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Four RoughRiders to Play in USHL Prospects/All-Star Game
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Four RoughRiders to Play in USHL Prospects/All-Star Game
<p>January 10, 2005- The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders’ Justin Abdelkader, Phil Axtell, Ted Purcell and Matt Vokes have been selected to play in the 2005 United States Hockey League Prospects/All-Star Game Tuesday, February 8 in Grand Forks, North Dakota.</p>
<p>“This kind of recognition is certainly a great reward for all the hard work that these four guys have put in,” said RoughRiders coach and general manager Mark Carlson. “They’re all having very good seasons and have each played a big role in getting us where we are.” </p>
<p>Axtell, Purcell and Vokes will play for Team World at the all-star game, while Abdelkader will skate for Team USHL. Because the RoughRiders currently lead the USHL’s East Division, Riders assistant coach Scott Meyer will serve as an assistant for Team World. </p>
<p>This marks the third straight year that at least four RoughRiders have been selected to play in the Prospects/All-Star game and the third time in the last four years that a Rider assistant coach will be behind an all-star bench.</p>
<p>Vokes is making his second all-star appearance in as many USHL seasons, while Abdelkader, Axtell and Purcell will be participating in the mid-season classic for the first time.</p>
<p>Vokes (17-11-28) leads the Riders and is tied for fourth in the league in goals. The 19-year old set a RoughRider record earlier this month by scoring in five consecutive games. Vokes will begin his college career at Brown next season. Last season, the Auburn, Massachusetts, native scored 17 goals and totaled 38 points in 55 games with the Riders.</p>
<p>Purcell, 19, is the Riders’ top point scorer (12-22-34). The St. John’s, Newfoundland, product is tied for fourth in the league in assists and ranks eighth in points. Purcell will play his college hockey at Maine. The Riders acquired Purcell in the seventeenth round of last May’s USHL draft after he spent last season with the Notre Dame Hounds of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.</p>
<p>Abdelkader, who turns 18 next month, is tied for second on the Riders in goals (12) and points (28). A first year player from Muskegon, Michigan, Abdelkader is tied for ninth in the USHL with a plus/minus rating of +14. Abdelkader last season was named Michigan’s Mr. Hockey while skating for Muskegon Mona Shores High School.</p>
<p>Axtell (6-4-10) is in his first USHL season. At 6’ 5½” and 250 pounds, the 18-year old is the largest RoughRider in team history. Originally from New Windsor, Maryland, the Michigan Tech recruit joined the Riders after spending two seasons playing midget hockey on Michigan’s upper peninsula for the Marquette Electricians.</p>
<p>Prospects/All-Star Game participants are selected by the USHL in conjunction with the National Hockey League’s Central Scouting Service. On average, 30 percent of the 40 players chosen are selected specifically by NHL Central Scouting. The players are then split into Team USHL and Team World. Team USHL won last year’s game 4-3 in overtime.</p>
<p>This year’s Prospects/All-Star Game will be held at the Ralph Englestad Arena, home of the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux as well as the just completed 2005 World Junior Championships.</p>
<p>Abdelkader, Axtell, Purcell, Vokes and the rest of the RoughRiders return to action with a home-and-home series against the arch rival Waterloo Black Hawks this weekend. The Riders will visit Waterloo Friday night before hosting the Hawks Saturday evening at 7:05.</p>
<p>The league-leading RoughRiders (24-4-3, 51 points) this weekend have a chance to reclaim possession of the i wireless Corridor Cup, the trophy awarded to the winner of the Cedar Rapids-Waterloo season series. The Riders will clinch the i wireless Corridor Cup if they earn at least three of a possible four points from this weekend’s two games. The Black Hawks have taken home the Corridor Cup each of the last two seasons.</p>
<p>Tickets for Saturday night’s game- and all remaining RoughRiders home games- are available at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena ticket office. Tickets can be purchased over the phone at (319) 261-4625 or in person at the ice arena. 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 $8.00 to $17.00 including a 50-cent facility fee. </p> |
Posted on Monday, January 10, 2005 (Archive on Monday, January 10, 2005)
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