It was plain to see that Worcester was ground zero for rabid minor league hockey fans from all parts of New England the mid Atlantic states and beyond. Surveying the jerseys on fans backs and the intensity of their cheers fans from hockey hotbeds such as Philadelphia PA, Hershey PA and Rochester NY made their allegiances known. Fans of the New England teams were out in force as well with backers of the Springfield Falcons, Hartford Wolfpack, Manchester Monarchs and Providence  Bruins out in force.

The loudest cheers of the weekend were reserved for the two Worcester players involved, Derek Joslin and Ryan Vesce. Joslin wowed the crowd on Sunday winning the hardest shot contest with a slap shot registering just over 98 mph.

The All Star game on Monday night was a fast paced shootout won by the Planet USA All Stars by a score of 14-11. Planet USA stormed back from an 8 to 5 deficit at the start of the 3rd period for the win scoring an unprecedented 9 goals in the final 20 minutes. The game featured 2 hat tricks, some superb goaltending by Massachusetts native Cory Schneider and the eventual game winner scored by Chris Bourque as his father Ray looked on from the crowd.

Over my two evenings watching the festivities I can freely admit that I did not hear one fan complain about anything wrong with the event or their experience here in town. Even in this down economy it seems that everyone was opening their wallets inside the DCU Center buying $6.25 beers and hot dogs and cotton candy for the kids and by the end of the night the stands that were selling Worcester 09 All Star merchandise such as pucks, hats and tshirts seemed to have their stock decimated. I hope that downtown businesses saw the uptick in business that they anticipated and that the AHL fans went back home with nothing but good things to say about our city.

The NHL All Star festivities will be taking place this weekend in the hockey hotbed of Montreal, but there is plenty going on right here in Worcester as our fair city will be playing the gracious host to the up and coming stars of the AHL during this weekend’s AHL All Star weekend right here at the DCU Center.

The AHL All Star game will feature tomorrow’s stars of the NHL as Team Canada battles Planet USA. That’s right, those Canadians are so darn good on the ice that they “take on the world” in the AHL All Star format. One team features all Canadian born All Stars versus everyone else. All Star hockey games may be light on hitting but they certainly are heavy on scoring, so if offense is your thing these are great games to watch with plenty of pucks reaching the back of the net. Of the 455 players to participate in the AHL All Star game since 1995 more than 95% of them have gone on to see NHL action, including stars such as Patrice Bergeron, Brad Boyes and Zdeno Chara.

The Worcester squad will be represented by Ryan Vesce suiting up for Planet USA and Derek Joslin taking the ice for Canada, while other notables include ex Boston College star and Portland Pirate sensation Nathan Gerbe, Alexandre Giroux who just last week broke Brett Hull’s scoring record by recording a goal in 15 straight games and Chris Bourque the son of Bruins legend Ray Bourque.

Tickets have sold well but there are still tickets available and with prices of $40 or $32 for admission to 2 days worth of quality hockey action Real Worcester would suggest that some of you locals come on down and help make the DCU a sellout.

The AHL skills competition takes place on Sunday @ 4pm and the All Star game is Monday evening at 7pm. Other festivities include a party at Mechanic’s Hall on Sunday night as well as an All Star Luncheon at noon on Monday honoring Harry Sinden.

All Star weekend at The DCU Center will be beamed into more than 100 million homes through a variety of cable TV networks, both the skills competition and All Star game will be broadcast live on NESN and throughout all of Canada on TSN. The game will also be shown live  throughout different regions of the country on station including FoxSportsNet, Time Warner, Comcast and NHL Center ice. The radio broadcast can also be heard locally on WTAG 580 as well as XM Home Ice 204.

I have my ticket and hopefully will have a full recap (or two) of the weekends events. Events of this prominence don’t roll into Worcester every day, so lets make the most of it!
Sharks All Star Ticket Info
AHL All Star Classic News

The Sharks are laughing at themselves and passing on one heck of a deal to their fans. This Wednesday the first 500 fans will receive a flashlight courtesy of Office Depot and IF the lights stay on for the entire game EVERYONE in attendance will receive a FREE TICKET voucher to another Sharks game. In these though economic times where people are looking to stretch their entertainment dollar I credit the Sharks with providing a great 2 for 1 deal and making the best out of a dark situation! Oh, and don’t forget $1.00 Hot Dogs on Wednesday.

Worcester Sharks