Sebringville area, immediately placed his left hand on the gaping wound and skated to the Firebirds bench.

There was a collective gasp from the crowd, followed by screams for an ambulance as trainers from both teams attended to Brown, who was placed on the Firebirds bench.

Byers was obviously rattled by the incident.

"You can't even describe it," he said.

The Firebirds were adamant they didn't want to finish the game, while the Renegades were split.

Players from both teams were shaken.

"Me and Philly (Dan Phillips) were at the bench and we thought he was bringing equipment to the bench," Renegades' captain Cole Maher said. "We realized he was skating too fast to do that.

"I went to our bench and grabbed a towel and brought it down there."

Arena staff cleaned the ice while the teams awaited a decision on the outcome of the game.

The Ministry of Labour was called to investigate and Woodstock police arrived to take pictures as a precaution.

2010 Canadian AHL All-Star team announced

From theahl.com

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League announced today the Canadian AHL All-Star team roster for the 2010 Time Warner Cable AHL All-Star Classic, to be played next month at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland, Maine.

The team comprises 24 players – 13 forwards, eight defensemen and three goaltenders – born in Canada. AHL fans determined the starting lineup via on-line balloting at theahl.com, while a committee of AHL coaches selected the remainder of the roster.

Among the members of the Canadian team are 17 first-time AHL All-Stars including Manchester’sJonathan Bernier, Hamilton’s Cedrick Desjardins and Texas’s Brent Krahn, who are the AHL’s top three goaltenders in both goals-against average and save percentage. The Canadian squad also features six former NHL first-round draft picks including Logan Couture of the Worcester Sharks and Tyler Ennis of the host Portland Pirates, the top two rookie scorers in the league. Players on the Canadian roster with previous All-Star experience include Binghamton’s Martin St. Pierre and Hartford’s Corey Locke, who are tied for the event’s all-time scoring lead with eight career points each.

Manitoba Moose defenseman Nolan Baumgartner was selected to captain the Canadian team, and was voted to the starting lineup by fan balloting. Because the Hershey Bears won the Calder Cup championship in 2009, their current staff of head coach Mark French and assistant Troy Mann will serve as the coaches for the Canadian team; Bob Woods was promoted to assistant coach of the Washington Capitals after guiding the Bears to the title last spring.

The PlanetUSA AHL All-Star team roster will be announced on Wednesday.

The 2010 Time Warner Cable AHL All-Star Classic will feature the top talent in the American Hockey League competing in the 2010 AHL All-Star Skills Competition on Monday, January 18 (8:00 p.m. ET) and the 2010 AHL All-Star Game on Tuesday, January 19 (6:00 p.m. ET), and will be televised live nationally in the United States and Canada. Of the 492 players to take part in the AHL All-Star Classic since 1995, more than 94 percent have competed in the National Hockey League, including Patrice Bergeron, Brad Boyes, Dan Boyle, Daniel Briere, Brian Campbell,Zdeno Chara, Rick DiPietro, Miikka Kiprusoff, Kari Lehtonen, Ryan Miller, Zach Parise, Bobby Ryan, Martin St. Louis, Jason Spezza, Eric Staal and Tomas Vokoun.

Tickets for the 2010 Time Warner Cable AHL All-Star Classic – which include admission to both the Skills Competition and the AHL All-Star Game as well as an official commemorative All-Star Classic event program – are $49 (rows 1-12 in all sections) and $42 (rows 13-24 in all sections). To purchase tickets call (207) 775-3458, visit the Cumberland County Civic Center Box Office or go on-line at portlandpirates.com.

2010 Canadian AHL All-Star Team

Goaltenders

x-Jonathan Bernier, Manchester

Cedrick Desjardins, Hamilton

Brent Krahn, Texas

Defensemen
x-Nolan Baumgartner, Manitoba ("C")

Tyler Eckford, Lowell

Keaton Ellerby, Rochester

Danny Groulx, Worcester

Mark Katic, Bridgeport

Maxim Noreau, Houston

Bryan Rodney, Albany

x-P.K. Subban, Hamilton

Forwards
x-Logan Couture, Worcester

Tyler Ennis, Portland

x-Alexandre Giroux, Hershey

Andrew Gordon, Hershey

Darren Haydar, Lake Erie

Jason Jaffray, Abbotsford

x-Dustin Jeffrey, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton

Ryan Keller, Binghamton

Charles Linglet, Springfield

Corey Locke, Hartford

Jon Matsumoto, Adirondack

Cal O'Reilly, Milwaukee

Martin St. Pierre, Binghamton

x-starters

Head Coach: Mark French, Hershey Bears

Assistant Coach: Troy Mann, Hershey Bears

Athletic Trainer: Dan Stuck, Hershey Bears

Equipment Manager: Justin Kullman, Hershey Bears

2010 PlanetUSA AHL All-Stars announced

from theahl.com

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League announced today the PlanetUSA AHL All-Star team roster for the 2010 Time Warner Cable AHL All-Star Classic, to be played next month at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland, Maine.

The team comprises 24 players – 13 forwards, eight defensemen and three goaltenders – born outside of Canada; the Canadian team was announced on Tuesday. AHL fans determined the starting lineups via on-line balloting at theahl.com, while a committee of AHL coaches selected the remainder of the rosters. All 29 AHL teams are represented by at least one All-Star.

Among the members of the PlanetUSA team are 18 first-time AHL All-Stars, including 2009 Calder Cup Playoffs MVP Michal Neuvirth of the Hershey Bears and 2009 AHL rookie of the year Nathan Gerbe of the host Portland Pirates, who missed last year’s event due to injury. The PlanetUSA club features five former first-round NHL draft picks: Lars Eller of the Peoria Rivermen, Jack Skilleof the Rockford IceHogs, John Carlson of the Hershey Bears, Bobby Sanguinetti of the Hartford Wolf Pack and Ivan Vishnevskiy of the Texas Stars. Rochester’s Graham Mink will make his All-Star debut and serve as PlanetUSA captain.

Manchester Monarchs head coach Mark Morris and assistant Scott Pellerin will lead the PlanetUSA team because the Monarchs owned the AHL’s second-best points percentage (behind the defending champion Hershey Bears) at the end of play on Dec. 27.

The 2010 Time Warner Cable AHL All-Star Classic will feature the top talent in the American Hockey League competing in the 2010 AHL All-Star Skills Competition on Monday, January 18 (8:00 p.m. ET) and the 2010 AHL All-Star Game on Tuesday, January 19 (6:00 p.m. ET), and will be televised live nationally in the United States and Canada. Of the 492 players to take part in the AHL All-Star Classic since 1995, more than 94 percent have competed in the National Hockey League, including Patrice Bergeron, Brad Boyes, Dan Boyle, Daniel Briere, Brian Campbell,Zdeno Chara, Rick DiPietro, Miikka Kiprusoff, Kari Lehtonen, Ryan Miller, Zach Parise, Bobby Ryan, Martin St. Louis, Jason Spezza, Eric Staal and Tomas Vokoun.

Tickets for the 2010 Time Warner Cable AHL All-Star Classic – which include admission to both the Skills Competition and the AHL All-Star Game as well as an official commemorative All-Star Classic event program – are $49 (rows 1-12 in all sections) and $42 (rows 13-24 in all sections). To purchase tickets call (207) 775-3458, visit the Cumberland County Civic Center Box Office or go on-line at portlandpirates.com.

2010 PlanetUSA AHL All-Star Team

Goaltenders
Anton Khudobin, Houston
x-Michal Neuvirth, Hershey
Alexander Salak, Rochester

Defensemen
John Carlson, Hershey
Jonas Junland, Peoria
Bobby Sanguinetti, Hartford
Sean Sullivan, San Antonio
x-Ivan Vishnevskiy, Texas
Viatcheslav Voynov, Manchester
x-Mike Weber, Portland
Andy Wozniewski, Providence

Forwards
x-Keith Aucoin, Hershey
x-Brandon Bochenski, Norfolk
Mark Cullen, Rockford
Lars Eller, Peoria
Dan Fritsche, Syracuse
x-Nathan Gerbe, Portland
Christian Hanson, Toronto
Mikko Lehtonen, Providence
Graham Mink, Rochester (“C”)
Patrick Rissmiller, Grand Rapids
Sergei Shirokov, Manitoba
Jack Skille, Rockford
Brett Sterling, Chicago

x-starters

Head Coach: Mark Morris, Manchester Monarchs
Assistant Coach: Scott Pellerin, Manchester Monarchs
Athletic Trainer: Robert Frost, Portland Pirates
Equipment Manager: Henning Aagaard-Svendsen, Portland Pirates

National Conference Roster Announced For All-Star Game

PRINCETON, N.J. – The ECHL on Wednesday announced the starting lineup and roster of the National Conference team for the 2010 ECHL All-Star Game presented by Reebok Hockey and brought to you by Toyota and the City of Ontario.

The 2010 ECHL All-Star Game presented by Reebok Hockey and brought to you byToyota and the City of Ontario will be hosted by the Ontario Reign at Citizens Business Bank Arena and played on Jan. 20, 2010 while the 2010 ECHL All-Star Skills Competition will be held on Jan. 19, 2010.

There are 11 rookies on the National Conference and 18 of the 21 players are making their first appearance in an ECHL All-Star Game.

There have been 58 players from the All-Star Game who have gone on to play in the National Hockey League, including 33 since 2002 when the lineups began having players who coaches felt were prospects to move up to a higher level.

National Conference Starters
G - David Shantz, Victoria (14 gp, 8-2-3, 2 shutouts, 2.35 GAA, .927 save pct.)
D - Robbie Bina, Las Vegas (21 gp, 4g, 14a, 18 pts)
D - David Walker, Ontario (30 gp, 2g, 19a, 21 pts)
F - Greg Hogeboom, Ontario (31 gp, 17g, 11a, 28 pts)
F - Ryan Kinasewich, Utah (22 gp, 20g, 20a, 40 pts)
F - John Lammers, Alaska (17 gp, 15g, 13a, 28 pts)

The starting lineups are determined in voting by National 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 nine teams having a representative. The third class will be inducted into the ECHL Hall of Fame on Jan. 20, 2010 during a luncheon ceremony at the Hilton Ontario Airport, the official host hotel of the 2010 ECHL All-Star Game presented byReebok Hockey and brought to you by Toyota and the City of Ontario. The featured speaker at the ECHL Hall of Fame luncheon will be Hockey Hall of Fame member and Los Angeles Kings President of Business Operations Luc Robitaille.

Tickets for the luncheon are $40 each or a table with seven tickets can be purchased for $250. The Ontario Reign is offering a special ticket package that includes a tickets to the ECHL Hall of Fame luncheon, the All-Star Skills Competition, the Fan Fest at Dave & Busters and the ECHL All-Star Game for only $75. To purchase tickets visit OntarioReign.com/team/allstar/ or telephone the Ontario Reign at (909) 941-7825.

The host Ontario Reign have two starters with defenseman David Walker and forward Greg Hogeboom as well as rookie forward Peter Lenes and forward Jon Rheault. Walker leads ECHL defensemen with 19 assists and 11 power-play assists is tied for second with 21 points and 11 power-play points in 30 games. It is the second All-Star selection for Hogeboom, who had an assist for the American Conference in its 6-3 win in the 2007 ECHL All-Star Game in Boise, Idaho. Hogeboom leads Ontario with 17 goals and 28 points in 31 games. Lenes is tied for the ECHL rookie lead with two shorthand goals and is tied for second with two shorthand points while he is second on the team with 11 goals and fifth with 18 points in 31 games. Rheault, who is currently on loan to Manchester of the American Hockey League, is third on the team with 10 goals and sixth with 16 points in 15 games.

David Shantz of Victoria is making his first start and second All-Star appearance, having played for the American Conference in the 2007 ECHL All-Star Game. Shantz, who is under contract to Abbotsford of the AHL, is 8-2-3 and leads the ECHL with a save percentage of .927 while his two shutouts are tied for the league lead and his goals-against average of 2.35 is second. Also representing the Salmon Kings will be rookie defenseman Taylor Ellington, who is under contract to the Vancouver Canucks of the NHL. Ellington has 11 points (2g-9a) in 22 games.

Ryan Kinasewich of Utah is making his first start and second All-Star appearance, having scored a goal and assisted on the game-winning goal for the National Conference in its 6-2 win in 2005 at Reading, Pa. He leads the ECHL with 20 goals and 20 power-play points while his five game-winning goals and seven power-play goals tie him for the league lead and his 13 power-play assists and 40 points in 22 games are tied for second. Also representing Utah will be rookie defenseman Vic Bartley, who is under contract to and currently called up to Bridgeport of the AHL, and forward AJ Perry. Perry is tied for 11th in the league with 30 points (12g-18a) in 27 games while Bartley has 13 points (2g-11a) in 21 games.

Alaska will be represented by starting forward John Lammers and rookie forwardNick Mazzolini. Lammers is tied for the league lead with seven power-play goals and has 28 points (15g-13a) in 17 games. Mazzolini is tied for fifth among ECHL rookies with 13 goals and is tied for 14th with 21 points in 20 games.

Representing Las Vegas will be starter Robbie Bina, who is tied for fifth among league defensemen with 14 assists and tied for eighth with 18 points in 21 games.

Bakersfield has four selections with rookie goaltender Timo Pielmeier, defensemanEric Regan and rookie forwards Dan Sexton and MacGregor Sharp, who are all under contract to Anaheim of the National Hockey League. Pielmeier is 12-7-2 with a goals-against average of 2.86 and a save percentage of .890 in 22 games. He is tied for second in wins while ranking third with 1,257 minutes and on Dec. 19, 2009 at Utah became the 10th goaltender in ECHL history to score a goal. Sexton, who is currently playing in the NHL with the Anaheim Ducks, is tied for the league rookie lead with two shorthand goals and tied for second with two shorthand points. He is tied for fifth among league rookies with 13 goals and is tied for seventh with 26 points despite not playing in the ECHL since Nov. 22. Sharp, who became the first skater to go directly to the NHL from the ECHL when Anaheim called him up on Nov. 19, has 14 points (4g-10a) in 15 games for Bakersfield. He is currently playing in the AHL for San Antonio where he has six points (3g-3a) in nine games. Regan is tied for the lead among ECHL defensemen with five power-play goals while his four game-winning goals are second among defenseman and tied for fifth overall. He is tied for second among league defensemen with nine goals and tied for fifth with 19 points in 30 games.

Idaho has four rookies on the team with goaltender Richard Bachman, defensemanBrendan Milnamow and forwards Evan Barlow and John Swanson. Bachman, who is under contract to the Dallas Stars of the NHL, is 9-3-1 with a shutout and leads the league with a goals-against average of 2.12 while ranking third in save percentage with .917. Barlow is tied for the league rookie lead with seven power-play goals while his 12 power-play points tie him for fourth and his 27 points (12g-15a) in 28 games are tied for fifth. Swanson is tied for 12th among rookies with 22 points (9g-13a) while Milnamow, who is under contract to the Texas Stars of the AHL, has 14 points (2g-12a) in 31 games.

Stockton will be represented by forward Judd Blackwater, who is tied for the league lead with seven power-play goals. He leads the Thunder with 13 goals and is tied for the team lead with 27 points in 29 games.

The past seven ECHL All-Star Games have generated more than $1 million each for the local economy as guests, players, coaches and fans occupy hundreds of hotel rooms and spend three days in the host city.

The game has been available live on the NHL Network the last seven years as well as being broadcast on multiple regional networks. The audio broadcast has been carried on XM Satellite Radio as well as being available in all ECHL markets.

The Stanley Cup and the Patrick J. Kelly Cup will both be on display throughout the event, marking the 10th time in the last 11 years that the NHL championship trophy and the ECHL championship trophy have been displayed together at the All-Star Game

2010 CHL All-Star Team Starters Announced. South Texas Reserves Announced

from centralhockeyleague.com

The 2010 Central Hockey League (CHL) All-Star game is scheduled for Wednesday, January 13 at the Laredo Entertainment Center in Laredo, Texas. Today, the CHL announced the starting line-up for the CHL All-Star Team (made up of players from all CHL teams with the exception of the Laredo Bucks, the Corpus Christi IceRays and the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees). This season’s format will feature the CHL Team facing a South Texas All-Star Team (comprised of players from the Bucks, IceRays and Killer Bees). The starters were selected via voting done by CHL head coaches, CHL Communication’s Departments and select media members from CHL cities. In all, 43 ballots were cast during the voting process.

The league’s top team, the Odessa Jackalopes will be represented in the starting line-up by two players including the league’s top goaltender Joel Martin (17 votes) and defenseman Alex Dunn (29 votes, most among all defensemen). It will be the first CHL All-Star appearance for both players. Martin leads the league with a 2.10 goals against average and carries a 13-1-2 record. He has been named the Oakley CHL Goaltender of the Week each of the last two weeks and his .929 save percentage is best in the league. Dunn is tops among all d-men in scoring with 26 points (10-16=26). His 10 goals are tied for first among defensemen and his eight power play goals are the most of all blue liners.

The Colorado Eagles, the Northern Conference’s top team, will be represented in the starting line-up by two players as well with defenseman Aaron Schneekloth earning his fourth all-star appointment (third straight) and forward Riley Nelson earning his third all-star appearance. Schneekloth is second among defensemen with 25 points (8-17=25) and his +24 plus/minus rating leads all CHL players. Last season, Schneekloth was voted the CHL’s Most Outstanding Defenseman. Nelson is having another solid season with 43 points (16-27=43), second only to teammate Kevin Ulanski (16-29=45). Schneekloth received 24 votes and Nelson earned 26 votes.

The player receiving the most votes was Tulsa forward Rob Hisey who appeared on 30 ballots and currently leads the CHL with 19 goals and is fourth with 41 points. The talented forward was called-up to the American Hockey League by the Springfield Falcons on December 28. Hisey has helped turn around the Oilers who are 14-12-1 contending for a potential playoff spot.

The final forward voted to start the all-star game is from the expansion Allen Americans who have been one of the steadier teams in the league from the start sitting currently with a 19-7-2 record. The player is Justin Bowers (22 votes) whose 40 points (13-27=40) leads the Americans in scoring and ranks fifth in the CHL.

2010 CHL All-Star Team Starters
Position- Player (Team), Appearance
Forward- Rob Hisey (Tulsa), 1st
Forward- Riley Nelson (Colorado), 3rd
Forward- Justin Bowers (Allen), 1st
Defenseman- Aaron Schneekloth (Colorado), 4th
Defenseman- Alex Dunn (Odessa), 1st
Goaltender- Joel Martin (Odessa), 1st

The reserves for the South Texas All-Star team will be announced on Wednesday, December 30 with the reserves for the CHL All-Star team being announced on Thursday, December 31

2010 South Texas All-Star Reserves Announced
Jason Tessier’s Fifth and Jeff Bes’ Fourth Apperances Highlight Selections

The Central Hockey League (CHL) announced today the 12 reserves that will play for the South Texas All-Star Team in the 2010 CHL All-Star Game scheduled for Wednesday, January 13 at the Laredo Entertainment Center in Laredo, Texas. The South Texas team is made up of players from the Laredo Bucks, the Corpus Christi IceRays and the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees and they will compete against a team of CHL All-Stars comprised of players from the remaining 12 CHL teams. The reserves 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.

Of the 12 reserves, nine will be playing in their first CHL All-Star Game with Corpus Christi defenseman Jason Tessier (fifth CHL All-Star Game) and the host Laredo Bucks forward Jeff Bes (fourth CHL All-Star Game) serving as the elder statesmen. Bes has 10 goals and 22 assists on the season along with five power play goals. His 32 points are the most on the Bucks team. Tessier is the top scoring defenseman on the IceRays with 17 points (3-14=17).

Joining Bes and starters Darryl Smith, Adam Rivet and J.P. Levasseur from the home town Bucks is forward Evan Schwabe and defenseman Jarred Mohr. Schwabe has nine goals and 18 assists for 27 points and leads Laredo with a +4 plus/minus rating. Mohr has two goals and 12 assists on the season.

There are four additional players from the Rays on the team, joining Tessier and starter Justin Quenneville. Goaltender Kevin Nastiuk, forwards Ryan Garbutt and Jereme Tendler and defenseman Kyle Peto will all be making their first CHL All-Star appearances.

Representing the Killer Bees on the team, along with starters Jesse Bennefield and Nathan Ansell, are 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.

2010 South Texas All-Star Team Reserves
Position- Player (Team), Appearance
Forward- Jeff Bes (Laredo), 4th
Forward- Evan Schwabe (Laredo), 1st
Forward- Ryan Garbutt (Corpus Christi), 1st
Forward- Jereme Tendler (Corpus Christi), 1st
Forward- Sean Muncy (Rio Grande Valley), 1st
Forward- Grant Goeckner-Zoeller (Rio Grande Valley), 1st
Defenseman- Jarred Mohr (Laredo), 1st
Defenseman- Jason Tessier (Corpus Christi), 5th
Defenseman- Kyle Peto (Corpus Christi), 1st
Defenseman- Tom Sawatske (Rio Grande Valley), 1st
Goaltender- Kevin Nastiuk (Corpus Christi), 1st
Goaltender- Andy Franck (Rio Grande Valley), 3rd

The reserves for the CHL All-Star team will be announced on Thursday, December 31.

West Michigan Blizzard gearing up for first home game at L.C. Walker Arena

By Ron Rop | Muskegon Chronicle

December 28, 2009, 7:02PM

When the Lumberjacks are away, the Blizzard will play.

The West Michigan Blizzard, members of the five-team All-American Hockey League, will play their first game at L.C. Walker Arena at 3 p.m. Thursday against the Battle Creek Revolution. The Blizzard will also be home Saturday and Sunday.

“We’re trying to get a lot of things solidified for this week,” said Jimi Simmons, the Blizzard’s director of hockey operations and assistant coach. “We’ve got some new guys coming in and we’re trying to get a good game for the fans.”

The Blizzard came about after teams from Detroit and Chicago folded due to financial hardship. And with a cooperative effort between the Walker Arena and the Lumberjacks, the Blizzard were brought to Muskegon to complete their season.

“Muskegon is a hockey town and they like old-fashioned hockey,” said Simmons, who brings plenty of experience in the minor hockey world. “And the Lumberjacks have been great in helping us out. With us being ‘A’ hockey, you usually don’t find that kind of support.

“This team has done through much adversity and have been bailed out by a new ownership group taht has brought me in to get the team on track, on the ice as well as off the ice,” said Simmons.

Simmons is still working on revamping the Blizzard roster in time for Thursday’s game against the Revolution.

“I will be making major pjlayer changes in the next three days to get a winning team for the city of Muskegon,” said Simmons.

On Monday, the Blizzard signed forward Derrell Levy, who played for Division III Oswego State and attended the Elmira Jackals’ ECHL training camp.

Head coach Matt Wiedenhoeft, a resident of Norton Shores, is looking forward to the first game on home ice.

“I’m super excited,” said Wiedenhoeft, whose team plays four games in four days, with three being at home. “There’s a lot going on to get ready and we really want to show Muskegon what we can do. We want a win to get the second half of the season started on the right foot.”

On Friday, the Blizzard travel to Madison before returning home at 7 p.m. Saturday against Battle Creek and 5 p.m. Sunday against Madison.

Tickets are priced at $7 for adults, $5 for children ages 2-12 and children under 2 are free. For this week’s games, there is no advanced ticket sales. All tickets can be purchased prior to the game.

The team’s website also has been launched at www.westmichiganblizzard.com

Danbury Whalers Introduced

Today at the Danbury Ice Arena in Danbury, Connecticut, the Danbury Whalers officially launched their franchise with the official signing of league documents and their lease agreement.

Herm Sorcher, the Whalers CEO/Managing General Partner announced that the club would be playing in the inaugural season for the Federal Hockey League (www.thefederalhockeyleague.com) which starts play in November of 2010.

At the press conference the team announced the name (Whalers), colors (green & blue), and unveiled the team logo. In addition, also announced were the team Ownership Group and the Head Coach / Director of Hockey Operations – Chris Firriolo.

The team received community messages of support from The City of Danbury, City Center Danbury, and the Danbury Ice Arena.

In taking the name of the former NHL team which played in Connecticut from 1972-1997 (Hartford Whalers), the Danbury Whalers received the official word of public support from the Hartford Whalers Booster Club. President Al Victor was on hand for the press conference and offered his best wishes for the team saying “Whalers fans have been looking for a place to go to wear their colors, cheer for a team, and feel welcome. This is a good thing and we will support it.”

Team President, Alan Friedman was not present, but offered the following statement, “Professional hockey in Danbury is a very exciting proposition. We are in it for the long haul and we will do whatever it takes to be successful. These are the best fans in hockey and I look forward to meeting them.”

Team ownership partner, Michael Barnes, the son of William Barnes, one of the founders of the Hartford Whalers, spoke and stated his excitement in being part of the project in bringing the team name back.

Also announced was that fans who sign up with the team for season tickets before 1/31/10 will receive $50 off and will lock in their rate ($300) for the lifetime of their season tickets. Sorcher commented, “The reaction has been overwhelming. When we tell people that they will never pay more then $300 for the life of their season ticket, they are blown away.”

To take advantage of this and other promotions, fans can check out more news from the Whalers at www.danburywhalers.com or call in at 973-713-7547.

The Whalers will take part in the inaugural season of the Class A Professional Federal Hockey League which drops the puck in November of 2010. The team will play a 60 game schedule with opponents Ottawa, Thousand Islands, and Rome, New York.

The Danbury Ice Arena is located on One Independence Way, Danbury, Connecticut.

For further information, contact Herm Sorcher at 973-713-7547 or email danburywhalers@aol.com