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WSHL TAKES ALL STAR TEAM TO JUNIOR NATIONALS Marlborough Mass.:
The NORPAC, CSHL, MnHL, AJHL & EJHL all had squads in Marlborough during the National championship event March 26th through 29th. The event was played at the 5 sheet New England Ice Center and featured all of the top players of their respective leagues from the teams not competing in the National Championship Tournament. The Best of the Rest format was designed to give more players from their respective leagues exposure to all of the college scouts that attend the Junior Nationals event. With the tournament being hosted in the backyard of several Division I and Division III colleges all games were expected to have several scouts in attendance. The expectations were met when after each game several college scouts and coaches expressed interest in quite a few of the WSHL team members. The WSHL had players from 8 teams represented on their Best of the Rest team as well as having the Phoenix Polar Bears and Boulder Bison representing the league in the Championship tournament. The El Paso Rhinos led the way with 5 players on the team, forwards Austin Balko, Nick Gualano and Trevor Erickson along with defenseman Andrew Ketterer and Michael Bottcher. Next were the Fresno Monsters and Long Beach Bombers each with 4 representatives. From the Monsters were forwards Ryan Parkhouse and Thomas Freeman and defenseman Brent Putney and Brett Blomgren. Long Beach sent forwards Johnny and Timmy Linehan along with defenseman Curtis Fisher and Goaltender JP Fecteau. The Idaho Junior Steelheads had 3 representatives in forwards Stephen Rock and Nate Stanley and defenseman Ryan Maul. Both the Tulsa Rampage and San Diego Gulls had 2 players attend with goaltender Alex Corbin and forward Chris Schmidbauer representing San Diego and Bobby Watson and Tom Whetsel from Tulsa. Rounding out the roster was 1 player from the Valencia Flyers and San Antonio Diablo’s. The Flyers sent defenseman Todd Graham and San Antonio sent defenseman Kevin Morrison. These players were all selected for not only their stellar on ice play but their exemplary behavior both on and off the ice as well as their commitment to further their education. All players were required to have at least a 3.0 GPA and be solid character guys looking to move on to the college hockey ranks. For full stats of all players this past season please visit http://stats.wshl.timetoscore.com/. Upon arrival in Boston the team was fortunate enough to have 3 quick practices together before the tournament got under way. Co Head Coaches Cory Herman of the El Paso Rhinos and Eric Ballard of the Fresno Monsters along with team General Manager Scott Allegrini of the Valencia Flyers were able to evaluate the team and set a lineup that promised to be competitive. By the time the 3rd practice was complete the lineup was set and the team was anxiously awaiting its first game.
Tournament play began on Friday the 26th with the WSHL taking on the Eastern Junior Hockey Leagues all stars. While the game was tentative at the beginning as both teams were trying to get used to each other it quickly turned into a fast hard hitting affair that found the WSHL earning a hard fought 3-3 tie. The WSHL dominated the overtime chances with 2 break aways with one hitting the post but were ultimately forced to be satisfied with the tie. Saturday brought the NORPAC on and the two teams found themselves in an exciting back and forth game with the Norpac ultimately coming out on top with a narrow 2-1 victory. Both goaltenders made some fantastic save as there were several scoring opportunities for both teams. Next up was the AJHL and this game was a back and forth affair as the lead changed hands several times. Late in the second period the AJ was able to get a commanding 3 goal lead as the period ended 5-2. The third period found the Western States boys determined to come back and even after the AJ answered 2 WSHL goals to make the score 7-4 the WSHL kept coming and found themselves at 7-6 with just over a minute to play. Once again the WSHL had a break away that could have put the game into OT but the puck sailed over the net. Once again the WSHL was respectable and showed their determination even though they were on the wrong side of the 7-6 final score. Rounding out the week’s schedule were the boys from the Minnesota Junior Hockey League. The WSHL boys quickly got on top of the game and never looked back playing one of their most sound games of the weekend and earning their only victory 6-3. The WSHL finished the tournament with a record of 1-2-1 and proved that they could play and compete with any program in the country. Coach Herman and Coach Ballard while disappointed that their respective teams were not competing for the National Championship both said that participating in this event was extremely rewarding and fun and that they were glad to have the opportunity to participate. For full stats of the event please visit http://www.pointstreak.com/prostats/standings.html?leagueid=292&seasonid=5414
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