VALLERAND’S 3 POINTS HELP LEAD ECHL ALL-STARS TO WIN
BAKERSFIELD, CA – Under the direction of Road Warriors head coach Dean Stork, the ECHL All-Stars cruised to a 9-3 win over the Bakersfield Condors in front of 7,397 fans at Rabobank Arena on Wednesday night at the ECHL All-Star Classic presented by CCM.
Other Road Warriors who participated in the game were rookie forward Marc-Olivier Vallerand and rookie defenseman Blake Parlett. Vallerand tied for the highest point total on the team with a goal and two assists, while Parlett posted the best plus/minus rating at +4. Road Warriors president and general manager Neil Smith also took part in the festivities by providing color commentary on the game’s television broadcast.
Stockton Thunder rookie forward Mark Arcobello was named the game’s Most Valuable Player with three goals, becoming the eighth player in All-Star Classic history to score at least three goals in one game. Andy MacIntyre holds the record with four goals in the 1998 All-Star Game.
Arcobello opened the scoring just 2:06 into the first period off assists from Andy Bohmbach from Toledo and Cincinnati’s Brian O’Hanley. Alaska’s Chris Langkow doubled the All-Stars lead to 2-0, with an assist from Vallerand, at 8:54 and Trenton’s Ryan Ginand extended the lead to 3-0 through 20 minutes with a tally at 18:16.
Bakersfield got on the scoreboard 1:28 into the second period as Joel Broda found the back of the net but the ECHL All-Stars answered right back on Arcobello’s second goal at 5:10. The Yale University product capped his hat trick at 12:34. Bakersfield cut its deficit to three at 17:32 on a Pascal Morency tally.
Ginand tallied his second of the night at 1:12 of the third to stretch the ECHL lead back to four. Bakersfield’s Erick Lizon scored an unassisted tally at 4:16 to make it 6-3. The ECHL All-Stars extended the lead back to four at 7:59 on an unassisted goal from Vallerand. Langkow scored his second of the night, as Vallerand netted his second helper, at 16:22 of the third and Lampe capped the scoring at 19:23.
Las Vegas goaltender Michael Ouzas started for the ECHL All-Stars and stopped all six shots he faced in the first period. Idaho’s Tyler Beskorowany, who recorded the win, stopped 13 of 15 shots in the second period and Wheeling’s Patrick Killeen stopped seven of the eight shots he faced in the third period.
Josh Tordjman played the entire game for Bakersfield making 32 saves on 41 shots.
Mark your calendars! The Road Warriors will return home from a seven-game road trip on Wednesday, February 9 to take on the South Carolina Stingrays at 7:05 p.m. at the BI-LO Center. The Road Warriors will be celebrating Valentine’s Day with special games and promotions throughout the evening. Group seating remains available for the game and you can call 864-674-PUCK to book your group outing and save off the box office price, receive preferred seating based on availability, and enjoy other great benefits.
