AIHL All-Star Weekend

2015 AIHL All-Star Game

1 2 3 Total Team Schlamp 4 2 1 7 Team Bales 1 1 1 3
Date	13 September 2015
Arena	Hunter Ice Skating Stadium
City	Newcastle, NSW, Australia
MVP	Pat O'Kane
Attendance	x
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The Australian Ice Hockey League All-Star Weekend is an annual event showcasing the best talent from the AIHL in skills tests and an exhibition 'All-Stars' match.

History

4 August 2015, the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) announced the formation of a new event in the Australian ice hockey calendar, the AIHL All-Stars Weekend. The event occurs two weeks following the conclusion of the AIHL Finals Weekend. ^{[1] [2]}

The maiden Australian Ice Hockey League All-Star Weekend, took place between 12 and 13 September 2015 at Hunter Ice Skating Stadium in Newcastle, NSW. ^{[3] [4]}

Cash prizes are on offer for players for the breakaway challenge during the skills tests, the winner of the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the All-Stars match and the team the MVP comes from. In 2015 the winner of the Breakaway Challenge received $1000, the winner of the MVP received $5000 and the MVP club received $4000. ^[5]

2015 Rosters

Andrew Petrie and Joey Theriault of the Newcastle North Stars and Vlad Rubes and Ron Kuprowsky of the Sydney Bears were named as the coaching teams for the game. ^[1]

Team Bales [6] # Pos. Player Team Nat. 1 G Kamil Jarina Sydney Bears 20 G Josh Broekman Newcastle North Stars 2 D John Kennedy Newcastle North Stars 3 D Robert Haselhurst Perth Thunder 4 D Paddy Ward Sydney Bears 5 D Shannon McGregor Sydney Ice Dogs 6 D Tomas Manco CBR Brave 7 F Matthew Lindsay Newcastle North Stars 8 F Wehebe Darge Adelaide Adrenaline 9 F Josef Rezek Adelaide Adrenaline 10 F Mitchell Humphries Melbourne Ice 11 F Brian Bales Newcastle North Stars 12 F Jordan Kyros Perth Thunder 13 F Andrew Cox Perth Thunder 14 F Kai Miettinen CBR Brave 15 F Luc Daigneault Perth Thunder 16 F Stephen Blunden CBR Brave 21 F Patrick Nadin* Newcastle North Stars

Team Schlamp [7] # Pos. Player Team Nat. 1 G Dayne Davis Newcastle North Stars 20 G Fraser Carson Melbourne Mustangs 2 D Bert Malloy Newcastle North Stars 3 D Jamie Woodman Perth Thunder 4 D Ric Del Basso Perth Thunder 5 D Daniel Pataki Sydney Ice Dogs 6 D Brian Funes Sydney Ice Dogs 7 D James Byers CBR Brave 8 F David Dunwoodie CBR Brave 9 F Matt Armstrong Melbourne Ice 10 F Tommy Powell Melbourne Ice 11 F Michael Schlamp Sydney Bears 12 F Pat O'Kane Melbourne Mustangs 13 F Tomas Landa Sydney Bears 14 F Joey Hughes Melbourne Mustangs 15 F Adrian Esposito Sydney Bears 21 F Matt Wetini Newcastle North Stars 22 F Vadim Virjassov* Melbourne Mustangs

* Denotes a player not originally selected in either All-Star team but played in the All-Stars match.

Skills competition

The skills competitions selected for presentation by the respective coaches include a number of skills events the National Hockey League showcases at their All-Stars Weekend event. Each event is sponsored by one of the league's major sponsors and are performed on the Saturday afternoon. ^{[8] [9]}

Air Canada Fastest Skater competition

In this event, pairs of skaters raced each other simultaneously on parallel courses on the rink. The fastest two skaters then had a final race. ^[10]

Heat	Team Bales	Verses	Team Schlamp
1	Kieren Webster	vs	Daniel Pataky
2	Mitch Humphries	vs	Tommy Powell
3	Rob Haselhurst	vs	Matt Wetini
4	Brian Bales	vs	Matt Armstrong
5	John Kennedy	vs	Tomas Landa
Final	Rob Haselhurst	vs	Matt Wetini
Event score: 3–3 Tied Overall score: 3–3 Tied

• bold = Heat winner
• Red & bold = Event winner

APA Group Breakaway Challenge

The breakaway challenge saw three shooters and one goalie from each team take to the ice. Each skater was given 3 shots, with full access to the offensive zone, to play out their routine and take a shot. The winner was judged on their presentation as well as scoring by a fan shout off. In goals for Team Bales was Kamil Jarina (SB) and for Team Schlamp Dayne Davis (NNS). ^[11]

Team Bales	Team Schlamp
Brian Bales	Brian Funes
Stephen Blunden	Michael Schlamp
Andrew Cox	James Byers
Event score: 1–0 Team Bales Overall score: 4–3 Team Bales

• Red & bold = Event winner

Haigh and Hastings Shooting Accuracy competition

In this event, competitors were positioned in front of the net, and were passed the puck from two teammates situated behind the goal line. The players had to hit targets at the four corners of the net in the fastest time. ^[12]

Heat	Team Bales	Time (sec)	Time (sec)	Team Schlamp
1	Mitch Humphries	43.6	21.5	Matt Armstrong
2	Josef Rezek	17.1	34.8	Robert Malloy
3	Luc Daigneault	51.4	34.8	Adrian Esposito
4	Stephen Blunden	19.5	30.2	Michael Schlamp
Final	Josef Rezek	20.37	29.97	Matt Armstrong
Event score: 3–2 Team Bales Overall score: 7–5 Team Bales

• bold = Heat winner
• Red & bold = Event winner

Rifle Media Stickhandling competition

The stickhanding competition saw two skaters positioned in a head on head contest on identical obstacle courses that would test different styles of stick handling, first one to the finish line wins. There are four skaters in total selected by each team to compete. ^[13]

Heat	Team Bales	Verses	Team Schlamp
1	Brian Bales	vs	Jamie Woodman
2	Shannon McGregor	vs	Tommy Powell
3	Kai Miettinen	vs	Daniel Pataky
4	Mitch Humphries	vs	Adrian Esposito
Final	Kai Miettinen	vs	Tommy Powell
Event score: 1–4 Team Schlamp Overall score: 8–9 Team Schlamp

• bold = Heat winner
• Red & bold = Event winner

Skaters Network Hardest Shot competition

In this competition, four players from each team skate in from the blue line one at a time, and slap a puck as hard as possible into the net with a speed camera positioned behind the net to register the impact speed. Each player gets two attempts in the heats and the top two players face off in the final and get one attempt to win the event. ^[14]

Heat	Team Bales	Speed (mph)	Speed (mph)	Team Schlamp
1	Stephen Blunden	83 & 83	79 & 83	Brian Funes
2	John Kennedy	85 & 85	96 & 85	Matt Armstrong
3	Shannon McGregor	85 & 74	84 & 81	Robert Malloy
4	Rob Haselhurst	83 & 79	83 & 76	Michael Schlamp
Final	John Kennedy	81	88	Matt Armstrong
Event score: 3–2 Team Bales Overall score: 11–11 Tied

• bold = Heat winner
• Red & bold = Event winner

Ryzer Elimination Shootout

In this competition, players attempt to score on the opposing team's goalie. Players who score earn a point for their team for each goal they score. Players are eliminated from the competition if they fail to score. ^[15]

Team Bales	Result	Result	Team Schlamp
Round 1
Brian Bales	Save	Goal	Adrian Esposito
Andrew Cox	Save	Save	Jamie Woodman
Kai Miettinen	Save	Save	Brian Funes
Stephen Blunden	Save	Goal	Daniel Pataky
John Kennedy	Save	Goal	James Byers
Josef Rezek	Goal	Save	Matt Armstrong
Luc Daigneault	Goal	Save	Tommy Powell
Robert Haselhurst	Save	Save	Michael Schlamp
Mitch Humphries	Save	Goal	Matt Wetini
Kieren Webster	Save	Save	Robert Malloy
Round 2
Josef Rezek	Save	Save	Adrian Esposito
Luc Daigneault	Save	Save	Daniel Pataky
		Save	James Byers
		Goal	Matt Wetini
Event score: 2–5 Team Schlamp Final overall score: 13–16 Team Schlamp

• bold = Goal scorer
• Red & bold = Event winner

Final Individual Winners Overview
Event	Winner	Team
Air Canada Fastest Skater Competition	Rob Haselhurst (Perth Thunder)	Team Bales
APA Group Breakaway Challenge	Brian Bales (Newcastle North Stars)	Team Bales
Haigh & Hastings Shooting Accuracy Competition	Josef Rezek (Adelaide Adrenaline)	Team Bales
Rifle Media Stickhandling Competition	Tommy Powell (Melbourne Ice)	Team Schlamp
Skaters Network Fastest Shot Competition	Matt Armstrong (Melbourne Ice)	Team Schlamp
Ryzer Elimination Shootout	Matt Wetini (Newcastle North Stars)	Team Schlamp

Game summary

The All-Star game sees a selection of the best players from the AIHL pitted against each other under than banner of two captains. The match is played on the Sunday afternoon.

	Team Schlamp	7 – 3 (4–1, 2–1, 1–1)	Team Bales	Hunter Ice Skating Stadium (att) Newcastle
		First period
	Virjassov (Schlamp, Pataky) 11:21			Referees :
			4:49 Blunden (Bales, Humphries)	Jeff Scott
	Funes (Schlamp) 3:24			Linesmen :
	O'Kane (Powell, Armstrong) 1:55			Grainge Phillips
	O'Kane (2) (unassisted) 1:25			Official scorer :
		Second period		Michelle Rutherford
			10:14 Bales (Humphries, Nadin)	MVP : O'Kane (MM)
	O'Kane (3) (Armstrong, Powell) 2:13
	O'Kane (4) (Pataky) 1:49
		Third period
	Powell (O'Kane) 10:57
			10:09 Nadin (Rezek, Webster)

• Shots on Goal:
  • Team Schlamp: 13 – 11 – 10 – Total: 34
  • Team Bales: 7 – 11 – 17 – Total: 35

Source: AIHL ^[16]

Broadcasting

Television: Fox Sports (part of the entire AIHL TV deal with Fox Sports). The AIHL released information that Fox Sports would broadcast the All-Stars Weekend event on their pay-television platform the following Thursday (17 September 2015). ^{[1] [17]}

References

1. "2015 All-Star Weekend". theaihl.com. 13 September 2015. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
2. Leeson, Josh (17 August 2015). "North Stars host Ice Hockey All-Stars weekend". Newcastle Herald . Retrieved 13 September 2015.
3. "2015 AIHL All-Star Weekend". trybooking.com. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
4. "The 2015 AIHL All Star Weekend Presented by APA Group". nswicehockey.com.au. 1 September 2015. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
5. "Cash prizes add spice to All-Star Weekend". theaihl.com. 10 September 2015. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
6. "2015 Team Bales". theaihl.com. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
7. "2015 Team Schlamp". theaihl.com. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
8. "2015 Skills Competition Participants". theaihl.com. 12 September 2015. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
9. "2015 AIHL All-Star Weekend presented by APA Group Description of Events" (PDF). theaihl.com. 22 July 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2015.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
10. Chapman, Carol (13 September 2015). "Haselhurst speeds to All-Star Fastest Skater gong". theaihl.com. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
11. Laura, Courtney (13 September 2015). "Bales leads the way in All-Star Breakaway Challenge". theaihl.com. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
12. Darnley, Ryan (13 September 2015). "Pinpoint Rezek dominates All-Star Shooting Accuracy". theaihl.com. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
13. Chapman, Carol (13 September 2015). "Hot hand Powell claims All-Star Stickhandling Competition". theaihl.com. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
14. Laura, Courtney (13 September 2015). "Armstrong rockets to claim All-Star Hardest Shot". theaihl.com. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
15. Darnley, Ryan (13 September 2015). "Wetini snatches All-Star Elimination Shootout". theaihl.com. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
16. "AIHL 2015 All-Star Gamebox". theaihl.com. 13 September 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
17. Brodie, Will (17 April 2013). "Ice hockey gets pay TV boost". The Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 13 September 2015.

External links

• AIHL official site
• Ice Hockey Australia
• Hewitt Sports – AIHL