Weegar Named to AHL All-Star Classic

Springfield, MA - The American Hockey League announced its rosters today for the 2017 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Capital BlueCross, to be held January 29-30 at the PPL Center in Allentown, PA., home of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Included in the festivities for Springfield is defenseman MacKenzie Weegar.

Despite missing 10 games this season, Weegar has been the Thunderbirds' most prolific goal scorer, with seven tallies to go along with five assists in his first 21 games this season. Weegar scored seven goals all of last season in 62 games played with the Portland Pirates. The third-year pro was originally a seventh-round draft selection of the Florida Panthers in the 2013 NHL Draft. 

Weegar scored the overtime game-winning goal in front of a sold out home crowd on Opening Night on Oct. 22 in a 5-4 win over the St. John's IceCaps.

The 23-year-old native of Nepean, Ontario is the cousin of longtime NHL defenseman Craig Rivet, and prior to turning pro, he captured a Memorial Cup championship with the Halifax Mooseheads in 2013. He finished his junior career with 20 goals and 83 assists for 103 points in 123 QMJHL games. 

Weegar will be a participant for the Eastern Conference over the two-day event, beginning with the 2017 AHL All-Star Skills Competition presented by Giant Food Stores and Velaspan on Jan. 29 at 7:30 p.m. ET. The competition will pit the All-Stars from the two Eastern Conference divisions against those from the two Western Conference divisions in a total of seven skills events.

The following night, Jan. 30,  the 2017 AHL All-Star Challenge will begin at 7 p.m. ET. The four divisional teams will participate in a round-robin tournament featuring six games of 10 minutes each, played entirely at 3-on-3. The two teams with the best records at the end of the round-robin will face off for the championship, a six-minute game also played at 3-on-3. 

Starting at just $26 each, single-event tickets are now on sale for the 2017 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Capital BlueCross, featuring the AHL All-Star Skills Competition presented by Giant Food Stores and Velaspan and the AHL All-Star Challenge. To purchase event tickets, please visit phantomshockey.com, call 610-347-TIXX or visit the PPL Center box office. The 2017 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Capital BlueCross will be preceded by a Phan Fest on Saturday, Jan. 28 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., followed by a Tailgate Party beginning at 6 p.m. Both events will take place at the PPL Center and tickets for both the Phan Fest ($5) and Tailgate Party ($10) are also available now at phantomshockey.com.

Interested in being part of the next era of AHL hockey in Springfield? Springfield Thunderbirds Ticket Memberships start as low as $12 per game and feature the most exclusive benefits, including a commemorative jersey. For more information, fans may call the Thunderbirds ticket office at (413) 739-GOAL (4625) or visit www.SpringfieldThunderbirds.com.