San Jose – Arshdeep Bains scored with 12.9 seconds left in the to give the Pacific Division a 3-2 win over the Atlantic Division in the championship game and its second consecutive title in the 2024 AHL All-Star Challenge on Monday night (Feb 5) at Tech CU Arena.
Bains, a forward from the Abbotsford Canucks, finished the night with two goals and three assists and earned All-Star Challenge Most Valuable Player honors, a day after travel delays had caused him to miss the Skills Competition on Sunday evening.
Bains led all scorers with five points (two goals, three assists) in the round-robin tournament, a series of 3-on-3 games played among the AHL’s four divisions.
Adam Gaudette of the Springfield Thunderbirds, the AHL’s co-leader with 24 goals this season, scored three times for the Atlantic Division. The Chicago Wolves’ Rocco Grimaldi and the Manitoba Moose’s Brad Lambert recorded two goals and two assists each for the Central Division, and Angus Crookshank of the Belleville Senators led the North Division with a pair of goals.
The Iowa Wild’s Jesper Wallstedt led all goaltenders with an .833 save percentage on the evening, stopping 15 of 18 shots.
The 2024 AHL All-Star Challenge featured 24 former first- or second-round NHL draft picks, and 28 players who have skated in the National Hockey League already this season.
The road to the 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs continues when the American Hockey League’s 88th season resumes on Friday.
2024 AHL All-Star Challenge Results
Game 1 – North Division 1, Pacific Division 1 (SO, tie)
Game 2 – Central Division 4, Atlantic Division 1
Game 3 – North Division 3, Central Division 2 (SO)
Game 4 – Atlantic Division 2, Pacific Division 2 (SO, tie)
Game 5 – Atlantic Division 6, North Division 1
Game 6 – Pacific Division 4, Central Division 3 (SO)
Championship – Pacific Division 3, Atlantic Division 2
