This year’s matchup has a lot riding on it, as the NHL won’t be holding its All-Star event due to the Winter Olympics in February.
When and Where
Tuesday, Jan. 19, 6 p.m. ET (NESN)
Cumberland County Civic Center, Portland, Maine
Records
PlanetUSA is 8-4 since the current alignment was instituted in 1998.
Head to Head
The PlanetUSA squad has won the last three years including last season’s 14-11 win over the Canadians.
Canada last won in 2006 in Winnipeg 9-4.
Skinny
The PlanetUSA squad will be seeking revenge from Monday night’s 18-12 defeat to its Team Canada counterparts in the skills competition.
Lineups
PlanetUSA All-Stars
Forwards
Nathan Gerbe LW
Brett Sterling LW
Keith Aucoin C
Patrick Rissmiller C
Lars Eller C
Mark Cullen C
Dan Fritsche C
T.J. Hensick C
Graham Mink RW
Mikko Lehtonen RW
Jack Skille RW
Christian Hanson RW
Sergei Shirokov RW
Defensemen
John Carlson
Mike Weber
Andy Wozniewski
Bobby Sanguinetti
Sean Sullivan
Jonas Junland
Ivan Vishnevskiy
Viatcheslav Voynov
Goalies
Anton Khudobin
Alexander Salak
Alex Stalock
Canadian All-Stars
Forwards
Charles Linglet LW
Alexandre Giroux LW
Jason Jaffray LW
Logan Couture C
Jon Matsumoto C
Blair Jones C
Cal O'Reilly C
Tyler Ennis C
Martin St. Pierre C
Corey Locke C
Dustin Jeffrey C
Andrew Gordon RW
Ryan Keller RW
Defensemen
Nolan Baumgartner
Keaton Ellerby
Maxim Noreau
Tyler Eckford
Bryan Rodney
Danny Groulx
Dustin Kohn
P.K. Subban
Goalies
Cedrick Desjardins
Justin Peters
Jonathan Bernier
Goaltender Matchup
PlanetUSA
Anton Khudobin is 9-13-1 this season with a 2.37 GAA and has four shutouts.
Alexander Salak is 19-5-0 for Rochester and owns a 2.57 GAA. Alex Stalock, the Sharks’ netminder has a league-high 23 wins to go with a 2.50 GAA.
Canada
Cedrick Desjardins has the second-best GAA in the league at 1.81 to go with a 17-6-2 mark. He claimed the Reebok Top Goaltender Award by stopping 16 of 19 shots for the Canadian side in the skills competition.
Justin Peters of the River Rats owns a 15-10-2 mark and a 2.41 GAA.
Jonathan Bernier, arguably the top all-around keeper, owns four shutouts as well as a 18-10-4 record.
Stat Sheet
PlanetUSA
Keith Aucoin from Waltham, Mass., and the Hershey Bears leads the league with 55 points.
Brett Sterling is finding the net often for the Chicago Wolves with 22 goals in 36 games.
Canada
Alexandre Giroux has the second-highest points total in the AHL with 20 goals and 31 assists for 51 points.
Corey Locke of the Wolfpack has 17 goals and 30 assists.
One of the Falcons’ few bright stars this season, Charles Linglet, is tied with Locke for the third-most points in the league with 47.
Black and Blue
Mark Katic of Bridgeport missed the Classic due to injury and has been replaced by teammate Dustin Kohn.
Lake Erie's Darren Haydar is missing the event due to injury.
Press Box
Monarchs keeper Jonathan Bernier stood on his head for the Canadians.
Rangers' prospect Bobby Sanguinetti nearly melted the ice.
Pair of Bears prepare to square off Tuesday night.
Future Stars shine among AHL's best.
Outlook
No offense to the tremendous netminders in town, but expect a high-scoring affair at the CCCC. These two teams displayed unbelievable skills on Monday night and will have even more fun on Tuesday as they’re expected to keep the crowd on its feet. Team Canada may have what it takes to break their three-year losing streak, so my early estimation is for the visiting Canadians to top PlanetUSA 17-13.
