(COURTESY OF WBS PENGUINS)
WBS Penguins goaltender Sergei Murashov. (COURTESY OF WBS PENGUINS)
While the American Hockey League was on hiatus for the AHL All-Star break last week, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins goaltender Sergei Murashov and forward Tristan Broz were among those selected to participate in the AHL All-Star Classic in Rockford, Illinois.
Participants from all 32 AHL teams competed in the Skills Competition on Tuesday night and the All-Star Challenge – a three-on-three round robin tournament – on Wednesday.
“Well, first of all, it was definitely a lot of fun,” Murashov said after Tuesday’s Skills Competition, which the Eastern Conference All-Stars won, 18-15. “We know each other on the ice from different games, but now we’re all together in one locker room. And it’s fun to share different perspectives, recall different games.”
While the All-Star events aren’t particularly goalie-friendly – with a rapid-fire event consisting of two players alternating shooting pucks on net from opposite sides, a pass and score event consisting of 3-on-0 breakaways against the goaltender as well as the breakaway relay with goaltenders facing penalty shots in succession – Murashov was impressed with the compete level at what is supposed to be a friendly competition.
“It’s very fun, and seeing all the guys are actually really competitive. I would say, when the score was tight, I think the Western team wanted to score, but thanks to Arthur (Ahktyamov), he saved all five in the shootout so we won.”
Broz competed in the accuracy shooting event in Tuesday’s Skills Competition, hitting three of the four targets placed in the corners of the net.
He also made his presence felt in Wednesday’s three-on-three tournament – leading the Atlantic Division All-Stars with five points (three goals, two assists).
The Atlantic Division All-Stars were poised to play in the championship game of the All-Star Challenge on Wednesday, but event organizers mistakenly put the Central Division All-Stars in the championship round instead, sending a surprisingly disgruntled group of Atlantic Division All-Stars off the ice.
Despite the event being in a relaxed environment, it showed just how engaged and competitive the AHL All-Stars were. They all wanted to win, including Broz.
“A little frustrating, honestly,” Broz said. “You never want the commissioner of the league to come in and apologize to you that you should have been in the championship game. So it’s a little tough pill to swallow, to be honest, and I’m kind of mad about it.”
All in all, though, Broz enjoyed his time at the 2026 AHL All-Star Classic – both in meeting new players from around the league and rekindling old friendships like with his former teammate at Denver University in current Charlotte Checkers forward Jack Devine.
“It was really cool. A lot of good personalities, and it was a lot of fun meeting these guys, getting to know some of them,” Broz explained, adding that “connecting on a goal with (Devine) was nice and brought back some great memories,” referencing the duo winning a national championship at Denver prior to turning pro.
With the All-Star break passing, both Broz and Murashov are looking forward to returning to the Penguins for their push toward the postseason.
“Just dominate,” Broz said of his mindset entering the stretch run. “Try to play as well as I can and hopefully the whole (Penguins) organization can go on a (postseason) run.”
“I definitely know we have this strong ability to go for a long run, but at the same time we don’t really think about it,” Murashov said “We just take it day by day. That’s how you operate in a long season.
“You don’t really think about how, like Providence, Hershey and all these teams are playing. We’re just focusing on ourselves and how we can get better. At the end of the day, it all depends on us and we just control what we can control.”