March 29, 2008 - In the first ever ACHA Division I All-Star game, hosted this year by Penn State University, it was Illini Brad Hoelzer who was named the first star of the game with his 1 goal and 1 assist. Hoelzer's White team, coached by Penn State's Scott Balboni, edged out Jason Nemeth and the Blue team, coached by Mike DeAngelis of Delaware, by a score of 5 to 4 in front of a good size crowd at the Greenberg Ice Pavillion. The Blue team had a chance to time the game in the final seconds of the third period, but a shot by Jason Nemeth rang of the post before time ran out.
It was the Blue team that scored first, providing the only goal in the first period, as Justin Thomas of Pittsburgh sent the puck past Penn States Nick Signet. The White team would come back early in the second period as Iowa State's Brent Cornelius found a way to get the puck past Liberty's Mike Binnie. The White team would extend their lead eight and a half minutes into the period as the Illini's Brad Hoelzer rushed into the Blue zone and sent the puck towards the net where Wade Gegier of Minot State would redirect it into the back of the net. Just over fourteen minutes in, the White team would pull ahead even more as Jim Gehring of West Chester would fire a shot past Binnie. Less then 50 seconds later the Blue team would answer back, as Mike Gardner of Delaware would slip the puck past Gregory Feiden of Oswego State who was getting his turn in net for the White team. Central Oklahoma's AJ Alfrey would give the White team their fourth goal of period just 25 seconds before the intermission, giving them the 4-2 lead. The Blue team would pull within one goal just a minute into the third period as Matt Warren of Mercyhurst would find the back of the net. Just over the six minutes into the period, the White teams Brad Hoelzer would grab the puck in the neutral zone, race into the Blue's end of the ice and fire a shot top shelf to give the White team a two goal cushions once again. The Blue team would pull within one goal with just a few minutes left in the game, but that would be as close as the would get, giving the win to the White team. After the game, the 3 stars of the game were announced:
1st Star: Brad Hoelzer - University of Illinois
2nd Star: Matt Warren - Mercyhurst College
3rd Star: Jim Gehring - West Chester University
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