Calgary Wranglers goaltender Dustin Wolf was named one of two MVPs of the 2023 AHL All-Star Classic in Laval, QC on Monday evening.
Wolf, 21, shared the Most Valuable Player award with San Diego Gulls goaltender Lukas Dostal, his tandem partner with Team Pacific in the 3-on-3 tournament. The two goaltenders combined to stop 42 of 49 shots over 46 minutes of action.
Team Pacific defeated Team Atlantic by a 1–0 score despite being outshot 7–3 in the championship game. Wolf held the fort early on, making five saves in the first 2:54 before being replaced by Dostal in a thrilling change on the fly.
Team Pacific went 2–0–1 in the tournament round-robin, which consisted of six 3-on-3 minigames running 10 minutes each. Wranglers head coach Mitch Love, serving as bench boss for the Pacific, elected to start Wolf for the final game — a five-minute winner-take-all affair — before switching to Dostal on the fly at the midway point.
Wolf held the fort early in the final game, stopping all five shots he faced in 2:54 before being replaced by Dostal. Bakersfield Condors forward Seth Griffith scored the lone goal of the contest (assisted by Michael Carcone) just 18 seconds in, with Team Pacific holding onto its 1–0 lead until the final buzzer sounded.
Wranglers forward Matthew Phillips, also playing for Team Pacific, did not record a point in the final game but racked up four points (one goal, three assists) and seven shots in the three round-robin contests. Team Pacific kicked off the evening with a 2–2 tie against the North before defeating the Atlantic 6–2 and the Central 5–2.
Each member of the victorious Team Pacific took home a $500 cash prize in recognition of their performances over the weekend. Only two Pacific Division teams — the Wranglers and Coachella Valley Firebirds — sent multiple representatives to the All-Star Game.
With a little bit of extra hardware in their back pockets, Wolf, Phillips, and Love will return to action alongside the rest of the Wranglers on Feb. 10 to kick off a two-game set against the San Jose Barracuda.
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