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Pro hockey hotshots part of Aspen tourney

Tim Mutrie

Last week, amid the continuing NHL lockout, the league announced it was canceling the All-Star game.Yesterday, Day 57 of the lockout, a crop of current and former NHL stars announced they will be playing their own all-star game of sorts here in Aspen, Dec. 4, at the Lewis Ice Arena.Colorado Avalanche players Adam Foote and Dan Hinote, the two hosts of the Rocky Mountain Classic, will be rejoined with Avs benchmates like Joe Sakic, Rob Blake and John-Michael Liles.Paul Coffey, who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday, is slated to play, along with Mike Ricci, Owen Nolan, Marty McSorley, Dave Reed, Glen Murray, Gary Roberts and Lanny McDonald.Four teams will be represented – the Avs, the Boston Bruins, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Phoenix Coyotes – and the format calls for five-man teams with 20-minute qualifying games and a 20 minute championship game.Tickets cost $100 for standing room and $200 for general admission, with proceeds benefiting Aspen Junior Hockey, the Foundation for Breast Cancer Research and Denver’s Children’s Hospital. “It’s unusual to have an abundance of time this time of year,” Colorado’s Foote said in a written statement. “So I wanted to concentrate on doing something to benefit others. This event, in addition to being great fun for the spectators, will contribute money to some very worthy causes.”A host of celebrities are expected to participate in the event as well, including Cuba Gooding Jr., Kiefer Sutherland and Cameron Bancroft. The Rocky Mountain Classic is an offshoot of an event that Avs forward Peter Forsberg used to host in Denver, according to event organizer Rene Doubleday.”Last year, Peter asked Adam [Foote] and Dan [Hinote] to help him out,” said Doubleday. “And this is a continuation of that. Plus, they’ve all got some free time.”Planning for the event started some five weeks ago.”We picked Aspen, I think, because in terms of getting all these folks to come, a trip to Aspen is always appealing,” she said. “And we wanted to coax as many people as we could to come.”We’ve also invited Kurt Russell, Mike Myers and Adam Sandler, but there may be some scheduling conflicts,” Doubleday said.The weekend also includes a fund-raising dinner on Friday, Dec. 3, at the Sundeck atop Ajax. Sponsorships begin at $10,000, which includes a table of 10 for the dinner, 10 tickets for the games and signage at the rink. Call Christy Kurowski, the event producer and executive director of The Foote Foundation, at (720) 203-3309 for ticket or sponsorship information.Tim Mutrie’s e-mail address is mutrie@aspentimes.com