ANAHEIM – If you expect nothing else from an All-Star Game, expect to be entertained.
Honda Center was filled with all of the bells and whistles you would expect from such an event Thursday night.
The game featured the usual array of breakaway opportunities and skills competitions, and it came complete with a live battle of the bands and the presence of the house’s most renowned figure.
Teemu Selanne sat amongst the fans during the Anaheim Ducks High School Hockey League All-Star Game as his sons Eemil and Leevi represented Santa Margarita.
For Orange County’s high schools, there were plenty of stars on the ice. The county boasted 27 representatives in the varsity game.
The All-Star field was split into teams either donning a black or orange jersey, with the Black Team coming out on top, 7-3.
Brett Ruiz (Upland Christian) was crowned MVP with two goals and an assist.
Orange Lutheran’s Jakob Nelson assisted on three of the Black goals, including teammate Riley Kraemer’s marker to open the scoring.
Los Alamitos made a strong team showing. Mitchell Hodges scored a goal, and Anthony DeMarco and Daniel Wesolek provided the helpers on a goal by Austin Erickson (Capistrano United) late in the third.
Without much defense in front of them, the goaltenders did what they could to enjoy the moment. Newport-Mesa’s Brady Boudreau, the son of Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau, wore a beanie over his mask, emulating the style of net-minders that have participated in the popular Winter Classic.
Zach Pires (Villa Park) and Mason Pilkington (JSerra) rounded out the scoring from county teams.
In the junior varsity game, Villa Park’s Justin Camba came away with the MVP honors.
Thursday night marked the fourth year that the Anaheim Ducks have put on the All Star Game. The ADHSHL has expanded to 41 teams since it started with JSerra in 2008.
SCORING SUMMARY
BLACK:
First Period: Riley Kraemer (Orange Lutheran), asst: Jakob Nelson (Orange Lutheran)
Brett Ruiz (Upland Christian), asst: Patrick Standel (Newport-Mesa), Chad Sasaki (Servite)
Zach Pires (Villa Park), asst: Jakob Nelson (Orange Lutheran), Zach Fielder (JSerra)
Second Period: Brett Ruiz (Upland Christian), asst: Ryan Romans (Corona-Norco)
Jared Southwell (Bellarmine), asst: Sam Vizenor (Newport-Mesa), Jakob Nelson (Orange Lutheran), Patrick Tagari (Conejo Valley), asst: Brett Ruiz (Upland Christian), Mitchell Hodges (Los Alamitos), asst: Brett Ruiz (Upland Christian), Ryan Romans (Corona-Norco)
ORANGE:
First Period: Chad Watt (Corona-Norco), asst: Kyle Mayhew (Villa Park)
Third Period: Mason Pilkington (JSerra), unassisted
Austin Erickson (Capistrano United), asst: Anthony DeMarco (Los Alamitos), Daniel Wesolek (Los Alamitos)
GOALIES:
BLACK: Brady Boudreau (Newport-Mesa) – Dylan Gluck (Santa Margarita) – Anders Hultgren (Villa Park)
ORANGE: Curran Allison (Capistrano United) – Austin Alarcon (Orange Lutheran) – Ryan Mack (Bellarmine)
