Destroyers win title at 2023 Warrior/ECHL All-Star Classic

NORFOLK, Va. – The Destroyers defeated the Western Conference 2-0 in the championship game of the 2023 Warrior/ECHL All-Star Classic presented by Optima Health and Sentara Healthcare on Monday in front of 5,067 fans at the Norfolk Scope. The 2023 Warrior/ECHL All-Star Classic presented by Optima Health and Sentara Healthcare consisted of a tournament featuring the ECHL All-Stars and the Norfolk Admirals, with an integrated skills competition with points counting towards each team’s score. Norfolk’s Griffin Lunn of the Destroyers earned Most Valuable Player honors with an event-high six points (4g-2a). The ECHL All-Star Skills Competition was held during the event, with the winning player in each event earning goals toward his team’s score. In the fastest skater event, Cincinnati’s Lincoln Griffin earned one goal for the Western Conference with a time of 12.90 seconds. He was followed by Greenville’s Alex Ierullo at 13.05 seconds, Eric Cooley of the Cruisers at 13.44 seconds and Darren McCormick of the Destroyers at 13.49 seconds. In the hardest shot event, Norfolk’s Callum Fryer earned two goals for the Destroyers with a shot of 97 miles per hour. Maine’s Mathew Santos was second with a shot of 96 miles per hour, followed by Norfolk’s Darick Louis-Jean of the Cruisers at 93 miles per hour and Wheeling’s Josh Maniscalco at 91 miles per hour. The final skills event was the accuracy shooting competition with Fort Wayne’s Tye Felhaber earning the win and three points for the Western Conference with a time of 6.5 seconds. Denis Smirnov of the Cruisers was second at 7.4 seconds followed by the Destroyers’ Billy Constantinou at 8.4 seconds and South Carolina’s Bear Hughes at 9.7 seconds. In partnership with the Premier Hockey Federation and Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association, two members from each organization participated in the All-Star Classic. Taking part in the All-Star festivities were the PHF’s Ann-Sophie Bettez (Eastern Conference) and Sydney Brodt (Destroyers) and the PWHPA’s Emily Brown (Western Conference) and Sam Cogan (Cruisers). 2023 Warrior/ECHL All-Star Classic Game SummariesGame 1 – Eastern Conference 1 vs. Destroyers 1Game 2 – Western Conference 1 vs. Cruisers 0Game 3 – Western Conference 6 vs. Destroyers 3Game 4 – Cruisers 2 vs. Eastern Conference 1Game 5 – Eastern Conference 2 vs. Western Conference 1Game 6 – Destroyers 5 vs. Cruisers 1Semifinal Game 1 – Cruisers 3 vs. Destroyers 1Semifinal Game 2 – Eastern Conference 4 vs. Western Conference 0Championship Game – Destroyers 2 vs. Western Conference 0