San Jose Barracuda defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin acknowledges the crowd at Tech CU Arena during the Skill Challenge at the AHL All-Star Classic on Sunday FEB, 4, 2024. (Titus Wilkinson-Sports Radio Service)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — The West was the best in Silicon Valley.

The Western Conference defeated the Eastern Conference 18-13 in the Skills Challenge at the AHL All-Star Classic on a stormy Sunday evening at Tech CU Arena.

Despite the bad conditions outside, a packed arena witnessed the AHL’s best players showcase their skills in seven different events in a team competition where the teams were led by honorary captains; former Sharks defenseman Dan Boyle and former assistant coach Wayne Thomas.

Ontario rookie forward Brandt Clarke led the West as he beat his brother Graeme Clarke of the Utica Comets in an Inglasco Puck Control Relay heat to clinch the event for the West giving them a 5-2 lead after one event.

The Hersey Bears’ Ethen Frank won his second consecutive CCM Fastest Skater title with a time of 13.032 seconds; only his record-setting lap of 12.915 seconds in 2023 has been faster in the event’s history. Milwaukee Admirals’ Spencer Stastney came in second place with a time of 13:41. Texas Stars’ Matej Blumel had the best time for the West with a time of 13:64.

Cleveland Monsters’ goalie Jet Greaves won the Rapid Fire event as he stopped nine shots giving the East the victory in the competition. Bears’ goalie Clay Stevenson finished second with seven saves. Iowa Wild goalie Jesper Wallstedt gave the West’s best effort with six saves.

Colorado Eagles’ Riley Tufte won the CCM Hardest Shot contest with a blast of 100.9 MPH to edge out the Bears’ Dylan Mcllrath who fired a shot at 100.8 MPH. Bakersfield Condors’ Raphael Lavoie finished third with a shot of 99.7 MPH.

Clarke extended the West lead 7-4 when he went a perfect four-for-four in the Sharks Ice Accuracy Shooting event to win his second events of the evening. Clarke became the fifth AHL player ever to hit four targets in four attempts.

“My mentality at the start was not to mess up too hard. I didn’t want to go 0-for-8. I wanted to hit one, then hit the next one. Yeah, I just got into a rhythm, and it was good,” Clarke said.

The West finished off the East in the last event of the competition as they won the Upper Deck Breakaway Relay event. The highlight of the entire event, not just the relay event, for the hometown crown was the last shooter of the event, San Jose Barracuda’s Shakir Mukhamadullin scoring on his breakaway attempt to cap off a fun evening for the fans in attendance.

Mukhamadullin was not able to attend the Red Carpet or and was late to appear on the ice during the Skills Competition due to a delay in the Barracuda flying back from Abbotsford, British Colombia, Canada where they played the Canucks the night before. The ‘Cuda defenseman came on to the ice with a half hour remaining to a standing ovation from the crowd.

“It’s a good thing for me, I like when the fans get loud. I love the ‘Cuda fans and all the other fans, I thank you who came from other cities,” Mukhamadullin said.

The 2024 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Tech CU continues on Monday with the AHL Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Ceremony 11:00 am, featuring the enshrinement of Dennis Bonvie, Gordie Clark, Gerry Ehman and former Barracuda head coach, Roy Sommer, the winningest head coach in AHL history.

The league’s mid-season showcase wraps up Monday night at 6:00pm with the 2024 AHL All-Star Challenge, a round-robin tournament among the league’s four divisions played at 3-on-3.