It's been just over 30 years since Young Arena's first USHL All-Star Game.  

The then-new rink had been open for just over a year when 40 of the United States Hockey League's best players arrived in Waterloo for the annual showcase on January 23, 1996.  At the time, the USHL included 11 teams.  Although there were no conferences or divisions that season, the All-Stars were divided up into North and South squads.  
 
The Green Bay Gamblers were in their second season.  They would go on to win both the Anderson Cup and Clark Cup, then USA Hockey's National Junior Championship.  The North Division opened the game with Gamblers at all five skating positions.  Their lineup also featured five Thunder Bay Flyers.  The South Division was well represented by five Omaha Lancers.

"There's not going to be a heavy emphasis put on defense," predicted Black Hawks Head Coach Scott Mikesch accurately before the game.  "It's going to be more of a free-flowing, high-scoring game."

The scoring started 4:17 into the evening, when a couple of Gamblers connected to put the North ahead: Chad Stauffacher set up Aaron Fox for the early 1-0 lead.

It was 2-1 by intermission, and the North Division was ahead 5-2 through 40 minutes.  However, the South roared back with four consecutive goals, all in the latter half of the third period, taking a 6-5 lead.  Waterloo's Andrew Tortorella scored the go-ahead goal capping the dramatic swing, and there were still almost six minutes left.

"I just wanted to get the crowd pumped up. We were all having a lot of fun," said Tortorella, who celebrated by sliding across a quarter of Young Arena's ice surface on one knee.

Alas, there was plenty of time for the North to get one more goal.  Gary Ricciardi of the Flyers did with 3:10 left to go.

With the team's tied at the end of regulation, the matchup went immediately to a five-round shootout.  The North cashed in on attempts by Stauffacher, Flyer Greg Zaporzan, and Fargo-Moorhead Bear Jeff Panzer.  The only South conversion came from Sandy Cohen of the Sioux City Musketeers.

On a night dominated by offense, Waterloo goalie Trevor Hanger started for the South and turned away 20 of 23 shots he faced, making the most saves among the four netminders who saw action.

Fox was recognized as the game's MVP, finishing with a goal and three assists.

"From a fan's standpoint, you can't get much better than that," said Mikesch. "We would rather have won, but I thought it was a great game for everybody."

Ten Interesting Facts about the 1996 USHL All-Star Game

1. The 1996 All-Star matchup was not the first USHL exhibition settled by a shootout.  The tie-breaking procedure had been used to settle earlier All-Star Games.  However, the USHL did not adopt shootouts during regular season games until the following autumn for the 1996/97 schedule.

2. Four Black Hawks played in front of the home crowd.  In addition to Tortorella and Hanger, forward Chad Poliquin and defenseman Anthony Perardi were both participants.  Tortorella had a goal and two assists, while Poliquin assisted twice.  Forward Roger Trudeau was also chosen for the South Division All-Stars but did not play due to a concussion just days before the game.

3. At the end of the season, Panzer and North Iowa Huskies forward Matt Noga shared the USHL Player of the Year Award.  Panzer led the league in scoring with 74 points (27 goals, 47 assists), while Noga finished fourth with 64 points (28 goals, 36 assists) in 39 games.  Each player scored during the All-Star Game.

4. The Twin Cities Vulcans and Rochester Mustangs both sent a "Miller" to skate for the North Division team.  The Vulcans' Nate Miller was from Anoka, Minnesota, while Rochester's Cory Miller hailed from Bloomington.  They would be teammates again at the University of Minnesota.

5. The Vulcans' Josh DeWolf was the only 1996 All-Star Game participant selected during the 1996 NHL Draft.  He was chosen in the second round (41st overall) by the New Jersey Devils.  Only seven players with USHL ties were selected by NHL clubs in 1996.

6. The only skater to reach the NHL after appearing during the showcase in Waterloo was Green Bay's Alex Brooks.  More than a decade later, he played 19 games for New Jersey, making his league debut on October 16, 2006.  Brooks' only NHL point – an assist – came in that first appearance against the New York Rangers.

7. While the All-Star Game did not include a lot of future NHL players, it was officiated by referee Chris Rooney, then just 20 years old.  Chris Rooney has been an NHL referee for over 1,500 NHL games.  He did not call a penalty during the All-Star matchup.

8. Mikesch was one of two coaches for the South Division.  After a strong start to the season, the Black Hawks had been among the USHL's top three teams around Christmas.  However, Waterloo went 2-5-1 coming out of the holiday break, and Mikesch was fired less than a week after the All-Star Game.

9. Green Bay Coach Don Granato and Omaha Coach Mike Hastings were both on the bench for the Waterloo All-Star matchup.  Both would go on to be coaches at the University of Wisconsin: Granato as an assistant during the 2016/17 season and Hastings as the current Badger head coach since 2023.

10. Two 1996 All-Stars would be part of one of the most unlikely sequences in NCAA hockey history in November of 1997.  Skating for the Omaha Mavericks, Tortorella and Jason Cupp (previously of Thunder Bay) scored goals separated by just three seconds in a 6-3 win against Denver.

1996 USHL All-Star Rosters
North Division
Fargo-Moorhead Bears
Scott Meyer, G
Jeff Panzer, F
Green Bay Gamblers
Alex Brooks, D
Dan Enders, D
Aaron Fox, F
Brian McDonald, F
Chad Stauffacher, F
Rochester Mustangs
Jeremy Bautch, F
Jeff Lamm, D
Cory Miller, F
Brian Nelson, G
Thunder Bay Flyers
Jason Cupp, F
Rob Douglas, F
Gary Ricciardi, D
Joe Ritson, D
Greg Zaporzan, F
Twin Cities Vulcans
Joe Casey, F
Josh DeWolf, D
Nate Miller, F
Jesse Rooney, F

South Division
Des Moines Buccaneers
Klage Kaebel, F
Dubuque Fighting Saints
Jayme Filipowicz, D
Roger Holeczy, F
Sean Molina, D
John Sadowski, F
North Iowa Huskies
Josh Mizerek, D
Matt Noga, F
Mike Rucinski, F
Omaha Lancers
Jerry Keefe, F
Scott Matzka, F
Dan Peters, D
Mark Shalawylo, F
Scott Stirling, G
Sioux City Musketeers
Ryan Clark, D
Sandy Cohen, F
Shane Kalbrener, F
Waterloo Black Hawks
Trevor Hanger, G
Anthony Perardi, D
Chad Poliquin, F
Andrew Tortorella, F

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