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Matvei Gridin and the Pacific Division win AHL All-Star Game Championship
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Photo credit: Angela Burger/Calgary Wranglers
Paige Siewert
Feb 12, 2026, 10:00 ESTUpdated: Feb 12, 2026, 00:46 EST
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Day two of the AHL All-Star Classic in Rockford, IL took place on Wednesday night. Matvei Gridin was at the event representing the Calgary Wranglers and participated in the three-on-three tournament with the Pacific Division. The format was a two period game with each period being four minutes long. Each division faced each other round robin style before the final. In the event of a tie game, the teams would participate in a three round shootout. Gridin got to wear his Flames number for this tournament, number 92, as he normally wears number 18 for the Wranglers and wore that number in Tuesday’s event. 

Game one

North Division vs. Pacific Division
Matvei Gridin was out in the starting lineup alongside Dmitri Simashev, a defenceman from the Tucson Roadrunners and Quinn Hutson, a forward from the Bakersfield Condors. As the shifts went on, the combinations rotated around a little and Gridin was also out on the ice with Jagger Firkus, a forward from the Coachella Valley Firebirds and Jayson Megna, a forward and the Captain of the Colorado Eagles. 
There was only one goal in the first period from Jayson Megna but in the second period, Gridin set up Firkus for goal number two just 27 seconds into the second period. 
Jayson Megna scored 30 seconds later then the North Division got a goal back at 3:34. With just three seconds to go in the second period, Gridin also got the puck up to Megna from centre ice and helped him complete his hat trick. Gridin finished with two assists in the Pacific Division’s 4-1 win over the North Division. 

Game two

Atlantic Division vs. Pacific Division
The Pacific Division was back to back on the schedule but ended up getting a bit of a break between games for the zamboni’s to come out. Gridin was out with Firkus and Simashev again for this game and Ben Berard scored first for the Pacific Division at 2:19. The Pacific added another at 2:44 with Megna’s fourth goal of the tournament. Before the end of the first period, Ben Steeves of the Atlantic Division scored to make it a 2-1 game for the Pacific. Gridin was not out on the ice as much for this period as he was for the last game. 
Gridin was back out to start the second period with Firkus again and Tyson Jugnauth as their defenceman. Andre Lee gave the Pacific Division a 3-1 lead at 1:44, then the Atlantic Division answered back at 3:21 with a one-timer from Tristan Broz. The Atlantic pulled their goalie in the last 30 seconds and the Pacific held on to win game two 3-2. Gridin didn’t have any points or shots in this match-up. 

Game three

Pacific Division vs. Central Division 
The Pacific Division had a two game break, and in that time, they solidified their spot in the finals. Matvei Gridin went out for the first shift with Jagger Firkus and Dmitri Simashev and Gridin had a shot on goal that was turned away 46 seconds into the period. There ended up being no scoring in the first four minute period.
Gridin had another look early in the second period but it went wide. The Central Division scored two quick ones 50 seconds in from Bradly Nadeau and another 56 seconds in from Cameron Hughes. At 3:14, Brett Seney scored the third Central Division goal then pulled their goalie on the next shift. The Central Division needed to win by four to beat the tiebreaker and punch their ticket to the final game. At 3:42, Brett Seney scored again to make it 4-0. This is what the game ended at and the finals would be a rematch between these teams. 

Finals

Central Division vs. Pacific Division 
This game needed five different tiebreaker criteria and still the Central came out on top and sent the Atlantic Division packing early. The Pacific Division scored first in this game off a one-timer by Ben Berard 2:54 into the first period. 42 seconds into the second period, Matvei Gridin got a play going that Jagger Firkus eventually scored on. He got the secondary assist on this goal.
The Central Division pulled their goalie at 2:45 then Tanner Laczynski scored on the empty net at 3:04 to give the Pacific Division more of a buffer. At 3:13, the Central Division got one back with a goal from Cameron Hughes. The Central Division tried again to pull their goalie but could not score before the end of this game. The Pacific Division won the AHL All-Star Challenge with a final score of 3-1. 
This concluded the AHL All-Star festivities and Matvei Gridin will return back to Calgary for Wranglers practice on Friday. Their next game will be on the road against the Manitoba Moose on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. MT.

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