Area players chosen for Bowman Cup

Nine high-school aged hockey players from area schools have been selected to participate in the inaugural 2005 Scotty Bowman Showcase being held at HSBC Arena in Buffalo April 15.

Brockport's Kyle Filipowicz and Jeff Prohaska will help anchor the blueline of the senior team with Hilton forwards Joe Christiano and Jon Fose and Cadet goaltender Jake Burge.

Goaltenders Danny Kuntz from Churchville-Chili and Dan Cavanaugh from Brockport join Blue Devil forward Eric McJury and Ryan Filipowicz, who played this past season with the Rochester Junior B Americans after several seasons with Brockport.

The senior team from Rochester will be coached by Buffalo Sabres General Manager Darcy Regier and Rob Ray; the junior team by former Sabres forward Rich Seiling.

The event features two games with the best high school-aged juniors from Rochester battling the best from Buffalo followed by the best high school-aged seniors from both cities in the second game. Players were selected by a panel of coaches from the high school, midget and junior ranks in the Rochester area.

Fose led Hilton in goals this past season and teammate Christiano was tops on the team in points. Burge was the top goaltender for the 10-7-3 Cadets. Kuntz led the Saints to their best season ever with a 2.69 goals against average in over 10 games. Ryan Filipowicz was the top goal scorer for Brockport this past season while Cavanaugh was the team's number one goaltender.

"We're hoping that the Scotty Bowman Showcase will become a permanent fixture here for many more years," said Mike Gilbert, Buffalo Sabres director of public relations. "It is a good bet that the Showcase will be rotated each year between Buffalo and Rochester."

Admission and parking are free for the event and Hockey Hall of Fame coach Bowman will be on hand to present the cup to the winning team.