A & B All-Star hockey games tonight

It will be a family affair on Friday night for the Thibodeaus when the East-West Class B Senior All-Star game is held at the Biddeford Ice Arena. Game time is 5:30 and the Class A North-South game will follow.

Second-year John Bapst High School coach Ray Thibodeau and son Mike, an assistant under him at John Bapst, will be coaching the East team, and Cory, the younger of the Thibodeau boys, will be one of six players off Old Town’s state B championship team on the roster.

Ray Thibodeau coached all six Old Town players in youth league hockey in Old Town.

“It’s going to be nice knowing that I started out with them (in the Old Town youth league) and I’ll get to coach the last game of their high school careers,” said the 45-year-old Thibodeau. “I’d like to think I may have taught them something and I might have had a little bit to do with their success.”

“I think it will be good to play for him again,” said Cory. “It’s going to be interesting.”

He also said he likes the fact five of his Old Town High School teammates are on the team.

“To have that many players on the team is quite an honor,” said the younger Thibodeau.

Besides Thibodeau, the other Old Town players are forwards Travis Kimball, Loren Blair and Brian Grigsby and defensemen Aaron King and Jimmy Evans.

They will be joined by Brewer forward Chris Munroe and goalie Joel Dolbow; Stearns forward Brian Barnes and defenseman Chris Sharpe; Presque Isle goalie Scott Bernard and forward Chris Lester; John Bapst forward Will Houston; Orono forward Nate Garwood.

Also, Foxcroft Academy defenseman Dave McLeish; Gardiner forward Doug McLaughlin and defenseman Mike Choate; Lawrence of Fairfield goalie Eric Hunt and Winslow forwards Scott Michaud and Keith Quirion along with Raider defenseman Dan Pooler.

“The game plan is going to be let everybody play,” said the elder Thibodeau. “But if it’s close at the end, we’ll go for the win.”

Meanwhile, in the Class A game, there will be five Bangor High School Rams playing for the North team in forwards Todd Garwacki and Wayne Rolland; defensemen Russell Moores and Eric Neal and goalie Jason Towns.

Among the others on the North team will be Cony’s Keith De-Schamp, Mark Sienko and Mike Jowdry and Waterville’s Jerry Hart, Todd St. Peter and Chris Chase.

Lewiston High’s Tom LeBlond, the former University of Maine defenseman who guided the Devils to their second straight state A title, and Mount Ararat of Topsham’s Jon Brawn will coach the North team with Deering’s Bill Flaherty and North Yarmouth Academy’s Kevin Potter coaching the South squad.

“This gives the seniors the opportunity to finish their careers in a good way,” said Bangor Coach Guy Perron. “They can show the other seniors and the fans the talent level they have reached in four years.”