MVP Vanecek, Captain Moulson Lead Atlantic to Championship at All-Star Challenge
January 28, 2020
Hershey Bears netminder Vitek Vanecek earned Most Valuable Player honors, as he and teammate Matt Moulson helped lead the Atlantic Division to a championship at the 2020 AHL All-Star Challenge on Monday evening in Ontario, California at the Toyota Arena.Vanecek allowed just two goals over the four games for the Atlantic Division in the round-robin tournament among the league’s four divisions played at 3-on-3. The netminder made several dazzling saves, including a diving save just prior to the buzzer to preserve a 3-2 win over the hometown Pacific Division earlier in the event.
This was Vanecek's second consecutive AHL All-Star Classic appearance. The native of Havlickuv Brod, Czech Republic was Hershey's lone representative at the 2019 AHL All-Star Classic in Springfield, Massachusetts. The goaltender stood tall in the 3-on-3 All-Star Challenge, recording the best statistics of any netminder, stopping 18 of 20 shots in last year's event.
Vanecek is in his fourth season with Hershey, going 13-8-1-1 this season in 23 games, recording a 2.45 goals against average, good for 7th in the league.
Moulson collected a goal and an assist for the Atlantic Division over the four games. As the playing captain for the Eastern Conference, Moulson raised the championship trophy after the Atlantic Division's deciding 3-1 win over the Central Division.
This was Moulson's first All-Star appearance. The veteran skated in his 1,000th professional game last Friday at Springfield. He leads Hershey with 15 goals this season, collecting 30 points in 46 games.
Recent News
- NewShepard Wins Baz Bastien Award as AHL's Outstanding Goaltender
- Weekly Release: Bears Begin Postseason with Bye
- Capitals Recall Haman Aktell from Hershey
- Caps Re-assign Forward Andrew Cristall to Hershey
- Nelson Named AHL's Outstanding Coach for 2023-24 Season
- Practice Schedule for Week of April 22, 2024
- Bears Close Regular Season with 4-1 Loss to Checkers
- Shepard, Stevenson Win AHL's Holmes Memorial Award
- Game Preview: Bears vs. Checkers, 7 p.m.
- Garin Bjorklund Re-assigned to Bears