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All-Star City
The 2003 CHL mid-season classic hits Oklahoma City.

01.07.03 -- Oklahoma City may have a new nickname.

In July 2002, the AAA Baseball All-Star Game was held at "The Brick", home of the PCL's Oklahoma RedHawks.

Now, six months later, the Oklahoma City Blazers will be hosting the 2003 Central Hockey League All-Star Game on Thursday, January 23rd at the new Ford Center.

The with the new Ford Center and the highly regarded Bricktown Ballpark both located in the rejuvenated downtown area, OKC is emerging as a top tier minor league city.

The CHL All-Star Game pits the top players from the CHL's Northern Conference against their counterparts from the Southern Conference.

Balloting to select the starting line-ups for each conference took place among, CHL coaches, broadcasters, and selected media members.

Tulsa's Garry Unger will coach the Northern Conference All-Stars, while Austin's Brent Hughes will coach the Southern Conference All-Stars, by virtue of their conference-best records following all games on December 21st.

Balloting to select the starting line-ups for each conference took place among, CHL coaches, broadcasters, and selected media members. The All-Star coaches then selected the remainder of the roster.

Northern Conference

Garry Unger had two of his players (goaltender Rod Branch and forward Todd Marcellus) voted to start in the All-Star Game for the Northern Conference, and has added forward Jamie Steer and defenseman Mike Mohr as Oiler representatives.

Oklahoma City forwards Joe Burton (the CHL's career goal scoring leader with 545) and Blair Manning were also chosen, and give the All-Star host Blazers three members on the squad, with defenseman Hardy Sauter starting on defense.

Hard-hitting defensemen Vladimir Hartinger will accompany starting forward Travis Clayton on behalf of the Wichita Thunder, while forward Henry Kuster and defenseman Mark DeSantis will represent the Amarillo Gorillas.

Two members of the Indianapolis Ice have earned All-Star status, with defenseman Bernie John and goaltender Shawn Silver chosen to participate.

Selected to represent the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs was forward Dan Wildfong, while forward Chad Woollard will attend on behalf of the Fort Worth Brahmas.

The defending Ray Miron President's Cup champion Memphis RiverKings remain with two All-Stars, as forward Don Parsons and defenseman Derek Landmesser were already voted to the starting lineup.

Southern Conference

In the South, Brent Hughes rewarded three of his CHL-leading Ice Bats with All-Star recognition, adding forward Kelly Smart and defensemen Mike Gaffney and Darryl McArthur to the roster to go along with starting netminder Matt Barnes.

Forward Chris Grenville of the expansion Laredo Bucks joins teammates Eric Schneider and Michel Periard (both voted to start) as All-Stars, while Odessa netminder Mike Gorman and forward Sebastien Thinel will accompany starting rearguard Scott Hillman on behalf of the Jackalopes.

Lubbock defenseman Derek Holland will make his third straight All-Star appearance, and gives the Cotton Kings two members of the squad, with Blaz Emersic starting at forward.

The New Mexico Scorpions also will have two All-Star selections, with rearguard Arturs Kupaks selected to attend along with starting forward Chris Richards.

Rounding out the 2003 Southern Conference All-Star squad are forwards Cosmo Dupaul from the Corpus Christi IceRays (making his fourth All-Star appearance), Chris Peach of the San Angelo Saints and Jeff Scharf of the El Paso Buzzards.

Northern Conference 2003 All-Star Roster

Coach: Garry Unger, Tulsa Oilers

Forwards
*Clayton, Travis (WIC)
*Marcellus, Todd (TUL)
*Parsons, Don (MEM)
Burton, Joe (OKC)
Kuster, Henry (AMA)
Manning, Blair (OKC)
Steer, Jamie (TUL)
Wildfong, Dan (BOS)
Woollard, Chad (FTW)

Defensemen
*Landmesser, Derek (MEM)
*Sauter, Hardy (OKC)
DeSantis, Mark (AMA)
Hartinger, Vladimir (WIC)
John, Bernie (IND)
Mohr, Mike (TUL)

Goaltenders
*Branch, Rod (TUL)
Silver, Shawn (IND)

*Starter

Southern Conference 2003 All-Star Roster

Coach: Brent Hughes, Austin Ice Bats

Forwards
*Emersic, Blaz (LUB)
*Richards, Chris (NMX)
*Schneider, Eric (LAR)
Dupaul, Cosmo (CRP)
Grenville, Chris (LAR)
Peach, Chris (SNG)
Scharf, Jeff (ELP)
Smart, Kelly (AUS)
Thinel, Sebastien (ODE)

Defensemen
*Hillman, Scott (ODE)
*Periard , Michel (LAR)
Gaffney, Mike (AUS)
Holland, Derek (LUB)
Kupaks, Arturs (NMX)
McArthur, Darryl (AUS)

Goaltenders
*Barnes, Matt (AUS)
Gorman, Mike (ODE)
 
*Starter