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Wild West Shootout
The Northern Conference outguns the Southern Conference 12-9 in 2004 CHL All-Star Game.

Jonathan Roybal
MinorLeagueNews.com

01.22.04 - Albuquerque, NM - It seems the Central Hockey League couldn't have picked a better place for an old-fashioned wild-west shootout.

Albuquerque proved to be the perfect setting for the 2004 CHL All-Star Game; a contest with so much firepower that Billy The Kid himself would have been impressed.

In fact, it seemed like shots were raining upon the goalies in a scene similar to the hail of gunfire you might see in a Clint Eastwood movie.

When the dust settled, a combined 21 goals were scored off 102 shots and the Northern Conference came away with a 12-9 victory over the Southern Conference All-Stars.

The North's starting goalie, Ken Carroll of the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs, quickly found out why being named to an all-star team can be a double-edged honor.

Odessa Jackalopes forward Sebastien Thinel quickly got the South on the board, putting one past Carroll for the first goal of the game, just 2 minutes and 22 seconds into the contest.

The South extended their lead to 2-0 almost seven minutes later with a goal by Joe Blaznek, who represented the Lubbock Cotton Kings' despite being traded to Wichita earlier in the week.

Soon it was the Southern Conference's starting netminder, Shawn Degagne of the Amarillo Gorillas, who would be feeling the heat, as the North proceeded to score the next four goals.

Chad Spurr of the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs lit the lamp at the 12:42 mark and Don Parsons of the Memphis RiverKings evened things at 2-2 just over a minute later for the North.

Ryan Tobler of the Colorado Eagles and Jason Baird of the Indianapolis Ice both scored in the final minute of the first period, giving the North a 4-2 lead going into the intermission.

A great pass from the New Mexico Scorpion's Mike Richards set up another Baird score just 35 seconds into the second period, to give the North a 5-2 edge. Baird would later finish the hat trick by adding another goal and an assist en route to being named the game's Most Valuable Player.

The South rose again at 4:08 of the second period, as Amarillo's Derek Hahn beat Ken Carroll for what would be the first of three goals scored in just over four minutes.

Laredo Bucks forward Patrik Nilson knotted the score at 5-5, notching back-to-back goals at the 5:02 and 8:43 marks.

Don Parsons of the Memphis RiverKings got the North right back on top at 9:56 of the second period, beating Shawn Degagne seconds before Scott Reid of San Angelo would replace Degagne in goal.

Wichita Thunder netminder Nathan Grobins also replaced North starter Ken Carroll at the 10 minutes mark of the second period.

After the goaltending switches, Bossier-Shreveport defenseman Craig Minard put one past Reid at 12:45 to extend the North's lead to 7-5.

The South would battle back to even the score before the end of the second period, as Gerald Tallaire of the Austin Ice Bats beat a sprawled Grobins at 15:08.

Less than a minute later, Corpus Christi Rayz defenseman Mike Tilson slapped home a Sebastien Thinel rebound at 16:05.

That would end the offense in the second period, putting the game at a 7-7 dead heat entering the third.

MVP Jason Baird quickly got his team on the board, notching a goal 21 seconds into the final period. After the Northern Conference overtook the lead for the final time, they never looked back.

The North added back-to-back goals, one by Chad Woollard of the Fort Worth Brahmas, and another by Greg Pankewicz of the Colorado Eagles to give them a 10-7 advantage.

San Angelo Saints forward Chris Minard would make the score a little closer by adding two third period goals, but it was too little to late for the South.

Chad Spurr and hometown hero Mike Oliveira of the New Mexico Scorpions each put a puck into the net, ending the game with a final score of 12-9.

Northern Conference Head Coach Scott Muscutt was one of many who expected, and received a high scoring affair.

"There is great players that can play both ends of the ice on both teams," Muscutt said. "But there's too much talent on both teams for it to be a defensive battle."

Southern Conference Head Coach Terry Ruskowski was happy with the way his team performed, but ever the true competitor, he couldn't help being a tad disappointed with the outcome.

"In an exhibition game, all I could ask for is for these guys to work hard and have fun," said Ruskowski. " Though, you always want to win."

Coach Muscutt agreed that while the game did not count in the official standings, it did count for something.

"In the end if we weren't in it to win it, we wouldn't keep score," acknowledged Muscutt.

The true winners of the game may have been the CHL all-star record crowd of 10,152 who packed the Tingley Coliseum on January 22, 2004, none of whom went home disappointed.

"The biggest victory tonight, was that the great fans of New Mexico got an opportunity to see a great hockey game," stated Coach Muscutt. "The guys really did a great job of entertaining everyone tonight."

Coach Ruskowski echoed his counterpart's sentiments.

"The people really got to see a show tonight," said Ruskowski. "These guys are all offensive-minded and very talented players."

Also reveling in success after this year's All-Star Game was the Central Hockey League itself.

CHL President Brad Treliving was sporting a mile-wide grin following the event and had a quick answer when asked if he was pleased with this year's game.

"Yes, very much so." said Treliving, adding that the bar had been raised next season for the Laredo Bucks franchise (host of the 2005 CHL All-Star Game). "Every year that seems to happen. The crowd tonight was unbelievable."

"It's not just the game I was happy with, but also the events throughout the week," Treliving stated. "The Scorpions staff has done a tremendous job and Albuquerque has been a phenomenal host city. Laredo's got some big shoes to fill."

"This has definitely been the best All-Star Game that I've been a part of."