Andrew Poturalski, Trevor Carrick and Mike Vellucci squared off with the league’s best at the 2019 AHL All-Star Challenge and helped lead the Atlantic Division squad to a second-place finish.
Poturalski finished the event with four points (1g, 3a) in four games, tying for third overall and sharing the team lead with Hartford’s John Gilmour. Carrick joined in the scoring as well, lighting the lamp against Iowa’s Kaapo Kahkonen in the Atlantic’s first game.
The Atlantic squad won each of their first two round-robin contests against the Central and Pacific divisions, clinching them a spot in the championship game before heading into their final matchup against the North. The North Division team would take that contest 4-1 and set up a rematch with the title on the line.
The goalies stepped up in the championship game and forced things beyond the six-minute regulation time and into a shootout. After the Atlantic was denied on three of their first four attempts, including a slick move from Andrew Poturalski, Toronto’s Trevor Moore found the back of the net in the fourth round to give the North their second consecutive All-Star Challenge championship.
The trio of All Stars will now return to Charlotte and enjoy a quick break before kicking off the second half of the season Friday on home ice against the Providence Bruins.
