The former BC Eagle, now in his second pro season with the Portland Pirates, played host Monday night as he welcomed in his fellow AHL superstars at the AHL All-Star Classic Skills Challenge. The opening night was a success for the 5-foot-5 All-Star, who was showered with the loudest cheers, the biggest laughs and a wonderful hometown treatment — something the fans here in Portland do on a nightly basis.
"It was great out there tonight," Gerbe said after the skills challenge, which his PlanetUSA squad lost to the Canadian All-Star team. "We always get a ton of support here and obviously it’s always great to get cheered rather than booed. It was a good feeling to get out there and as I expected, to get a warm welcoming. It’s just a lot of fun being able to play in front of such great fans, even in an event like this."
And with events like this one, the fans yearn for fireworks. The crowd-pleasing prospect provided just that. Gerbe wowed his followers in the final event — the breakaway challenge — when he displayed his tremendous hand-eye coordination and stick work. With the fans on their feet, he came down the right flank, scooped the puck up and bounced the biscuit on his blade until he reached the crease, where he then wound up with a little Dustin Pedroia-like swinging shot.
The attempt technically failed when the puck went right into the keeper’s bread basket, but the fans appreciated the showmanship.
"Every once in a while, I’ll try it at practice, but I’m not sure if it’s ready for a game," he laughed. "I’m thankful I was able to keep it on my stick but it’s just something fun for the fans to enjoy and I was just trying to add some fun to the show. Too bad I couldn’t score but it was all fun so it was all good."
Through 30 AHL contests this season, Gerbe has eight goals and 20 assists for the fifth-place Pirates. He also has a goal and an assist in two games for Buffalo — Portland’s NHL parent team. Such strong play isn’t new for the 22-year-old. As a junior at Boston College, he was one of 10 Hobey Baker Award finalists after finishing the season with 28 goals and 29 assists in 29 games played.
With such success as an undergrad in the region, Gerbe couldn’t have been happier to be playing his professional puck in Maine.
"It feels good to be able to stick around the New England area," he explained." I was here for three years and now it’s been another two. Being used to the cities out east here is helpful and you know what to expect, so you feel comfortable."
And a quick drive down 95 South to Boston is a worthwhile journey on his off days. The winger keeps tabs on his former teammates, who have won their last two games, are 12-6-2 overall and sit in second place in Hockey East with a 9-4-2 record.
But one of those six losses stings a little more than the others. When BU nipped BC at Fenway Park for the Frozen Fenway contest earlier this month, the former Eagle could just shake his head at such an amazing opportunity that he just missed out on.
"It was a tough loss at Fenway, but that looked like a fun time," he said. "They were talking about that for so many years planning the game and getting the game going, so it’s a bummer that I missed out on it. But it’s very cool that it was finally able to happen."
