Tyler Ennis grabs the MVP award after notching a goal and a pair of assists.
Final: Canada 10, PUSA 9 (SO): Brett Sterling gets stoned by Desjardins to end things here in Portland as Canada snaps a three-year losing streak with the shootout win.
The 5,225 fans in attendance couldn't have asked for anything more than this one as they witnessed an amazing comeback and an intense round of shootouts.
Shootout, Round 3: The first four shooters have been stopped. After an 18-goal affair, no one can find the back of the net. In shootouts, no less.
End of regulation, tie 9-9: After Bryan Rodney made the play of the night on defense, Grouix popped one home to tie it up with just 18 ticks remaining. We're going to a shoot out to decide this one!
Huge play by Rodney as he rushed back on defense to knock away the puck on a breakaway by Gerbe, who was staring at an empty net.
Third period, 17:51, PUSA 9-8: We're not seeing any foolish passes or wild moves here with about two minutes to go as there are some serious competitive juices flowing out there finally.
Third period, 14:41, PUSA 9-8: Uh-oh. Dustin Jeffrey brings things within one here with roughly five minutes to go.
Third period, 12:30, PUSA 9-7: Keller pots his second of the night as things begin to pick up here with less than 10 minutes to go.
Last year, we saw a late surge by PUSA to take the win, lets see if they can hang onto one this year.
Third period, 7:58, PUSA 9-6: Gerbe finally gets on the board with an odd goal that appeared to bounce off a few defenders in front. But before the crowd could even give their Pirate some love, Canada spoils the fun as Logan Couture pops one just 15 seconds later.
Third period, 2:51, PUSA 8-5: Stalock won't pick up an assist but the PUSA keeper certainly deserves some love for T.J. Hensick's goal.
Stalock came up with a huge left pad save on a breakaway before PUSA found Hensick down ice.
Third period, PUSA 7-5: The third and final period is about to start and that means another change in net for both teams. Alex Stalock (Worcester) takes over for PUSA while Cedric Desjardins (Hamilton) is in the Canadian pipes.
Second intermission, PUSA 7-5: A trio of PUSAers are leading the way with two goals each in Lehtonen, Shirokov and Sterling but the front-runner for tonight's MVP could be Khudobin, who although allowed three goals for PUSA, he has stopped 20 of 23 shots in the middle frame.
Second intermission, PUSA 7-5: Another record was set here at the '4C' tonight as Linglet and Baumgartner combined to earn the fastest two goals in Classic history when the Canadians each scored just 13 seconds apart.
Second intermission, PUSA 7-5: After a seven-goal performance in the first, the teams combine for just five here in the second. The offense hit a wall in the final seven-plus minutes as neither team could find the back of the net.
As for shots, Canada tossed 23 on net while PUSA got 11.
Second period, 12:37, PUSA 7-5: A PUSA turnover in their own zone turns into a gorgeous Canadian goal.
Ryan Keller finished off a pretty goal with assists from Ennis and Charles Linglet as three passes were made all within two feet of the crease before Keller banged home a backdoor open netter.
Second period, 8:50, PUSA 7-4: Keith Aucoin banks one off a Canadian defender to give the home team another three-goal lead.
If it were up to me, a bank-shot off an opponent, a goal off a body part or anything that ends up in the net following a spin would count as two goals.
Second period, 4:36, PUSA 6-4: PUSA's keeper Khudobin lets in a pair of Canada goals faster than you can say or attempt to spell "Khudobin." But Baby-B Mikko Lehtonen answers with his second of the contest to make it 6-4.
PUSA's Lars Eller attempted the spinning scoop shot but he caught Peters in the shoulder.
Second period, 1:30, PUSA 5-2: A couple of goalie changes here for the second frame as Justin Peters (Albany) takes over for Canada while Anton Khudobin (Houston) takes over for PUSA.
First intermission, PUSA 5-2: There were a few AHL All-Star Classic records set in the first period here at the '4C.'
Sterling's second goal of the game gave him five career Classic goals, which put him in a three-way tie with Dunc Fisher and Corey Locke. This might turn into a personal battle as Locke is skating against Sterling tonight.
Also, the two goals by both teams in the first 1:12 is a new record, topping the previous mark of 3:29. Finally, Salak's assist on PUSA's third tally was just the second assist by a keeper in Classic history.
First intermission, PUSA 5-2: Shots were 15-8 in favor of PlanetUSA after the first 20 minutes here in Portland.
That's 23 shots, seven goals and about a hundred "sneeze-checks" on defense.
The mascots have invaded the ice here as the critters, superheros, birds and reptiles are playing a little scrimmage. These guys have been everywhere the past two days. I saw T-Bone — San Antonio's mascot — walking aimlessly down the middle of Free St. here in Portland with 10 cars at a crawl behind him.
First period, 16:08, PUSA 5-2: Shirokov gets his second of the game for the home team to build a nice three-goal cushion.
Actually, that's not a nice cushion in this one, as this game is likely to reach close to 25 goals by the final horn.
First period, 12:43, PUSA 4-2: This one's turning into a battle of the backstops as Bernier comes up with a pair of big stops. However, it's only a matter of time before these goalies come back down to earth against these forwards.
First period, 12:32, PUSA 4-2: PUSA netminder Alexander Salak comes up huge with three big stops in a row — the first of which coming on a breakaway.
Salak, who may not want to see his save percentage after this one's all said and done, saluted the crowd after the third and final save.
First period, 10:31, PUSA 4-2: After more than 10 minutes of silence from the fans, the house erupts. Why, you ask? Free t-shirts from the mascots, of course.
First period, 9:48, PUSA 4-2: After a good minute of watching the Canadians skate around untouched in their zone, PUSA pops a couple quick goals by Sterling (his second) and P-Bruin Mikko Lehtonen just 16 seconds apart.
I think I've seen more physical play in a game of shinny on a small pond in Sweden.
First period, 6:25, tie 2-2: What's this, a whistle? This is an All-Star game — the only whistles should be after goals, fellas.
First period, 5:22, tie 2-2: And just like that, the Canadians tie it up thanks to Tyler Ennis.
Usually, the visitors don't get a rousing ovation when they score, but Ennis, an Edmonton lad, is a proud member of the Portland Pirates.
First period, 4:20, PUSA 2-1: On what could be the game's second breakaway already, Brett Sterling snipes one home to give PUSA the lead. Nothing fancy on the goal, just a good old-fashioned wrister from the slot.
Sterling, an L.A. native, has 36 points this season for Wolves.
First period, 1:12, tie 1-1: Team Canada jumps on the board first on a nice tally by Jason Jaffray of Abbotsford but the PUSAers quickly even it up on a Sergei Shirokov goal. The Manitoba Moose buried a juicy rebound past Bernier.
There's no guessing how many times the lead will change tonight.
6:19 p.m.: Leafs GM Brian Burke hears it from the boo birds here during pregame introductions.
6:16 p.m.: Starting for the PUSAers will be Alexander Salak (Rochester) while the Canadian squad will be going with Jonathan Brenier (Manchester).
5:14 p.m.: Here's a good link of some video highlights of last night's Skills Challenge.
Also a good link for those of you who need a little more TC in your life.
4:49 p.m.: Scooped up some great AHL notables from the NESN production team here in Portland.
Many thanks to Jim White, Russ Kenn, Sean Thorpe, as well as the on-air trio of TC, JC and Bob Beers.
Check this out:
At this year's All-Star Classic, there are 10 former first-round draft picks — five on each team, as a matter of fact.
There are 26 players at the Classic tonight who have made an NHL appearance this year and of the 26, 10 have made their NHL debut. Four of the 26 players (Nathan Gerbe, Logan Couture, Lars Eller and Tyler Ennis) have bagged their first career NHL goals, too.
But wait, there's more: Of the 48 players participating in the Classic, 36 are first-time AHL All-Stars and 27 of them are 23 or younger.
Fan of the Olympics? Thirty-seven former AHL All-Stars are skating in February's Winter Games.
As Larry David would say: "Prettyyyyyy, prettyyyyyyy good!"
4:18 p.m.: Busy day here in Portland to go along with a mess of never-ending snow flurries. Needless to say, the Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts right near the arena are up to their ears in customers.
Earlier today, the AHL held the Hall of Fame induction and awards ceremony at Merrill Auditorium. It featured keynote speaker Brian Burke, the president and GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs and GM of Team USA hockey.
Later, commissioner Dave Andrews held a "town hall" meeting where he discussed many matters ranging from high hits to attendance. One thing that stuck out was in regards to next year's All-Star Classic, which will be a bit different than in years past. In 2011, the event will pit the East vs. West rather than PUSA vs. Canada. This idea stems from next season being the AHL's 75th anniversary year. Players will be wearing throwback uniforms, and although the venue has yet to be decided, Andrews hinted that three cities are in the running.
Also Andrews raved about the upcoming outdoor game which will be played on Feb. 20 at the New York State Fair Grounds between the Syracuse Crunch and Binghamton Senators. The contest will be the first outdoor AHL game in league history.
12:41 p.m.: After Team Canada's victory in Monday night's skills challenge, the PlanetUSA team is looking for revenge tonight as the two squads clash in the annual AHL All-Star Classic here in Portland.
PUSA will be looking to extend its three-year winning streak over the Canadians, who last won in 2006 when they won 9-4 at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg.
Last year in Worcester, Jared Ross of the Phantoms set an AHL All-Star Game record with six assists and seven points in PUSA's 14-11 come-from-behind win over the Canadians. Corey Locke, who is in this year's event too, set a record last year as well when he tallied four goals.
Who will emerge as this year's shining star? Check in with Tom Caron, Bob Beers and John Chandler on NESN at 6 p.m. ET and find out and be sure to check back here for further analysis and up-to-minute info.
