January 31th, 2011

This AFHL All-Star game ended much like last year did – with the American Conference getting the victory, and a player from Deer Park skating off with the biggest prize.

“I hope I have some luck left for the rest of the season because I think I used a lot of it today,” said Chiefs’ forward Anze Kopitar, who scored two goals in the game and finished with a +2 rating. “I went out there, just tried to have fun and do my best.”

“I think (Kopitar) has proven that he’s one of those guys, that he’s one of those stars,” said Chiefs’ goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who won the MVP in last year’s game. “He’s slowly worked hard to become one of those household names, and it’s not easy for a guy like that. But he’s doing it, for sure. I’m sure you look at the list of players in this game, and you’re going to see quite a lineup, so it’s pretty cool for him to win that award.”

There certainly was no shortage of MVP candidates in a game that had a combined 21 goals and turned out to be the kind of offensive showcase that was expected.

Canadian Conference forward Patrick Sharp had a goal and two assists, while Loui Eriksson of the American Conference had four points including the empty net goal at the end of the game. But it was Kopitar’s +2 rating that was enough to win the plus/minus stat category for the American Conference.

Here’s a look at who stood out the most for each team during Sunday’s AFHL All-Star Game:

Canadian Conference All-Star Team

– Eric Staal (Heroes). The star forward really wanted to put on a show for the hometown crowd and he delivered by scoring a nice breakaway goal early in the third period. He added a second goal in the final minute and was left thinking about a few other good chances he failed to convert. Staal finished the night with eight shots, the most by any player.

– Patrick Sharp (Leafs). He looked a little more motivated than some of the others. Sharp had two assists in the opening period before adding a goal in the middle frame, and would have gotten the MVP award if the Canadian Conference won.

– Alex Ovechkin (Warriors) He opened the scoring in the first minute of the game and was all over the ice every time he stepped over the boards. Ovechkin was the best showman — jumping into the glass after missing a scoring chance, throwing his stick to give Vipers forward Matt Duchene a penalty shot — and entertainment is what the all-star game needs most.

– Nicklas Lidstrom (Red Wings). The future Hall of Famer was an amazing plus-7, an almost unthinkable accomplishment in a game that featured so many goals. He was also a classy captain and great ambassador throughout the entire weekend.

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American Conference All-Star Team

– Loui Eriksson (Phantoms). His empty-net goal gave him a four-point night, tying him with Shea Weber for the highest total. He’s one of the most underrated players in the league and the guess here is that he won’t remain that way for long.

– Tim Thomas (Power). It’s not a game for the goalies, but he performed very well in his one period of work. The Washington Power goaltender stared down a couple shooters on breakaways and finished with 11 saves on 14 shots.

– Anze Kopitar (Chiefs). Of the 21 goals scored during the all-star game, none was nicer than the deke move he made to score the first goal on Cam Ward. The Deer Park Chiefs star added another goal later on for good measure and with a +2 rating was named MVP of the game.

– Kris Letang (Power). The young defenceman is having a great season and he showed off his skills on Sunday. Letang scored twice and looked very comfortable in the offence-heavy affair.

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When Ray Irwin of the Washington Power and Barry Hickey of the St. John’s Red Wings were picked to be the Head Coaches of the all-star teams for the game this year, their tasks were both tricky and seemingly simple. After all having to choose from a host of elite-level players isn’t really that hard to do. Picking the right combo to get his side a win is a bit more difficult though.

For Irwin, he’s happy to have led the American Conference to a 7-1 win over Canadian Conference and he had fun doing it. “There was no pressure really, it was more fun than anything. It’s an honor to be selected as head coach of an AFHL All-Star team. I think we all just had fun with it.” Irwin said.

The American Conference has now won the first two annual AFHL All-Star Games and will seek to remain undefeated after the next one… 🙂

2011 AFHL All-Star Game Box Score

American Conference wins!!

Article with recap to be posted tomorrow (Monday)

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American Conference All-Star Player Stats

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Canadian Conference All-Star Player Stats

Note: Stats associated with players in the 2011 AFHL All-Star Game are based on the stats from the NHL All-Star Game.