Hershey's Vitek Vanecek Named AHL All-Star Challenge MVP

January 28, 2020 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release

(Ontario, CA) - Hershey Bears netminder Vitek Vanecek earned Most Valuable Player honors, as he and teammate Matt Moulson helped lead the Atlantic Division to a championship at the 2020 AHL All-Star Challenge on Monday evening in Ontario, California at the Toyota Arena.

Vanecek allowed just two goals over the four games for the Atlantic Division in the round-robin tournament among the league's four divisions played at 3-on-3. The netminder made several dazzling saves, including a diving save just prior to the buzzer to preserve a 3-2 win over the hometown Pacific Division earlier in the event.

This was Vanecek's second consecutive AHL All-Star Classic appearance. The native of Havlickuv Brod, Czech Republic was Hershey's lone representative at the 2019 AHL All-Star Classic in Springfield, Massachusetts. The goaltender stood tall in the 3-on-3 All-Star Challenge, recording the best statistics of any netminder, stopping 18 of 20 shots in last year's event.

Vanecek is in his fourth season with Hershey, going 13-8-1-1 this season in 23 games, recording a 2.45 goals against average, good for 7th in the league.

Moulson collected a goal and an assist for the Atlantic Division over the four games. As the playing captain for the Eastern Conference, Moulson raised the championship trophy after the Atlantic Division's deciding 3-1 win over the Central Division.

This was Moulson's first All-Star appearance. The veteran skated in his 1,000th professional game last Friday at Springfield. He leads Hershey with 15 goals this season, collecting 30 points in 46 games.

Matt Moulson and Vitek Vanecek of the Hershey Bears at the AHL All-Star Challenge (American Hockey League)

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