St. Louis will attempt to set a junior hockey record for attendance at 7:30 p.m. on April 3 when the Junior A St. Louis Bandits face Team
USA at
Scottrade
Center as part of the NCAA Frozen Four events. Already more than 10,000 tickets have been sold to the game; the record is 14,892 set at Canseco Fieldhouse for a game between the host Indianapolis Ice and Sioux City Musketeers in 2005. The game starts at 7:30 pm doors open at 6:30. At the conclusion of the game, all fans in attendance will compete in a paper airplane toss for the chance to win a car from Bommarito Pontiac and a custom made St. Louis Bandits pool table from AE Schmidt Billiards Company.
The NCRHA has had a block of free tickets set aside for our teams and fans. If you are interested in going to the game and being a part of the record attempting crowd, please contact Rob Coggin, NCRHA Director or League Operations, by email to [email protected] or by phone to 719-331-7344.
On April 3rd join Brett Hull at the
Scottrade
Center to watch the brightest young hockey talent in the country, when Brett's St. Louis Bandits take on the USA National Team at 7:30pm.
After moving from Texarkana during the off season, the Bandits, who play at the Summit Center in Chesterfield, MO, have been the most dominant force in the North American Hockey Leagueâ??s South Division. The Bandits are one of seventeen members of the NAHL which is a breeding ground for D1 college ice hockey and professional ice hockey. Current NHL stars such as Doug Weight, Eric Lindros, and Brian Rolston played Junior â??Aâ? hockey in the NAHL.
The Bandits success is attributed to some outstanding individuals, and excellent team chemistry under Head Coach, Jon Cooper. Goaltender Pat Nagle boasts the leagueâ??s second best goals against average and the second highest save percentage. Nagle is not alone at the top. Forward, and
St. Louis native, Pat Maroon leads the league in scoring. Ironically, this will not be the last time these two will play together. Both have signed DI scholarships with
Ferris
State
University (
Michigan) for the 07/08 season.
In addition to Maroon and Nagle, five other current Bandits have signed division 1 scholarships to
Michigan, Miami-Ohio,
Ferris
State, and
Canisius
College. In Cooperâ??s fourth year as the Bandits Head Coach, 44 players have committed to play college hockey, three have been drafted by the NHL.
Team
USA is based in
Ann Arbor,
Michigan, where its goal is to prepare student-athletes under the age of 18 for participation on U.S. National Teams and future hockey careers. Twenty-eight players from this program are currently in the NHL with more to come. St. Louis Blues number one draft pick, Eric Johnson, who currently plays for the
University of
Minnesota, developed in the Team USA program.
The game will be emceed by Z1077â??s Curt Copeland who has helped the Bandits develop a reputation as one of the most fun-filled sports venues in
St. Louis.
