Former Cedar Rapids RoughRiders forward Ted Purcell, now in his first
season with the American Hockey League’s Manchester Monarchs, has
been named to the starting line-up of the Canadian All-Star team for
the January 28 AHL All-Star Game in Binghamton, New York.
Purcell,
22, ranks second overall and first among AHL rookies in both points
(47) and assists (35). Purcell went pointless Wednesday night
in a Monarch loss to the Albany River Rats after recording points in
each of his prior seven games. The St. John’s, Newfoundland,
native was named AHL Rookie of the Month for November after scoring
five goals and totaling 17 points in 12 games. Purcell was voted
into the starting lineup via online fan balloting.
Purcell
signed with the Los Angeles Kings, the Monarchs’ parent club, in April
after a standout freshman season at the University of Maine that saw
him help the Black Bears to a berth in the NCAA Frozen Four. Purcell
was named Hockey East Rookie of the Year after scoring 16 goals and
totaling 43 points in 40 games with Maine last season. He led
Hockey East freshmen in goals, assists and points. Overall, Purcell
finished tied for second in the conference in assists, tied for seventh
in points and tied for ninth in goals.
Before
heading to Maine, Purcell enjoyed a record-breaking two-year run with
the RoughRiders. He owns team records for most career points (138),
most career assists (99) most assists in one season (52 in 2005-06),
most points in one playoff season (14 in 2005) and most assists in one
playoff season (9 in 2005).
Purcell
scored 20 goals and totaled 67 points to help the Riders to both the
Anderson Cup (regular season) title and Clark Cup (playoff) title in
2004-05. The following season he scored 19 goals to go along with
his league-leading 52 assists for a total of 71 points as the Riders
won a second straight East Division title. Purcell was named to
the All-United States Hockey League Second Team each of his two seasons
in the league.
The RoughRiders (19-7-1, 39 points) are currently in second place in
the USHL’s East Division. The Riders will visit Green Bay for
a pair of games this weekend. The Riders and Gamblers will meet
tonight at 7:05 and again Sunday afternoon at 1:05.
The
Riders are next in action at home on Friday, January 18 against the
Chicago Steel. One night later the Riders will host the Sioux
Falls Stampede. Both of those games face off at 7:05PM.
Tickets
for all remaining RoughRider regular season home games- including the
January 18 and January 19 games- are now on sale. Tickets are
available for purchase in person at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena ticket
office, over the phone at (319) 261-4625 or on line at www.roughridershockey.com.
The ticket office is open from noon to 5:00PM on weekdays and from noon
through the end of the second period on game days. Ticket prices
range from $7 to $17 in advance and from $8 to $18 on game days.