Live Auction Starts This Saturday
Starting Saturday (Aug. 25) at 12 p.m. ET, fans will have the opportunity to bid on over 30 items donated by players skating in the Stars & Stripes Showdown. Signature items in the auction include two tickets and travel on Red Wing III, the Detroit Red Wings’ team plane, for a pre-season contest against the Pittsburgh Penguins; four tickets to watch the Red Wings take on the Chicago Blackhawks in The Windy City along with a meet-and-greet with coaches Jeff Blashill and Joel Quenneville; four tickets to the 2019 NHL Winter Classic; and four tickets to any Detroit Red Wings regular-season game in 2018-19. The auction will close on Tuesday, September 4, at 10 a.m. ET. For a complete list of available items and to make a bid, click here. In addition, game-worn jerseys from the Stars & Stripes Showdown will be made available for auction in mid-September at meigray.com. The exact auction dates have not yet been set.

Coaches To Take Part in Pre-Game Autograph Session
All four coaches in the Stars & Stripes Showdown, Jeff Blashill of the Detroit Red Wings, Tony Granato of the Wisconsin Badgers, John Hynes of the New Jersey Devils and David Quinn of the New York Rangers, will be available to sign autographs for fans between 1:00-1:30 p.m. ET in the concourse between the rinks at USA Hockey Arena. This is a free opportunity with donations being accepted for the Jim Johannson Legacy Fund and the Ellie Johannson College Fund.

HockeyTV To Broadcast Stars & Stripes Showdown
A free live stream of the Stars & Stripes Showdown through HockeyTV will be available at USAHockeyArena.com/starsandstripes (http://usahockeyarena.com/starsandstripes) . Pete Krupsky will call the play-by-play action at USA Hockey Arena and will be joined throughout the game by varying guests including Jim Smith, president of USA Hockey; U.S. Hockey Hall of Famer Lou Nanne;Pat Kelleher, executive director of USA Hockey; Don Waddell, president and general manager of the Carolina Hurricanes; U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender and USA Hockey assistant executive director John Vanbiesbrouck; and John Johannson, brother of the late Jim Johannson.

Ceremonial Opening Faceoff
Members of the late Jim Johannson’s family will take part in a ceremonial opening faceoff ahead of the Stars & Stripes Showdown. Joining captains Patrick Kane and Auston Matthews at center ice will be Jim’s wife Abby, daughter Ellie, father Ken, brother John and sister Judy.

NOTES:The Jim Johannson Legacy Fund was established to benefit grassroots community hockey programs across the country, something Johannson was passionate about throughout his life. The Ellie Johannson College Fund will assist in providing a college education for its namesake, the two-year-old daughter of Jim and his wife Abby … For more on Jim Johannson’s legacy, click here.