Three Seniors from Austin were voted in as members of the Minnesota Great 8 High School All-Star Hockey Festival that will be held today through Sunday at Wakota Arena in South St.

Friday, March 23, 2001

Three Seniors from Austin were voted in as members of the Minnesota Great 8 High School All-Star Hockey Festival that will be held today through Sunday at Wakota Arena in South St. Paul.

They are defenseman Brent Cummings and forwards Asham Bell and David Lorenzen. They will be coached by the Section AA coach of the year, Austin High’s own Denny Laumeyer and Rochester Lourdes 1-A coach of the year Jay Ness.

The event is a three-day, eight-team tournament. Players were selected for the team by a vote of the high school coaches in each team’s combined sections. The eight teams from each section are made up of 12 forwards and six defensemen. The players have six hours of practice time together before they play in the All-Star Hockey Festival.

Laumeyer elaborated on the type of players in these games: "These kids have the skill level, ability and knowledge of the game to be able to play with all sorts of other players."

Cummings and Bell started as freshmen playing with the varsity Austin High School hockey team and Lorenzen started as a sophomore. Laumeyer said it is very much an honor to be part of these games. College scouts come to these games to seek out the best seniors in the state.

There are 160 hockey players playing in these games. Each section will play three games. Out of all these sections, the top 20 players who have not signed a Division I scholarship are invited to play in the Chicago Showcase.

"These games are for kids who have not been signed by colleges. This gives them exposure," Laumeyer explained.

Brent Cummings’ rights have been protected. He has been drafted by the United States Hockey League to play at Junior A-level in Topeka, Kan. Junior-A level is the premier development for the United States Hockey League. They keep track and watch how a player develops after high school. Most of the Division I and II players in hockey come out of the USHL.

Call Sheila Donnelly at 434-2234 or e-mail her at sports@austindailyherald.com.