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Southern All Stars Shine in 10-6 Win Over North
CHL's South Sweeps Skills Competition and ASG
January 23, 2003
by Brad Brugger/Janna Kinder TulsaHockey.net
TulsaHockey.net webmaster Brad Brugger had the privilege of attending the 2003 CHL All-Star Game at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City Thursday night. Read Brad's report of the battle of the CHL's best
below:
The CHL All-Star Skills competition took place before the All Star-Game and was a treat for those in attendance. With both the North and South tied at 7 at the conclusion of the skills
categories, the winner was decided by a sudden death shootout, with the Southern All-Stars emerging victorious in an 8-7 final. Tulsa Oiler Todd Marcellus was the only Oiler receiving awards in the
competition, taking home the fastest skater award.
- Fastest Skater - Todd Marcellus
- Hardest Shot - Chris Grenville (92mph)
- Accuracy Shooting - Chad Woollard
- Rapid Fire - North All-Stars
- Breakaway Relay - South All-Stars
- Overall Competition - South wins 8-7
After the first period of play in the 2003 All-Star Game, the Southern All-Stars took a 3-1 lead into the locker room. The South was lead by Sebastien Thinel, who scored two goals in the
opening frame. Scoring the first goal for the South was Michel Periard, defenseman for the Lardeo Bucks. The only Northern Conference goal in the first period came from Memphis' Don Parsons, scoring on a
breakaway after receiving a lead pass from goaltender Rod Branch. Parsons was untouched from the redline in and put a shot past Matt Barnes for the game's opening goal.
The second period saw both
teams settle in and get used to their new linemates. For the Northern All-Stars, coach Garry Unger teamed up Marcellus, Jamie Steer and Parsons as his number one line, with Mike Mohr and Derek Landmesser on
defense. Branch played the first half of the contest, with Indianapolis netminder Shawn Silver in goal for the final 30 minutes.
For the Southern All-Stars, coach Brent Hughes put together Chris
Grenville, Kelly Smart and Eric Schneider, with Periard and Scott Hillman shoring up the defense. Barnes played the first half of the contest and left in favor of Mike Gorman in the second half.
The
Southern All-Stars exploded for 4 goals in the second period to take a monumental 7-1 lead into the 2nd intermission. The South scored 3 goals in 75 seconds, with Grenville scoring at 13:03, Chris Richards
at 13:34 and Blaz Emersic at 14:18. Grenville, Richards, Smart, and Thinel each had two points in the second period to lead the South in their barrage.
The third period started with the teams trading
goals in the first minute. The North scored just 13 seconds into the final period with a goal from Chad Woollard. The South answered back at the 50 second mark of the third period with a unassisted goal from
Schneider.
Parsons brought the North squad's total to 3 goals at the 6:09 mark of the third period. More importantly for Parsons, he passed OKC defenseman Hardy Sauter for the most points scored in
All-Star games. Sauter held the record at six points until Parsons second goal, which gave him a record-setting 8 points.
The North All-Stars made a late charge in the third period, but it was not
enough to over come Grenville and his 4 goals. The late charge was enough, however, to secure the scoring record for Parsons and the third star of the game for Oklahoma City Blazer captain Joe Burton, who
played in his last CHL All-Star Game. |
