Former Cedar Rapids RoughRiders forward Ted Purcell was named Most Valuable Player of last night’s American Hockey League All-Star Game in Binghamton, New York, after recording a hat trick and scoring the winning shootout goal to propel the Canadian All-Stars to 9-8 win over the PlanetUSA All-Stars.
Purcell, who last Friday returned to the AHL’s Manchester Monarchs after playing five games for the National Hockey League’s Los Angeles Kings, scored the Canadian stars’ first three goals. The 22-year old also scored the Canadians’ second penalty shot goal, enabling them to edge PlanetUSA 2-1 in the shootout. Purcell’s hat trick was just the fourth in AHL All-Star Game history.
In 41 AHL games this season Purcell has scored 15 goals and picked up 39 assists for 54 points- the third most in the league. The St. John’s, Newfoundland, native notched one assist during his stint with the Kings. When he debuted for Los Angeles earlier this month Purcell joined the Calgary Flames’ Dave Moss as the second RoughRider alumnus to play in the NHL.
Purcell signed with the Kings last 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 (23-11-1, 47 points) are currently in second place in the USHL’s East Division. The Riders will return to action with games against the Ohio Junior Blue Jackets in Columbus Friday night and Saturday afternoon. Five RoughRiders- David Boehm, Tyler Thompson, Doug Jones, Matt Tomassoni and Brady Hjelle- will play in tonight’s USHL Prospects/All-Star Game in Green Bay. The Riders next take to the ice at home when they battle the Sioux City Musketeers on Tuesday night, February 12 at 7:05.
Tickets for all remaining RoughRider regular season home games- including the February 12 game- 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.