Pacific Division wins 3-on-3 AHL All-Star Challenge 3-1 in Rockford

Pacific Division captured the 2026 AHL All‑Star Challenge, downing the Central Division 3-1 in the championship game at a sold-out BMO Center in Rockford. Colorado Eagles captain Jayson Megna finished as the event’s most productive player, registering four goals and three assists across the 3-on-3 format as Pacific secured its third All‑Star Challenge victory in four years.

The championship unfolded as a compact, fast-paced affair under the eight-minute, 3-on-3 rules. WIFR’s game recap captured the sequence: "Ben Berard got the Pacific on the board in the first to give their division a 1-0 lead after one. The Pacific Division added two more in the second to make it a 3-0 game. Cameron Hughes got Central on the board in the final minute but it wouldn’t be enough. Central fell 3-1." Berard’s scoring touch was no one-off; TheAHL credited Abbotsford’s Ben Berard with two goals and three assists for the Pacific across the event, while Henderson’s Tanner Laczynski finished with 1 goal and 3 assists.

Megna’s 4G-3A line anchored Pacific’s attack and gave the All‑Star Challenge an identifiable offensive star. TheAHL reported Megna “scored four goals and assisted on three others as the Pacific Division captured the 2026 AHL All‑Star Challenge at a sold-out BMO Center on Wednesday night.” TheHockeyNews went further, naming Megna the tournament MVP and noting his seven-point total included a hat-trick against the North Division.

Central Division had its moments. Texas forward Cameron Hughes scored three times during the event, and Rockford IceHogs skaters Nick Lardis and Brett Seney contributed three points apiece. Goaltending was a limited but notable factor in the showcase format; Colorado’s Isak Posch led all netminders with 12 saves on 13 shots over the evening, according to TheAHL.

The round-robin phase produced drama that extended beyond the final. As TheHockeyNews noted, Central needed a four-goal margin in the final round-robin game to reach the championship and delivered a 4-0 win over Pacific to force a tiebreaker. "That was certainly not without it's highlights, as well as some controversy," the outlet wrote, explaining that tie-breakers ultimately came down to the quickest goal to start a game, a metric that sent Central to the final while leaving Atlantic rivals disgruntled.

Beyond the scores, the All‑Star Challenge underscored the AHL’s role as both a development pipeline and a live-entertainment product. TheAHL highlighted that the event featured 18 former first- or second-round NHL draft picks and 28 players who have skated in the NHL this season, factors that help sell out local arenas and give communities like Rockford marquee midseason content during the league’s historic 90th-anniversary season.

With the exhibition spectacle complete, the AHL season resumes Friday and the Calder Cup chase returns to full focus. Pacific’s depth and Megna’s scoring burst will be talking points for coaches and scouts, while the tie-breaker controversy may prompt a closer look at All‑Star rules in future iterations.