American Hockey League (AHL) - 2005 AHL All-Star Skills Competition. - On MLN Sports Zone- A Minor League Sports News Magazine

Mad Skillz
PlanetUSA shows the goods and takes the title at the 2005 AHL All-Star Skills Competition.

By Dan Hickling
Minor League News

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- There is no game plan for a 99.8 mph slap shop.

You just unload it, as Rene Bourque did for Team Canada during the 2005 AHL All-Star Skills Competition.

Still, despite Bourque's titanic blast, it was the PlanetUSA squad that carried the day, taking a 17-13 win before a nearly full Verizon Wireless Arena crowd of approximately 8,000.

Andy Hilbert (Providence) helped the P-USA squad by going a perfect 4-for-4 in the target shooting contest, while goaltender Ryan Miller (Rochester) stopped five of six attempts by Canada in the rapid fire event.

Bourque, who arrived from Norfolk before his luggage and his sticks, was at a distinct disadvantage. He had to borrow some sticks from CCM equipment rep Les Kuntar, and had to wear an Admirals' sweater taken from the arena gift shop.

His t-shirt came from the Manchester Monarchs' equipment closet, while his skates were loaners from Canada teammate Eric Staal (Lowell).

"I had no idea how hard I shot it," said Bourque. "I've never been clocked before. I just wanted to go out an avoid embarrassing myself."

Little wonder then that he cranked the first of his two tries off the right post. It was clocked at 99.9 mph, but it didn't qualify since it was off target.

"I didn't know you had to hit the net to make it count," Bourque said.

Bourque proceeded to make good on his second shot, which registered as the second hardest shot in the event's 10-year history.

Only Kurtis Foster's 101.0 mph howitzer of two years ago was harder.

"I didn't think I was going to come close to winning it," Bourque said. "I knew I shot hard, but not that hard."

Hilbert, meanwhile, earned his place in AHL All-Star lore with his flawless accuracy. The Baby Bruin became the first player to ever hit targets from each of the net's four corners.

"There's no method behind the madness," Hilbert said. "You just go out there and do it."

For his part, goalie Ryan Miller confessed to some fidgeting before having to face a sextet of Canadian sharpshooters.

"We (the other goalies) sat around and talked about how worried we are about these kind of competitions," he said. "You just pumped up for it, and try to be as energetic as you can. We wanted to give ourselves the best chance of making saves without getting hurt."

The only injuries were to the egos of the first five shooters, whom Miller thwarted before local favorite Michael Cammalleri (Manchester) slipped one by him.

"The shooters got to have a little more fun," said Miller, "we (the goalies) had to take it a little more seriously. But at the end of the day, it was fun to be out there."

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