The Chicago Blackhawks’ minor-league affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs, hosted the 2026 AHL All-Star Classic over the last two days at the BMO Center in Rockford, Illinois.
The opening night on Tuesday featured the skills competition, where the future of the NHL was put through seven events, which included a puck control relay, accuracy shooting, hardest shot, fastest skater, and more. All the All-Star participants were split by conference for the skills competition, and the East outscored the West 18-15.
Wednesday night featured the AHL All-Star Challenge, where the league’s four divisions faced off in a 3-on-3 round-robin style tournament. Each division (Atlantic, Central, North, Pacific) played every other division once, with the games consisting of two four-minute periods. Following the round robin, the top two teams advanced to the Championship Final.
The IceHogs had three skaters represent the Central Division in the festivities over the weekend. Nick Lardis, Kevin Korchinski, and captain Brett Seney were the hometown heroes, receiving countless ovations from the IceHogs’ faithful attending the BMO Center for the two-day event.
All three helped the Central Division advance to the Championship in the All-Star Challenge on Wednesday. In the opening game of the round robin, the Central defeated the Atlantic 2-1 in a shootout. Lardis was the division’s lone goal scorer in regulation, and he also added the game-winner in the shootout with a dazzling tally that had social media buzzing.
In the Central’s second game against the North, Seney scored a clutch goal to tie the game 2-2 near the end of the first period. Rockford’s captain roofed a backhanded shot into the top corner for his first goal of the All-Star Challenge. Unfortunately, that was the Central’s final goal in the game, with the North winning 3-2.
Game three came against the Pacific, and all three of the IceHogs’ All-Star selections wound up on the stat sheet. Seney scored his second goal of the night, while both Lardis and Korchinski added assists in a 4-0 win for the Central.
With two wins apiece in the round robin, the Central and Pacific rematched in the Championship. The Pacific walked away with the bragging rights, winning 3-1 in the sixth and final 3-on-3 game of the night. It’s the third time in four years that the Pacific has won the AHL All-Star Challenge.
Colorado Eagles forward Jayson Megna, the brother of former Blackhawks defenseman Jaycob Megna, was named the All-Star Challenge MVP, recording four goals and seven points in the tournament.
It wasn’t the finish that the Central Division or the three IceHogs’ All-Stars were looking for, but they represented the hometown team well over the past two days. Hopefully, that will give each of those three players a boost for the home stretch of the regular season.
The IceHogs must go on a run for any hope of reaching the Calder Cup Playoffs, as they currently sit in sixth place out of seven teams in the Central Division with 38 points (17-26-2-2) through 47 games. The top five teams from the division qualify for the postseason, and Rockford is four points behind the fifth-place Milwaukee Admirals.
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