AHL All Star Skillz Competition

I'm a dork for All Star stuff, and I'm totally okay with that. I'd LiveBlog this but I'd probably be all alone and that would be sad. So I'll just make some notes, the first of which is that OMG it's in HD!! Nice work, NESN!

Introductions:

• Chris Aucoin looks like he got hit by a 2x4. Huge bruised jaw and black eye. Damn boy.
• Ben Lovejoy is foxy and writes a blog. Good stuff.
  
• BRUSTY!!! Stoopid announcer screwed up his name. How hard is it to say Barry?
  
• LOCKER!!!
• Oh, your Weiman is foxy, too, Schultzie...
• Yeah, the Team Canada boys are all foxier than the Planet USA boys. Sorry PUSA, but it's true.
• Mike Brodeur looks like a white-boy rapper. Like he probably calls his apartment his "crib."
• HEXTALL! Awesome!
  

Puck Control Relay
Um. Yeah, they were fast and stuff. Not my favorite event. It's funny how different this is from the NHL version of the same. None of the obnoxious hoopla. Just hockey players doing hockey player things. Refreshing, frankly. Oh, Planet USA wins.

Fastest Skater
Best of the "Future Stars" was 15.5. Those are a couple of kids who play on each team.
Okay, here goes Locker with Chilly cheering him on. 14.9, second from the bottom. Oh well. And again, Planet USA wins. Yo, Canada, what up?

Rapid Fire Challenge
Okay, this shit ain't fair. Two shooters, each with 5 pucks at the hash marks, alternating shots on the goalie. So basically, the goalie is just getting beat to hell and lit up like nobody's business. I'm not even sure what skill this is supposed to be showcasing.

Weiman was quite good. Very quick legs.
Brusty was AWESOME! I think he let in 3.
Schneider was awesomer. Man, he was really excellent, letting in only one of the 10 shots.
Brodeur was not so good. Why couldn't the Aeros solve him when we played him?

Interview with Weiman after. I know this is weird, but he's got very tidy eyebrows. Wax? Pluck?

Hardest Shot
Showing past winners, Kurtis Foster won in 2003 with 101 MPH.

Come on AHL boys... these are pretty weak. This is making me miss Jon Awe.

Winner is 98.6 for Joslin from Worcester.

Accurate Shot
Man, the NHLers school these guys. Oh, they're getting better as they go on. Mike Santorelli from Milwaukee won that one getting 4 of 4. He also won the Worst Hair competition. Yikes. Someone drag his ass to SportClips, for the love of god.

Pass and Score (aka F**k the Goalie)
This was a fun one last year where Reitz's line scored on Schaefer. It was pretty sick.

Teddy Purcell is foxy and humble and articulate. Oh yeah, and really good. Nom.

• Good job by Frazee! Stopped all three attempts.
• Weiman got beat on all three. Ouch.
• Brusty got lit up. Poor dear.
• Larsson also got lit up.
• Schneider was awesome, but his shooters were lame with slow releases.

Interview with Frazee. He's a little odd. But he's a goalie, so, ya know, par for the course.

Breakaway Relay
Oh boy. More goalie abuse. Need a Humane Society for Goalies. Sheesh.

• Weiman is a patient, patient goalie. Very impressive only letting one in.
• Holding my breath for Brusty... WOO!!!!!!! He stopped all 6 shots! Beauty! Great poke check on one of those. Very "Brusty" move. Love it. Atta boy! He looked pretty happy when that was over. Big grin.
  
• Schneider got all six, as well. Man, that dude is jacked.
• Locker got shut out by Schneider with a shot right into his glove.

Planet USA with the win. No awards for the Aeros boys but a good show anyway. I'm awfully proud of Brusty though. I can't imagine he was looking too forward to that, but he crushed the breakaway and ended on a high note.

Game tomorrow night. If the NESN was smart, they'd mic up the goalies like the NHL does, but I won't hold my breath.